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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. 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 allowed to depart and be paid up until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is since there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you think about a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete deal to offer an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme caution. There are no warranties consisted of in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain 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 employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: employment Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than planned can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a good deal for individuals who don’t wish to return to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is very kindly using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in such a way, 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 created to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes since there are no guarantees. And employment these are people who enjoy their job. They love the mission of the company. They strive. And right now, they’re facing really difficult choices, especially if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives 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 anticipate legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so unprecedented that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m uncertain if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for employment OPM to purchase firms to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is very much potentially setting the stage for difficulties since I feel OPM has actually vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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