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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up 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 allowed to depart and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I think that’s a very deceptive term to utilize in this situation. When you think about a buyout, employment there’s generally some sort of composed contract or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no warranties consisted of in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the firm’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 believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: employment Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than intended can have severe repercussions, potentially, employment on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is an excellent offer for individuals who do not desire to go back to the workplace. Let me just 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 don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is really kindly providing 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 staff members are being jerked around like this. It sends a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s designed to get folks who work really difficult to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes since there are no guarantees. And these are individuals who love their task. They love the objective of the company. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with really hard choices, particularly if they’re remote. I mean, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You state 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 obstacles just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to buy companies to offer this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is really much potentially setting the stage for challenges because I feel OPM has greatly exceeded 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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