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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, employment OPM, informed workers 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 the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it a lot an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague promise that, employment potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I think that’s a really deceptive term to utilize in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written contract or a concrete offer to provide 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 extreme caution. There are no warranties included in this e-mail. 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 employment you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker 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 because leaving earlier than planned can have serious effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: employment Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is an excellent offer for individuals who don’t desire to return to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: employment This is a recommendation to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is very kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in such a way, 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 remains in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work really difficult to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no guarantees. And these are people who love their task. They love the of the firm. They work hard. And today, they’re dealing with very difficult choices, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very 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. or else we’re going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal obstacles just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is extremely much potentially setting the stage for difficulties due to the fact that 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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