MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up until February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their tasks. 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 allowed to depart and be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal workers as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's delayed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don't consider it so much a deal. I think it's a demand to resign with a vague guarantee that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 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 deal of administrative leave for as much as 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 really deceptive term to utilize in this situation. When you think of a buyout, there's normally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise severe caution. There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the company's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically giving up 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 somebody like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful due to the fact that leaving earlier than meant can have severe consequences, possibly, employment on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is an excellent deal for people who don't wish to go back to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal employees that they have to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is very to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal staff members 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 developed to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it's trying to pull the wool over a lot of individuals's eyes because there are no assurances. And these are individuals who like their job. They like the objective of the company. They work hard. And today, they're facing very 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 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal obstacles simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be truthful, is so unmatched that I think a great deal of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I'm not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not aware of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is really much perhaps setting the stage for obstacles since I feel OPM has actually greatly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment attorney 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.

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