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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed workers 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 up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for referall.us her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it so much an offer. I believe it’s a request to resign with a vague pledge that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is because there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I think that’s an extremely misleading term to use in this circumstance. When you believe of a buyout, there’s usually some sort of or a concrete offer to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the company’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than meant can have serious effects, 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 don’t wish to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is really kindly offering 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 workers are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s designed to get folks who work really hard to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no assurances. And these are people who like their task. They like the mission of the company. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with very difficult options, particularly if they’re remote. I imply, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: somalibidders.com 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 option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal challenges simply 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 trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not mindful of any authority that exists today for OPM to order firms to give this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is quite potentially setting the phase for challenges because I feel OPM has significantly 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 a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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