MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal employees have up until February 6 to choose whether to voluntarily 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 enabled to take leave and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work attorney 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 in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it so much a deal. I believe it's a demand to resign with a vague pledge that, potentially, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - but no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is because there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for approximately 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I believe that's a really deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's generally some sort of composed arrangement or a concrete offer to supply an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your advice, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise extreme care. There are no assurances contained in this email. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you change your mind, the firm's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and employment you are basically providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most careful since leaving earlier than planned can have major consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don't want to return to the workplace. Let me just 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 don't, then they have the choice 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 a signal to me that this return-to-office order remains in bad faith, that it's designed 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 since there are no assurances. And these are people who like their task. They enjoy the mission of the firm. They strive. And right now, they're facing really difficult choices, specifically if they're remote. I indicate, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're someone who lives in Oregon and has been 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 anticipate legal difficulties simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This offer, to be honest, is so unprecedented that I think a lot of us are still attempting to determine what to do with it. I'm uncertain if the offer 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 buy firms to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I think it is quite potentially setting the stage for difficulties because I feel OPM has actually greatly 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 a lot for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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