Stepstage

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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their jobs. 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 completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it a lot an offer. I think it’s a request to resign with a vague promise that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: job I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I think that’s an extremely deceptive term to use in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there’s typically some sort of composed contract 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 suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme caution. There are no assurances consisted of in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, job and you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker 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 need 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 reporters that this is a good deal for individuals who don’t desire to go back to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they have to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is extremely generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: job It just – in such a way, 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 developed to get folks who work actually hard to resign. I believe it’s trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes due to the fact that there are no assurances. And these are individuals who love their job. They love the mission of the agency. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with very hard options, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides in Oregon and job has been informed 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 challenges just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still attempting to determine what to do with it. I’m not sure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I think the larger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy firms to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is extremely much perhaps setting the phase for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has significantly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work attorney with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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