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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 their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed employees 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 up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much a deal. I think it’s a demand to resign with an unclear guarantee that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: employment Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for employment as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely deceptive term to use in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s typically some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise severe caution. There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category 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 require to be the most cautious since leaving earlier than intended can have serious effects, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who do not want to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, 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 just – in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal workers are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work really tough to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes due to the fact that there are no assurances. And these are people who love their job. They enjoy the mission of the company. They work hard.
And today, they’re dealing with extremely tough options, employment 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 option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal difficulties just to the offer itself? And employment if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, employment is so unmatched that I believe a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to order firms to give this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is extremely much potentially setting the phase for employment obstacles because I feel OPM has actually greatly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer 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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