Posted on June 9, 2016 by AdminUN

A QUIZ: WHEN UNIONS’ RIGHTS COLLIDE

Who is right and who is wrong in this situation where the bargaining rights of two unions collided in the parking lot?  IFPTE/NAIL reached a deal with the Navy Shipyard in Newport News over revised agency instructions reassigning parking priorities. The agreement was signed, approved by the agency head, and became effective.  However, as soon as the agency began reassigning parking spaces it realized that the agreement would result in fewer parking spaces for another union.  That union, AFGE, represented employees in a different Navy component that shared a parking lot with the employees working in the component represented by the two unions unaffiliated with AFGE.  So, what happens next? Does the agreement reached by the two unions trump AFGE’s rights to bargain over any change before implementation?  Did AFGE lose any right to bargain over the change because it was made pursuant to an agreement negotiated with another union?  Did AFGE’s rights void the other union’s agreement?

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Posted in Bargaining Law | Tagged | 1 Comment

Posted on June 4, 2016 by AdminUN

“VAGUE” REASONS TO DENY LEAVE ILLEGAL

Employees are denied leave requests all the time and generally no one on either side of the labor relations arena thinks twice about it because FLRA has held that management has a right to deny leave, approve and then change its mind by denying leave, or even let an employee go on leave and call him/her back no matter how much money the employees loses in hotel reservations, flight costs, etc. But do not forget that this management right has to be exercised consistent with laws and among them are the civil rights acts. Despite FLRA’s decision to hold firm to an interpretation of the “right to assign” that likely can be traced back through the annuls of Plantation Management 101 all the way to the Divine Right of Kings, EEOC has crafted a way for employees denied leave to challenge management’s decision and get compensated. Here is how Rebecca Padilla did it. Continue reading →

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Posted on June 2, 2016 by AdminUN

OVERCOMING LR INCOMPETENCE

Here is our hypothetical.  Assume that the union files a grievance alleging a violation of regulation or contract, wins a big back pay award at arbitration, and it is upheld by FLRA when LR files exceptions. Since the courts have no jurisdiction to review an FLRA decision on contract, regulatory or most statutory violations, the case is closed.  No more appeal options? Or is it over? Continue reading →

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Posted on June 2, 2016 by AdminUN

FLRA’S CONFLICTING BACK PAY CRITERIA

Assume that the head of a large federal employee office somewhere in the Midwest suddenly decided to change employee shift hours.  Instead of everyone’s shift being 8 to 5:30 every day, she announced that on Monday and Friday of each week their shift would be 7 to 4:30. When the union gets ahold of that information the wheels will start turning identifying how it can challenge that decision and the remedy it wants. If the change was made unilaterally, it is a ULP.  But if the change also violates a federal regulation or contract provisions it is a grievance unrelated to a ULP.  What too many practitioners do not realize is that the decision to file a ULP or grievance has a very big impact on whether the employees will get back pay—thanks to a rarely talked about clash of FLRA precedents. Continue reading →

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Posted on May 15, 2016 by AdminUN

ABA LABOR LAW UPDATE & THE CBP MUSHROOM CLOUD

For those of you out in our blogosphere who like to stay up with the latest twists and turns in federal sector labor law we recommend reading through the American Bar Association’s, “Update on Significant FLRA and Labor and Employment Decisions, 2015-16.” One of the more interesting cases it is following is NTEU’S fight with CBP. Several arbitrators have already ruled the agency owes employees tens, if not hundreds, of millions in back pay for overtime hours they never worked but should have been allowed to work, even though often no one was assigned to work for the times the union claims back pay. The agency appealed to FLRA but lost. Then it took most of those decisions to the U. S. Court of Appeals, only to be turned away. Most recently, NTEU has asked the arbitrators who issued the original decisions to rule on whether the agency is in compliance with their decisions, which brings all of us fed sector practitioners to the brink of some interesting potential case law developments. For example, Continue reading →

