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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have till February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified employees on Tuesday that if they hand employment in their resignation by next Thursday – that’s less than a week from now – most will be permitted to take leave and be paid until the end 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 in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: employment I in fact do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is because 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 think that’s a really deceptive term to utilize in this scenario. When you believe of a buyout, there’s normally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no guarantees consisted of in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of staff member who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most careful because leaving earlier than planned can have major effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a great offer for individuals who don’t wish to return to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: employment This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, employment then they have the option to resign, and this administration is very generously providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in such 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 created to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes because there are no warranties. And these are people who like their job. They like the objective of the company. They work hard. And today, they’re facing very difficult options, specifically if they’re remote. I imply, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: employment You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives in Oregon and employment 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 employment legal difficulties just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I think a great deal of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m uncertain if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not aware of any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase agencies to offer this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite possibly setting the stage for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has significantly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer 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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