MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal staff members have until February 6 to decide whether to voluntarily 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 till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work lawyer who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM's postponed resignation program would actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I actually do not consider it so much a deal. I think it's a demand to resign with an unclear promise that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately 8 months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some individuals have been using the term buyout to describe what this is because there seems to be the offer 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 think that's a really deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you think about a buyout, there's normally some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to supply a benefit in exchange for waiving certain rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: employment If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is workout extreme caution. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can tell you for specific is that if you alter your mind, the agency's probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically offering up control over a lot.MARTIN: employment Is there 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 need to be the most careful due to the fact that leaving earlier than meant can have major consequences, possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed press reporters that this is a good deal for individuals who don't desire to return to the office. Let me simply play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is a recommendation to federal workers that they need to return in - to work. And if they do not, then they have the choice to resign, and this administration is very generously 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 employees are being jerked around like this. It sends a signal to me that this return-to-office order is 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 lot of people's eyes because there are no warranties. And these are people who love their job. They love the mission of the agency. They work hard. And today, they're facing very tough choices, particularly if they're remote. I suggest, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You say it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: employment Essentially, if you're someone who lives in Oregon and has been informed 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 just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, 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 think the bigger concern is the execution of these terms. I'm not aware of any authority that exists right now for OPM to purchase agencies to give this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I believe it is very much possibly setting the stage for obstacles because I feel OPM has actually 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 so much for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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