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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: have till February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. 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 allowed to take leave and be paid until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal staff members as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM's postponed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: employment I really don't consider it a lot an offer. I believe it's a demand to resign with a vague promise that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that's an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this situation. When you consider a buyout, there's typically some sort of composed contract or a concrete offer to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout severe caution. There are no assurances consisted of in this email. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you alter your mind, the company's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists 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 attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than planned can have severe consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply 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 return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a tip to federal employees that they need to return in - to work. And if they don't, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is really kindly providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in such a way, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 designed to get folks who work actually tough to resign. I believe it's attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are people who like their task. They enjoy the objective of the firm. They strive. And today, they're dealing with extremely hard choices, particularly if they're remote. I mean, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're someone who lives 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 choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for employment legal obstacles simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, 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 believe the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not familiar with any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase firms to give this number of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the stage for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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