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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have until 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 large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear promise that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is since there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely deceptive term to use in this scenario. When you consider a buyout, there’s usually some sort of written contract or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for job your advice, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise severe care. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for job certain is that if you alter your mind, the agency’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 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 need to be the most careful due to the fact that leaving earlier than meant can have serious consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don’t want to go back to the workplace. 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 do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is very kindly offering to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal staff members are being jerked around like this. It sends a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work really tough to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes since there are no . And these are people who enjoy their job. They like the objective of the firm. They work hard. And right now, they’re facing extremely difficult choices, job especially if they’re remote. I imply, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: job Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. or else we’re going to fire you, job they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal challenges simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m uncertain if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase companies to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I think it is really much potentially setting the stage for obstacles since I feel OPM has greatly surpassed 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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