WHOPPER OF A REMEDY AGAINST INFAMOUS AGENCY

Off the top of our head, we can’t think of an agency that did more to recklessly follow the labor relations advice of the last White House Administration – even though any LR practitioner with an IQ higher than a snow cone knew that their advice was riddled with legal errors. So, it warmed our heart to see the FLRA come down oh-so-hard on the Dep’t. of Education this week for unilaterally implementing a new term agreement back in 2018. FLRA stood behind a very strong remedy statement by the Authority’s Chief ALJ who heard the case.  It should help any other unions in the future who also must deal with an agency unilaterally implementing term agreements. The Cheif ALJ wrote,

The Authority recognizes that a central objective of its remedial authority is to recreate the conditions and relationships that would have been had there been no unfair labor practice and to restore, as far as possible, the status quo that existed before the unfair labor practices (ULPs).  E.g., U.S. DOD, Ohio Nat’l Guard, 71 FLRA 829, 873 (2020) (Ohio National Guard).  When an agency refuses to bargain over the substance of a matter that is within the duty to bargain, the Authority orders a status quo ante remedy, including rescission of the new policy, absent special circumstances.

Think about the administrative and financial nightmares the agency’s HR staff now faces going back to correct any changes in years of promotion actions, appraisals, awards, disciplines, Check out Dep’t. of Education and AFGE, Council 252, 73 FLRA 165 (2022) for details.  You can find the ALJ decision at WA-CA-18-0173 et al. (2021).