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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 voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed 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 the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is since there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed contract or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise severe caution. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the company’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than planned can have severe consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, referall.us Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who do not want 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 do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is very generously using 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 a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s designed to get folks who work actually difficult to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who love their job. They enjoy the mission of the company. They work hard. And today, they’re facing very difficult choices, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and has been informed 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 just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase agencies to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is extremely much perhaps setting the phase for difficulties since I feel OPM has greatly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work 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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