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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. 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 allowed to take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it a lot an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague guarantee that, potentially, job you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there’s typically some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than meant can have major repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a great deal for who do not wish to go back to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, job and this administration is really kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal workers 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 created to get folks who work truly tough to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes since there are no guarantees. And these are individuals who like their job. They like the objective of the firm. They work hard. And right now, they’re dealing with extremely hard choices, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who lives in Oregon and has been informed 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 difficulties just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unprecedented that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to order agencies to give this variety of people administrative leave. So I believe it is extremely much potentially setting the phase for challenges because I feel OPM has significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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