
Kerjayapedia
Company Description
Employment Lawyer Discusses what Trump Offer to Federal Employees to Resign Would Do
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until 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 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 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 analysis about what OPM’s delayed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it so much an offer. I think it’s a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to eight months – but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there seems to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout.
I believe that’s a very misleading term to utilize in this situation.
When you think of a buyout, there’s generally some sort of composed contract or a concrete offer to provide an advantage in exchange for employment waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: employment If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe care. There are no warranties contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell 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 classification of staff member 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 severe consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a great deal for people who don’t want to return to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is very kindly providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: 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 is in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work actually hard to resign. I think it’s trying to pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They love the objective of the company. They work hard. And today, they’re facing very difficult choices, particularly if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re someone who resides 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists today for employment OPM to purchase agencies to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite perhaps setting the stage for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually greatly 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 a lot for having me here.
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website regards to use and authorizations pages at www.npr.org for more info.
NPR transcripts are produced on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text might not be in its final type and might be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability might vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.