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 voluntarily leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 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 permitted to take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it a lot an offer. I believe it’s a request to resign with a vague guarantee that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: employment I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you think about a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout severe caution. There are no warranties included in this email. 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 essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious due to the fact that leaving earlier than intended can have severe repercussions, 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 a bargain for individuals who do not wish to go back to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a method, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 designed to get folks who work really difficult to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are people who like their job. They enjoy the objective of the company. They work hard. And right now, they’re facing really tough choices, specifically if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state 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 expect legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And employment if so, employment on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase agencies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite potentially setting the phase for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: employment Thank you so much for having me here.

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