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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to willingly 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 depart and be paid till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer who represents federal workers as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much a deal. I believe it’s a request to resign with a vague pledge that, employment potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I think that’s a really misleading term to use in this situation. When you think about a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed agreement or a concrete offer to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for employment your recommendations, employment what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise severe caution. There are no guarantees consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful due to the fact that leaving earlier than intended can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is an excellent deal for employment individuals who don’t desire to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is extremely generously offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a method, it breaks my heart that federal staff members are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are who enjoy their job. They love the mission of the company. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with very tough choices, particularly if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who resides in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. otherwise we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal challenges simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, is so unmatched that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite possibly setting the phase for challenges because I feel OPM has actually vastly surpassed 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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