MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have up until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, 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 until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I believe it's a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that's a very misleading term to utilize in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there's typically some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme caution. There are no warranties included in this e-mail. 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 category of staff member 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 need to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than intended can have serious repercussions, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don't wish to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal employees that they need to return in - to work. And if they don't, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is very kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: 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 remains in bad faith, that it's created to get folks who work actually hard 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 guarantees. And these are people who love their job. They love the objective of the company. They work hard. And right now, they're facing very tough choices, particularly if they're remote. I imply, it's extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody who lives 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal difficulties just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I'm not sure 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 purchase companies to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite perhaps setting the phase for obstacles because I feel OPM has actually vastly exceeded 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 a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website regards to usage and approvals pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR records are developed on a rush due date by an NPR specialist. This text may not be in its last type and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability might differ. The reliable record of NPR's programming is the audio record.
1
Employment Lawyer Discusses what Trump Offer to Federal Employees to Resign Would Do
brandonvernon4 edited this page 2025-03-04 09:59:40 +02:00