MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have until February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified 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 workers 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 in fact don't consider it so much an offer. I believe it's a request to resign with an unclear guarantee that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for up to 8 months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is because there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that's a very misleading term to use in this situation. When you think about a buyout, employment there's generally some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete deal to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise extreme caution. There are no warranties included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of staff member 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 need to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than intended can have major consequences, 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 an excellent deal for people who don't want to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees 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 eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just - in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal employees are being jerked around like this. It sends out a signal to me that this return-to-office order is in bad faith, that it's created to get folks who work truly tough to resign. I believe it's trying to pull the wool over a great deal of people's eyes because there are no warranties. And these are individuals who love their task. They like the objective of the agency. They work hard. And today, they're facing really difficult choices, specifically if they're remote. I indicate, it's extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody who resides in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. or else we're going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal challenges just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, is so extraordinary that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I'm not sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I think the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to buy firms to give this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite potentially setting the stage for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually vastly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work legal representative with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for employment having me here.

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