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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified workers on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday – that’s less than a week from now – most will be enabled to depart and be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to describe what this is because there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 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 an extremely misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you think of a buyout, there’s usually some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to offer an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for job your advice, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme care. There are no warranties contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you change 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 category of worker who you believe 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 careful because leaving earlier than planned can have major effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a bargain for people who don’t desire to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they do not, job then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 developed 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 because there are no assurances. And these are individuals who love their job. They enjoy the objective of the company. They work hard. And right now, they’re with really tough choices, especially if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who lives 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, job on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, job is so extraordinary that I think a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists right now for job OPM to order agencies to give this number of people administrative leave. So I think it is extremely much possibly setting the stage for obstacles due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually significantly surpassed 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 so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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