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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: job Federal workers have till February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their tasks. 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 permitted to depart and be paid till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it so much an offer. I believe it’s a demand to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: job Some people have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I think that’s a very deceptive term to use in this scenario. When you consider a buyout, there’s normally some sort of written agreement or job a concrete offer to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe caution. There are no warranties included in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform 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 quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most careful because leaving earlier than intended can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She reporters that this is a good deal for people who don’t wish to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: job It simply – 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 created to get folks who work really tough to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes since there are no assurances. And these are people who enjoy their job. They enjoy the mission of the agency. They strive. And today, they’re dealing with extremely difficult options, particularly if they’re remote. I imply, 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 option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal challenges just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so unmatched that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase companies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the phase for difficulties because I feel OPM has actually greatly 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 signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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