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 willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, employment OPM, informed employees on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday – that’s less than a week from now – most will be enabled to depart and be paid up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer 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 actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it a lot an offer. I believe it’s a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is since there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I think that’s a really misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to provide a benefit in exchange for employment waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe care. There are no assurances included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the company’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most careful since leaving earlier than intended can have major consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is an excellent deal for individuals who don’t desire to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely generously offering to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a method, it breaks my heart that 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 created to get folks who work really tough to resign. I think it’s trying 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 love their task. They enjoy the objective of the company. They work hard. And today, they’re facing extremely difficult options, especially if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: employment 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 challenges simply to the offer itself? And employment if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, employment is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase agencies to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite potentially setting the stage for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually 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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