MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have till February 6 to decide whether to willingly leave their jobs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, OPM, notified workers on Tuesday that if they hand in their resignation by next Thursday - that's less than a week from now - most will be permitted to depart and be paid until completion of September. Michelle Bercovici is a work legal representative 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 actually mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact don't consider it a lot a deal. I believe it's a demand to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for approximately eight months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to explain what this is because there appears to be the deal of administrative leave for up to 8 months if you take this offer. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: trademarketclassifieds.com I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I think that's an extremely deceptive term to utilize in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's generally some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to offer an advantage in exchange for waiving particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your suggestions, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise extreme caution. There are no guarantees contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for specific is that if you change your mind, the firm's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of worker who you think this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is somebody like that might this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: ura.cc Folks near retirement need to be the most careful since leaving earlier than planned can have severe consequences, gratisafhalen.be possibly, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me simply play a clip from the White House press secretary, classihub.in Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is a bargain for individuals who don't wish to return to the office. 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 providing to pay them for eight months.MARTIN: You're shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It just - in a method, it breaks my heart that federal workers 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 tough to resign. I believe it's trying to pull the wool over a great deal of individuals's eyes because there are no guarantees. And these are people who enjoy their job. They love the objective of the agency. They work hard. And right now, they're facing really tough choices, particularly if they're remote. I indicate, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You state 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 expect legal challenges just to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so extraordinary that I believe a lot of us are still trying to figure out what to do with it. I'm unsure if the deal itself might be challengeable. I believe the larger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to order companies to offer this number of people administrative leave. So I believe it is quite perhaps setting the phase for difficulties due to the fact that I feel OPM has actually greatly surpassed 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 signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you a lot for having me here.

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