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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 willingly leave 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 permitted to take leave and employment be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, employment so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s postponed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don’t consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I think that’s a very deceptive term to utilize in this . When you consider a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete offer to offer an advantage in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your recommendations, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe caution. There are no guarantees included in this email. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you change your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: employment Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than intended can have severe consequences, employment potentially, 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 good offer for individuals who don’t wish to go back to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative 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 way, it breaks my heart that federal staff members 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 designed to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes because there are no warranties. And these are people who like their task. They like the mission of the firm. They strive. And today, they’re facing very tough options, particularly if they’re remote. I imply, employment it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. otherwise 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 if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not mindful of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to give this variety of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite potentially setting the stage for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for employment having me here.

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