Overview

  • Founded Date December 4, 2015
  • Sectors Graduate IT Contractor
  • Posted Jobs 0
  • Viewed 5

Company Description

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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have up until 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 allowed to take leave and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it so much an offer. I believe it’s a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: employment I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really misleading term to use in this situation. When you think of a buyout, there’s typically some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme caution. There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they’re close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than intended can have severe effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is a bargain for people who do not want to go back to the office. 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 employment this administration is extremely kindly using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a method, employment 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 truly hard to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes because there are no warranties. And these are individuals who love their job. They love the mission of the company. They work hard. And today, employment they’re facing really difficult options, particularly if they’re remote. I imply, employment it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You state it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody who resides 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 option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I’m uncertain if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to order firms to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite possibly setting the phase for difficulties since I feel OPM has significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment legal representative with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website regards to usage and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional information.

NPR transcripts are produced on a rush deadline by an NPR specialist. This text might not be in its last type and might be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and employment availability may vary. The reliable record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.