Category Archives: Bargaining Law
IS AGENCY USE OF GPS MONITORING I&I NEGOTIABLE? FLRA has not stepped up to this question yet, but sooner or later an agency is going to use this equipment to monitor employees conduct, if not performance. But it is fair … Continue reading →
INTERESTING DRESS CODE DECISION Several federal judges have held that the FLRA should follow closely NLRB case law precedent since the private sector law was the model for the private sector one. The NLRB just issued an interesting decision about … Continue reading →
AGENCIES MAY HAVE TO BARGAIN WITH UNIONS OVER EMPLOYEE DATA BREACHES The NLRB recently indicated it believes employers are obligated to bargain when employee data they hold is hacked. Take a look at this article, Employers May Have to Bargain … Continue reading →
20+ FLRA PRECEDENTS UNION NEGOTIATORS MUST KNOW Collective bargaining is like a tennis match. The two players repeatedly fire the ball at one another hoping to force a mistake, get an advantage, or just tire the other out. Furthermore, the … Continue reading →
THE “SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE” ULP DEFENSE An agency can unilaterally implement a change in working conditions without notice to or bargaining with the union if it can show that under other laws gave had the sole and exclusive discretion to … Continue reading →
THE “COVERED-BY” DEFENSE MUTATES Those of you who have to deal with the “covered-by” defense to a bargaining demand should take a look at the most recent private sector decision. It creates a third version of the doctrine that you … Continue reading →
“DE MINIMIS” DOCTRINE TOO COMPLEX EVEN FOR ALJs? Not long ago FEDSMILL.com posted an article entitled “Die, De Minimis Die” to shine a light on how elusively complex and high risk the de minimis doctrine is for practitioners. It may … Continue reading →
DIE, DE MINIMIS, DIE! Even though there is some legal foundation for holding that a change must be more than de minimis to create a bargaining obligation, it has been more trouble than it is worth—even to management. One case … Continue reading →
A NEGOTIATOR’S ROOKIE MISTAKE & APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENTS This is one of those case law precedents that union negotiators cannot hear enough. If your proposals are all non-negotiable, you give the employer the right to unilaterally implement its proposed midterm change. … Continue reading →
WHEN PAST PRACTICE TRUMPS CONTRACT LANGUAGE What do you do if management suddenly announces that despite following a certain past practice for years, which obviously conflicted with the contract language, it is now pronouncing the past practice dead and insisting … Continue reading →