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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily 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 enabled to take leave and be paid till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a demand employment to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for employment approximately eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there seems 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 absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really deceptive term to use in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s typically some sort of written arrangement or a concrete offer to provide a benefit 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 workout severe caution. There are no assurances included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than planned can have serious consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, . She told reporters that this is a bargain for people who do not wish to return to the office. Let me just 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 don’t, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is really generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a method, 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 remains in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it’s trying 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 love the mission of the agency. They strive. And today, they’re dealing with extremely difficult choices, specifically if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who resides 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 option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, 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 may be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy agencies to offer this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite perhaps setting the phase for difficulties since I feel OPM has actually significantly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, employment D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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