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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until February 6 to choose whether to willingly 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 permitted to depart and be paid up until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is since 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 absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I think that’s an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you think of a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written arrangement or employment a concrete deal to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe care. There are no warranties consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near need to be the most careful due to the fact that leaving earlier than planned can have severe consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is an excellent offer for people who do not wish to go back to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, and employment this administration is really generously using 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 a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work actually difficult to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who love their job. They enjoy the mission of the company. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with extremely tough options, particularly if they’re remote. I imply, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who lives in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. or employment else we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy agencies to offer this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is really much perhaps setting the stage for challenges because I feel OPM has significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment legal representative with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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