MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Federal workers have until February 6 to choose 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 enabled to depart and be paid till the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal employees as a big part of her practice, so I asked her for her analysis about what OPM’s deferred resignation program would really mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I really don’t consider it a lot a deal. I think it’s a request to resign with an unclear pledge that, potentially, you could be kept in administrative leave status for as much as eight months - however no guarantees.MARTIN: Some people have actually been utilizing the term buyout to describe what this is since there seems to be the deal of administrative leave for employment as much as 8 months if you take this deal. So is it a buyout?BERCOVICI: I would definitely not explain it as a buyout. I believe that’s a really misleading term to use in this situation. When you consider a buyout, there’s normally some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to supply an advantage in exchange for particular rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If customers ask you for your guidance, what are you informing them?BERCOVICI: First thing we inform them is exercise severe caution. There are no assurances contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for certain is that if you change your mind, the firm’s probably not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are basically providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Is there some category of employee who you think 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 intended can have serious consequences, potentially, on their benefits.MARTIN: Let me just play a clip from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. She informed reporters that this is an excellent deal for people who don’t wish to return to the office. Let me just play it.(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)KAROLINE LEAVITT: This is an idea to federal workers that they need 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 8 months.MARTIN: You’re shaking your head no.BERCOVICI: It simply - in such a way, 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 is in bad faith, that it’s developed to get folks who work actually difficult to resign. I believe it’s attempting to pull the wool over a lot of individuals’s eyes due to the fact that there are no warranties. And these are people who like their job. They love the objective of the agency. They strive. And right now, they’re dealing with very tough choices, especially if they’re remote. I mean, employment it’s very coercive.MARTIN: You say it’s coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you’re somebody 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 prepare for legal challenges simply to the deal itself? And if so, on what grounds?BERCOVICI: This deal, to be sincere, is so unmatched that I believe a great deal of us are still trying to determine what to do with it. I’m not sure if the deal itself may be challengeable. I believe the larger concern is the execution of these terms. I’m not knowledgeable about any authority that exists today for OPM to buy agencies to offer this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is quite potentially setting the phase for difficulties since I feel OPM has significantly exceeded their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you a lot for joining us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website regards to usage and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further info.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR specialist. This text may not be in its final type and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and accessibility may differ. The reliable record of NPR’s programs is the audio record.