INTERESTING FURLOUGH MOU

The FLRA just issued a decision describing the creative way that one union structured sequester furloughs through an MOU. The National Association of Independent Labor (NAIL) negotiated the following concerning employee rights to pick the days on which they would serve their required number of furlough days: The “normal schedule for furlough would be one . . . eight[-]hour day per week.” But the MOU also provided that “mission/workload permitting, [bargaining-unit employees] may elect and be permitted to complete the furlough requirements in increments of between eight . . . and forty . . . hours per week . . . [i]f the schedule does not impact mission/workload requirements.” The arbitrator and FLRA upheld an award of back pay to employees when the agency failed to live by the agreement language. It is something to think about when the agency wants total control over who is furloughed when. NAIL, 68 FLRA 279 (2015)