MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have till February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily leave their tasks. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, informed employees on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday - that's less than a week from now - most will be allowed to take leave and be paid till completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment attorney who represents federal staff members as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's delayed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually don't consider it a lot an offer. I think it's a demand employment to resign with a vague guarantee that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been using the term buyout to explain what this is since there appears to be the offer of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would never describe it as a buyout. I think that's a very deceptive term to utilize in this situation. When you believe of a buyout, there's typically some sort of written contract or a concrete deal to offer a benefit in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your guidance, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is workout severe caution. There are no guarantees included in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the company's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is someone like that may this be an appealing offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require to be the most mindful since leaving earlier than intended can have major effects, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She told press reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who do not wish to go back 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 alternative to resign, and this administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: employment It simply - in a method, it breaks my heart that federal employees 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 created to get folks who work actually difficult to resign. I think it's attempting to pull the wool over a lot of individuals's eyes since there are no guarantees. And these are individuals who enjoy their job. They enjoy the objective of the company. They work hard. And right now, they're facing extremely hard choices, particularly if they're remote. I imply, it's really 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. otherwise we're going to fire you, they might feel that they have no choice than to take this option.MARTIN: Do you anticipate legal challenges simply to the offer itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: employment This offer, to be truthful, is so unmatched that I believe a lot of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I'm unsure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not familiar with any authority that exists today for OPM to order companies to provide this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is really much possibly setting the phase for obstacles since I feel OPM has vastly exceeded 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 so much for having me here.

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