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 willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed workers 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 take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really don’t consider it so much an offer. I believe it’s a demand to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, you might 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 explain what this is since there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I think that’s a very misleading term to use in this circumstance. When you think of a buyout, there’s normally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete offer to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no warranties contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain 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 category of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than intended can have serious repercussions, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a great deal for people who do not desire to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is very generously providing to pay them for eight 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 out a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work really hard to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes since there are no assurances. And these are people who enjoy their job. They like the objective of the firm. They work hard. And today, they’re facing really hard options, especially if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, referall.us if you’re someone who 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 obstacles simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to determine what to do with it. I’m uncertain if the offer itself may be challengeable. I think the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists right now for OPM to order agencies to offer this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is really much potentially setting the stage for obstacles because I feel OPM has significantly surpassed 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 signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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