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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members 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 enabled to take leave and job be paid up until 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 analysis about what OPM's deferred resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it a lot an offer. I think it's a request to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have actually been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is due to the fact that there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for as much as eight months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: job I would never explain it as a buyout. I think that's a very deceptive term to utilize in this scenario. When you think about a buyout, there's normally some sort of written arrangement or a concrete deal to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: job If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise extreme . There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for specific is that if you change your mind, the company's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and job you are essentially giving up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some category of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that might this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful because leaving earlier than planned can have severe repercussions, potentially, 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 a bargain for individuals who do not desire to return to the workplace. Let me simply 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 don't, then they have the alternative to resign, and this administration is really kindly using to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just - in such a way, 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 remains in bad faith, that it's designed to get folks who work truly hard to resign. I think it's attempting to pull the wool over a great deal of people's eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They enjoy the objective of the company. They strive. And today, they're facing really hard options, particularly if they're remote. I imply, it's extremely coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody 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 challenges just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, job to be truthful, is so unprecedented that I believe a lot of us are still attempting to find out what to do with it. I'm uncertain if the deal itself may be challengeable. I think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to purchase firms to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I think it is really much possibly setting the stage for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has greatly exceeded 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: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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