MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members 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 depart and be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really don't consider it so much an offer. I believe it's a demand to resign with an unclear promise that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I think that's an extremely misleading term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's normally some sort of composed contract or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme care. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, the firm's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most cautious because leaving earlier than intended can have serious effects, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a good offer 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 a tip to federal employees that they have to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is really generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in 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 remains in bad faith, that it's developed 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 assurances. And these are individuals who like their task. They like the objective of the firm. They strive. And right now, they're facing extremely hard choices, specifically if they're remote. I imply, it's extremely coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're someone who lives 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 expect legal challenges just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, employment to be truthful, is so unmatched that I think a great deal of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I'm unsure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I think the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not conscious of any that exists right now for OPM to order companies to offer this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is very much perhaps setting the phase for challenges because I feel OPM has significantly exceeded 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 so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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