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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, employment 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 permitted to depart and employment be paid up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal staff members as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact don’t consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a request to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, employment you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been using the term buyout to describe what this is since there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really misleading term to use in this situation. When you think of a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme care. There are no warranties consisted of in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some of staff member who you think 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 planned can have serious effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don’t wish to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: employment This is a suggestion to federal employees that they have to return in – to work. And if they do not, employment then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is extremely generously using 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 out a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it’s created to get folks who work actually difficult to resign. I believe 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 firm. They work hard. And today, employment they’re dealing with really difficult options, particularly if they’re remote. I indicate, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and has been told 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 anticipate legal challenges just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so extraordinary that I believe a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m unsure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase companies to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is very much potentially setting the phase for obstacles because I feel OPM has actually vastly exceeded 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 a lot for having me here.

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