Employment Lawyer Discusses what Trump Offer to Federal Employees to Resign Would Do

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have till February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified employees on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday – that’s less than a week from now – most will be permitted to take leave and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a to resign with a vague guarantee that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I think that’s a really misleading term to use in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to offer an advantage in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise severe caution. There are no guarantees consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: referall.us Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than meant can have major consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a great deal for people who do not desire to go back to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is really generously providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal employees are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s designed to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes due to the fact that there are no guarantees. And these are people who like their job. They enjoy the objective of the company. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with extremely difficult options, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. or else we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal challenges simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, adremcareers.com to be sincere, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not conscious of any authority that exists today for OPM to order agencies to give this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is really much perhaps setting the stage for difficulties because I feel OPM has vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for somalibidders.com joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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