MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed employees on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday - that's less than a week from now - most will be enabled to take leave and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney 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 really don't consider it so much a deal. I believe it's a request to resign with a vague pledge that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months - however no .MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never explain it as a buyout. I believe that's an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's generally some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete offer to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your guidance, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme care. There are no guarantees contained in this email. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the agency's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of employee who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: smfsimple.com Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious due to the fact that leaving earlier than planned can have serious repercussions, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a great offer for individuals who do not want to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal workers that they need to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is really kindly providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - 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 remains in bad faith, that it's designed to get folks who work actually tough to resign. I believe it's trying to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes since there are no warranties. And these are people who love their task. They love the objective of the company. They strive. And today, they're dealing with very hard options, particularly if they're remote. I suggest, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody who lives in Oregon and 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 expect legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I'm uncertain if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not conscious of any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy agencies to provide this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the phase for wiki.team-glisto.com challenges since I feel OPM has actually 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 joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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