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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have until February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified workers on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday - that's less than a week from now - most will be permitted to depart and be paid till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment legal representative who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's postponed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it so much a deal. 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 - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have been using the term buyout to explain what this is since there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I think that's a really misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there's generally some sort of composed contract or a concrete deal to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your recommendations, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise severe care. There are no assurances included in this email. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you change your mind, the company's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially providing up 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 somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than intended can have severe consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for people who don't wish to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they need to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in a way, employment 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 created to get folks who work truly difficult to resign. I think it's attempting to pull the wool over a lot of individuals's eyes since there are no assurances. And these are individuals who enjoy their task. They like the objective of the firm. They work hard. And today, they're facing very difficult choices, particularly if they're remote. I suggest, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're someone who resides in Oregon and has been told to report to D.C. or else we're going to fire you, they might feel that they have no option than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you prepare for legal difficulties just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still attempting to figure out what to do with it. I'm not exactly sure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I believe the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not aware of any authority that exists right now for OPM to order firms to provide this number of leave. So I think it is quite potentially setting the stage for challenges since I feel OPM has significantly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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