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, informed employees on Tuesday that if they hand in their by next Thursday - that's less than a week from now - most will be permitted to take leave and job be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal staff members 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 in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it's a demand to resign with a vague guarantee that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that's a very deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you think of a buyout, there's usually some sort of written arrangement or a concrete offer to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your guidance, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no warranties consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of staff member who you believe 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 intended can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a bargain for people who do not wish to return to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal employees that they need to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is really generously offering to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in a manner, 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 truly hard to resign. I believe it's attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people's eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are people who love their job. They love the mission of the agency. They work hard. And right now, they're facing extremely difficult choices, especially if they're remote. I mean, it's very 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. or else 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 simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I'm not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not mindful of any authority that exists today for job OPM to purchase companies to offer this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is really much potentially setting the stage for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually significantly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, job D.C. Thank you so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.
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Employment Lawyer Discusses what Trump Offer to Federal Employees to Resign Would Do
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