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

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed workers 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 up until completion 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 postponed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: employment I actually do not consider it so much a deal. I believe it’s a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 8 months – however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to explain what this is since there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s an extremely misleading term to utilize in this . When you consider a buyout, there’s generally some sort of written contract or a concrete deal to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout severe care. There are no assurances included 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 essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: employment Is there some category of staff member who you think 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 careful since leaving earlier than meant can have severe effects, possibly, employment on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is an excellent offer for people who don’t desire to return to the workplace. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they need to return in – to work. And if they don’t, then they have the option to resign, and employment this administration is very kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just – in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 designed to get folks who work really hard to resign. I think it’s attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people’s eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who love their task. They enjoy the objective of the company. They strive. And today, they’re facing really difficult choices, especially if they’re remote. I suggest, it’s really coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal obstacles just to the offer itself? And employment if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so extraordinary that I think a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I’m not exactly sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I’m not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase companies to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is extremely much perhaps setting the stage for obstacles due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually greatly 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 so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of usage and approvals pages at www.npr.org for additional info.

NPR transcripts are developed on a rush due date by an NPR professional. This text might not remain in its last kind and may be upgraded or revised in the future. Accuracy and schedule might vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s shows is the audio record.