Employment Lawyer Discusses what Trump Offer to Federal Employees to Resign Would Do
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have till February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their tasks.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified 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 be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal staff members as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I believe it’s a request to resign with an unclear pledge that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that 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 never describe it as a buyout.
I believe that’s an extremely misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you think about a buyout, there’s normally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit 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 tell them is exercise extreme care. There are no warranties contained in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than planned can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: employment Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is a good deal for people who don’t wish to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they need to return in – to work.
And if they don’t, employment then they have the option to resign, and this administration is really kindly providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: employment You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply – in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 actually 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 individuals who enjoy their task. They enjoy the mission of the firm. They work hard. And right now, they’re facing really hard options, specifically if they’re remote.
I imply, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s . Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who lives 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 anticipate legal obstacles just to the deal itself? And employment if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, employment to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I think a great deal of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m unsure if the offer itself might be challengeable.
I think the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to order companies to offer this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is quite possibly setting the stage for difficulties because I feel OPM has greatly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment attorney 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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