rsh-recruitment

scotvanraalte0/rsh-recruitment

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. 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 until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal workers as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM's deferred resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don't consider it a lot an offer. I believe it's a request to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually 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 as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would absolutely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that's a really misleading term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's generally some sort of composed contract or a concrete deal to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for employment your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout extreme caution. There are no warranties contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular 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: Exists some classification of employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful due to the fact that leaving earlier than planned can have severe repercussions, employment potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for people who don't want to go back to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal employees that they need to return in - to work. And if they don't, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is really kindly offering to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're your head no.BERCOVICI: employment It just - in a manner, 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 actually hard to resign. I believe it's trying to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes due to the fact that there are no assurances. And these are people who love their task. They love the mission of the firm. They strive. And today, they're dealing with extremely hard options, employment specifically if they're remote. I mean, it's really 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. 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 obstacles just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unprecedented that I think a great deal of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I'm uncertain if the offer itself might be challengeable. I think the larger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to order firms to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the stage for obstacles because I feel OPM has 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 so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights booked. Visit our site regards to usage and approvals pages at www.npr.org for more info.

NPR records are produced on a rush due date by an NPR contractor. This text might not be in its last type and might be updated or modified in the future. Accuracy and schedule may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's shows is the audio record.

No results