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 voluntarily leave their jobs. 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 depart and referall.us be paid 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 delayed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much a deal. I believe it’s a demand to resign with a vague guarantee that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is because there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I think that’s an extremely misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you think of a buyout, there’s normally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving certain 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 severe care. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the agency’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than planned can have major consequences, 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 great deal for people who don’t desire to go back to the workplace. Let me simply 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 do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in a manner, 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 actually hard to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes since there are no assurances. And these are people who enjoy their task. They like the mission of the company. They work hard. And right now, they’re facing extremely tough choices, especially 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. 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 obstacles simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to determine 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 conscious of any authority that exists right now for OPM to order firms to offer this number of leave. So I believe it is extremely much possibly setting the phase for obstacles due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually greatly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work legal representative with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.
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