NAGE Local R1-100H and Naval Hospital Groton (Authority decision, September 11, 1985)

Final FLRA decision. This is a final order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority on a negotiability petition. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review by filing a petition in an appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after issuance under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a). Filing a petition does not stay the Authority's order unless the court orders a stay under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(c).

Plain-English summary

A local agreement would have required the naval hospital to post shift schedules four weeks ahead and change them only in emergencies. The Authority found that this could prevent a schedule change required by a government wide workweek regulation. It ruled that the provision was outside the duty to bargain and dismissed the union's petition.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability under 5 U.S.C. § 7117(a)(1) and workweek revision under 5 C.F.R. § 610.121(b)(2).
• Outcome: Schedule notice provision found outside the duty to bargain; petition dismissed.
• Key point: A fixed four week notice rule could prevent a required schedule revision.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v20 p162 ]

20:0162(17)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

20 FLRA No. 17

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL R1-100H
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
NAVAL HOSPITAL, GROTON
Agency

Case No. 0-NG-1073

DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUE

The petition for review in this case comes before the Authority pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and presents an issue concerning the negotiability of the following provision of a local agreement disapproved by the Agency head pursuant to section 7114(c) of the Statute.

The Employer will post work schedules for shift employees in a conspicuous place in each Service at least four weeks prior to the effective date and they shall not be changed except in the case of an emergency at which time the Union will be notified.

Upon careful consideration of the entire record, /1/ including the parties' contentions, the Authority makes the following determinations. The disputed provision in the instant case is to the same effect as Provision 1 in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2484 and U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Detrick, Maryland, 17 FLRA No. 106 (1985), petition for review filed sub nom. American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2484 v. FLRA, No. 85-1405 (D.C. Cir. July 3, 1985), which also would have prevented a change in tours of duty unless advance notice of such change had been provided and which the Authority found to be inconsistent with an applicable Government-wide regulation. In the cited case the Authority determined that 5 CFR 610.121(b)(2)(1984) obligates an agency head to revise an employee's administrative workweek to comport with the hours during which the employee will actually be required to work "(w)hen the head of an agency knows in advance of an administrative workweek" that such revision is necessary. Thus, the Authority concluded that as the provision therein would prevent the agency head from revising an employee's work schedule unless he or she became aware of the need to change work schedules not less than two weeks prior to the rescheduling, it was inconsistent with a Government-wide regulation and outside the duty to bargain. Therefore, based on U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Detrick, since the instant provision would also, in certain circumstances, prevent the Agency from complying with a Government-wide regulation, it is likewise outside the duty to bargain pursuant to section 7117(a)(1) of the Statute.

Accordingly, pursuant to section 2424.10 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, IT IS ORDERED that the Union's petition for review be, and it hereby is, dismissed.

Issued, Washington, D.C., September 11, 1985 (s) HENRY B. FRAZIER III Henry B. Frazier III, Acting Chairman (s) WILLIAM J. MCGINNIS, JR., William J. McGinnis, Jr., Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

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/1/ The Union did not file a Reply Brief in this case.