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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: employment Federal workers have till February 6 to choose whether to 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 up until the end of September. Michelle Bercovici is an employment lawyer who represents federal employees as a large part of her practice, so I asked her for her interpretation about what OPM's delayed resignation program would in fact mean.MICHELLE BERCOVICI: I in fact do not consider it a lot a deal. I think it's a demand to resign with an unclear promise that, possibly, you might be kept in administrative leave status for up to 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 deal of administrative leave for 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 very deceptive term to use in this circumstance. When you consider a buyout, there's typically some sort of written agreement or a concrete deal to provide an advantage in exchange for waiving specific rights. That is not the case here.MARTIN: If clients ask you for your suggestions, what are you telling them?BERCOVICI: First thing we tell them is exercise severe care. There are no warranties contained in this e-mail. The only thing I can inform you for particular is that if you alter your mind, the firm's most likely not going to let you withdraw that resignation, and you are essentially providing up control over a lot.MARTIN: Exists some classification of employee who you believe this might benefit? Maybe they're close to retirement. Is somebody like that may this be an attractive offer?BERCOVICI: Folks near retirement require 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 a good deal for people who don't wish 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 have to return in - to work. And if they don't, 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 a manner, 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 tough to resign. I believe it's attempting to pull the wool over a lot of people's eyes because there are no warranties. And these are people who like their job. They like the objective of the company. They strive. And today, they're facing really tough options, specifically if they're remote. I indicate, it's really coercive.MARTIN: You state it's coercive. Because?BERCOVICI: Essentially, if you're somebody who lives 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 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 figure out what to do with it. I'm not exactly sure if the offer itself may be challengeable. I believe the bigger question is the execution of these terms. I'm not conscious of any authority that exists right now for OPM to order agencies to give this variety of individuals administrative leave. So I think it is extremely much potentially setting the phase for obstacles since I feel OPM has actually greatly surpassed their authority.MARTIN: That is Michelle Bercovici. She is a work lawyer with the Alden Law Group here in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for signing up with us.BERCOVICI: Thank you so much for having me here.

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