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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to choose whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified workers 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 take leave and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a request to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to describe 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: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I think that’s a really misleading term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there’s usually some sort of written contract or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your guidance, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise severe care. There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for employment specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than intended can have serious repercussions, employment possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a bargain for people who do not desire to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is really generously offering to pay them for employment eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a method, it breaks my heart that federal workers are being jerked around like this. It sends a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s designed to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes due to the fact that there are no assurances. And these are individuals who love their task. They enjoy the objective of the agency. They work hard. And employment right now, they’re facing really tough choices, particularly if they’re remote. I mean, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and employment has been informed to report to D.C. otherwise 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 difficulties just to the deal itself? And if so, employment on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting 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 familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I think it is really much potentially setting the stage for obstacles due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work 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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