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

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

MICHEL MARTIN, employment HOST: Federal workers have until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily 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 take leave and be paid up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much a deal. I believe it's a demand to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the deal 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 an extremely misleading term to use in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there's generally some sort of written contract or a concrete offer to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme caution. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the company'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 staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful because leaving earlier than meant can have severe consequences, possibly, on their .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 do not wish to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return in - to work. And if they do not, 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 a manner, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 hard to resign. I believe it's trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people's eyes because there are no guarantees. And these are people who like their task. They enjoy the objective of the firm. They strive. And right now, they're facing extremely tough choices, especially if they're remote. I indicate, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody 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 expect legal obstacles just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, employment is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I'm not 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 firms to provide this variety of people administrative leave. So I think it is very much potentially setting the phase for employment difficulties since I feel OPM has actually greatly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment legal representative with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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