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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have up until February 6 to choose whether to willingly leave their jobs. 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 enabled to take leave and be paid up until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative who represents federal staff members as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM's postponed resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it so much an offer. I think it's a demand to resign with an unclear pledge that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as 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 deal of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not describe it as a buyout. I believe that's a really misleading term to use in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, employment there's usually some sort of composed contract or a concrete offer to provide a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for employment your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no warranties included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you change your mind, employment the company's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially quiting 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 require to be the most mindful due to the fact that leaving earlier than intended can have serious effects, potentially, 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 an excellent deal for individuals who don't wish to go back to the workplace. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is extremely kindly offering to pay them for 8 months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in a manner, it breaks my heart that federal staff members 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 developed to get folks who work really hard to resign. I believe it's trying to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals's eyes due to the fact that there are no guarantees. And these are people who like their task. They enjoy the mission of the agency. They strive. And today, they're dealing with really hard options, particularly if they're remote. I imply, it's very coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, employment if you're someone who resides in Oregon and has been informed to report to D.C. otherwise we're going to fire you, employment they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you expect legal obstacles just to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be honest, is so unmatched that I think a lot of us are still attempting to determine what to do with it. I'm uncertain if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not conscious of any authority that exists today for OPM to order agencies to provide this number of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite potentially setting the stage for challenges because I feel OPM has greatly 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 signing up with us.BERCOVICI: employment Thank you so much for having me here.

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