Posted in Arbitration, ULPs | Tagged | 1 Comment

Posted on May 14, 2016 by AdminUN

NTEU TRIPS ITSELF UP ON CBP DISPUTE

When Customs and Border Protection management decided to install new work stations for officers inspecting travelers, NTEU asked to bargain, and one of its demands was that officers be allowed to sit while reviewing travelers’ documents. The agency declared that non-negotiable on the grounds that it excessively interfered with its management rights to determine internal security. NTEU filed a negotiability petition. At about the same time the agency decided to remove any doubt about officer’s rights to sit or suggestion there might be a past practice of allowing that.  So, it issued a memo announcing that effective immediately officers were to stand while inspecting folks. NTEU filed a ULP with FLRA over that. Once FLRA heard about the ULP, it dismissed the union’s negotiability petition on the issue. Any idea why? Continue reading →

Posted in Attorney Fees, ULPs | Tagged | 2 Comments

Posted on May 14, 2016 by AdminUN

WHO REALLY DESERVES THE BLAME? AFGE KNOWS

It looks like the media is going to spend more than a little time this summer on the story about the horribly long security lines in airports. Congress, as it always does, has moved quickly to cast the blame on the agency for the delays by calling hearings where it gets to stage the process to look as if our elected representatives are fighting for us. But don’t be fooled by the stagecraft because the ONLY people to blame are those in Congress. AFGE highlighted some facts about the TSA delays recently that make it crystal clear who is to blame, “The Transportation Security Administration currently has about 42,000 officers on the job, down from 47,000 in 2013. At the same time, the volume of passengers has risen 15 percent, from 643 million to 740 million.” That, folks, is due to the failure of Congress to fund government. Don’t let neighbors complain about TSA. It is not the “TSA Problem.” It is the “Congressional Problem.” It strikes us that Congress is like an abusive husband who refuses to give his partner (aka wife) enough money to buy food, but then berates her (or worse) for not feeding the family well. Congress has done it to IRS, the VA, TSA and others as part of a PR campaign to hide its long- string of cowardly judgments.

Posted in Lobbying, Whistleblowing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Posted on May 12, 2016 by AdminUN

FSIP CHOOSES EMPLOYEES’ OPINIONS OVER NTEU’S

NTEU took a bargaining dispute over salaries to the Panel recently arguing that the performance appraisal system driving pay decisions “… is broken beyond repair in its current form which, in turn, leads to employee dissatisfaction over pay.” However, the agency put some hard evidence on the table arguing that employees disagreed with the union. It pointed to the annual employee survey (FEVS) showing that “nearly 72% of the surveyed employees believe that ‘considering everything,’ they are satisfied with their pay,” and that 73% of them agreed that their performance appraisal accurately reflected their performance.” Faced with the union employees saying one thing and their negotiators another the Panel decided to go with the statistical evidence. This case is yet another in a growing line where … Continue reading →

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Posted on May 12, 2016 by AdminUN

WHEN YOUR RELIGIOUS EXPRESSIONS OFFEND CO-WORKERS

Federal employees’ rights to practice their faith is broadly protected, but in an era where more and more employees feel free, if not compelled to proclaim and preach their religious views to other employees questions are arising about just how far the right to express one’s religion goes. There is a great piece in the blogosphere about this from the folks at LAW.COM that we advise you to read. Here is a key passage. “Take this hypothetical: Richard works in a regional office of a large, multinational corporation with thousands of employees worldwide. He’s worked there over 20 years with a solid record. He would call himself a ‘devout Christian’ and believes that homosexual behavior is a sin because the Bible says so. One day, Richard comes to work and sees several new posters around the office as part of a company-wide diversity initiative. Each poster depicts a fellow employee with the slogan ‘Diversity is Our Strength.’ One also had the caption ‘Gay.’ In protest, Richard posts two passages from the Bible that condemn homosexual behavior right above his cubicle.”

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Posted on May 12, 2016 by AdminUN

NEW RULES ON LEAVE AS A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

EEOC has just published some very helpful to advice for those of us on either side of the bargaining or litigation tables who wrestle with the question of when employees must be given leave to accommodate a disability. Most of us should know by now disabled employees, whether permanently or temporarily, can be entitled to more leave than the FMLA gives them. The folks at FMLA Insights did a very good job of summarizing the key parts of the EEOC advice. We recommended you make this information widely known to colleagues. (See “EEOC Issues New Resource Document Addressing Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation under the ADA. What’s the Impact on Employers?”)

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