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, employment 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 permitted to take leave and be paid until completion 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 analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it a lot an offer. I believe it’s a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a very misleading term to use in this circumstance. When you think about a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete offer to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout severe caution. There are no assurances included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you change your mind, the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than intended can have serious effects, 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 an excellent deal for people who don’t want to go back to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: employment You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal workers 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 to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who love their job. They love the objective of the company. They work hard. And right now, they’re facing extremely difficult choices, specifically if they’re remote. I imply, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone 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 anticipate legal difficulties just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I think a lot of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for employment OPM to order agencies to offer this variety of people administrative leave. So I think it is extremely much perhaps setting the stage for obstacles since I feel OPM has vastly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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