MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have up until February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their jobs. 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 enabled to depart and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM's postponed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really do not consider it so much an offer. I believe it's a demand to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for up to eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I think that's a really deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's generally some sort of composed contract or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your recommendations, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise extreme caution. There are no guarantees contained in this email. The only thing I can inform you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency's probably not going to let you that resignation, and you are basically quiting control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of staff member who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than intended can have serious consequences, possibly, 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 bargain 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 an idea to federal workers that they have to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is very generously providing to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just - in a method, it breaks my heart that federal workers 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 really tough to resign. I think it's attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes since there are no warranties. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They like the mission of the firm. They strive. And right now, they're dealing with extremely tough choices, particularly 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 wiki.eqoarevival.com 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 expect legal difficulties simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be truthful, is so unmatched that I believe a great deal of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I'm not exactly sure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not mindful of any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite possibly setting the phase for challenges due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually vastly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment legal representative 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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