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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have until February 6 to choose 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 permitted to depart and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer 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 actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don't consider it so much a deal. I think it's a request to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, 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 because there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that's an extremely misleading term to utilize in this situation. When you consider a buyout, there's generally some sort of composed agreement or a concrete deal to supply 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 workout extreme care. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the agency's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some classification of worker who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement need to be the most mindful because leaving earlier than meant can have severe repercussions, possibly, classihub.in on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is an excellent offer for individuals who do not want to return to the workplace. Let me simply 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 choice to resign, and this administration is very using to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in a method, 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 actually difficult to resign. I think it's trying to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes since there are no guarantees. And these are individuals who like their job. They enjoy the objective of the firm. They strive. And today, they're dealing with extremely difficult choices, especially if they're remote. I imply, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You state 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 legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so extraordinary that I think a lot of us are still trying to find out what to do with it. I'm unsure if the offer itself might be challengeable. I think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not conscious of any authority that exists right now for OPM to buy agencies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is very much possibly setting the stage for challenges because I feel OPM has vastly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is an employment attorney 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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