National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service (Authority decision, February 22, 1980)

Final FLRA decision on this petition. The Authority dismissed the union's Executive Order 11491 negotiability appeal as moot after that order was superseded. The dismissal was without prejudice to an appeal under the new statute and Authority regulations; the document states that a separate appeal about the same proposals was pending.

Plain-English summary

The National Treasury Employees Union asked for review of the IRS agency head's ruling that its proposals were nonnegotiable under Executive Order 11491. By the time of review, that order had been superseded by the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Neither the petition nor the agency ruling addressed the new statute. The Authority dismissed the old order appeal as moot without deciding the proposals' merits or barring a new appeal under the statute. Its letter noted that the union had already filed a separate appeal involving the same proposals.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7117; Executive Order 11491.
• Outcome: Negotiability petition dismissed as moot without prejudice.
• Key point: The old executive order no longer governed the proposals; the statutory appeal remained available.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v02 p710 ]

02:0710(91)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

2 FLRA No. 91

MR. JAMES M. SOBER
ASSISTANT COUNSEL
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION
1730 K STREET, NW.
SUITE 1101
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006

RE: NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES
UNION AND INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE, Case No. 0-NG-46

DEAR MR. SOBER:

THIS REFERS TO YOUR PETITION FOR REVIEW OF THE AGENCY HEAD'S
DETERMINATION OF NONNEGOTIABILITY IN THE ABOVE-ENTITLED CASE, FILED WITH
AUTHORITY ON APRIL 18, 1979.

THE DISPUTE, AS PRESENTED IN YOUR APPEAL, CONCERNS THE NEGOTIABILITY
OF THE UNION'S PROPOSALS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 11491,
AS AMENDED. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11491 IS, HOWEVER, NO LONGER IN EFFECT,
HAVING BEEN SUPERSEDED BY THE NEW FEDERAL SERVICE LABOR-MANAGEMENT
RELATIONS STATUTE (92 STAT. 1191), WHICH BECAME EFFECTIVE JANUARY 11,
1979, AND WHICH GOVERNS THE RESOLUTION OF NEGOTIABILITY DISPUTES SUCH AS
ARE INVOLVED IN YOUR APPEAL. IN THIS REGARD, NEITHER YOUR PETITION FOR
REVIEW NOR THE AGENCY HEAD'S DETERMINATION OF NONNEGOTIABILITY ADDRESSES
THE APPLICABILITY OF THE STATUTE TO THE DISPUTED PROPOSALS.

ACCORDINGLY, YOUR PETITION FOR REVIEW OF A NEGOTIABILITY DISPUTE
UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER 11491 IS DISMISSED AS MOOT WITHOUT PASSING UPON
THE MERITS OF YOUR APPEAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO YOUR SUBMISSION OF
THE DISPUTE TO THE AUTHORITY IN CONFORMANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE
STATUTE AND THE REGULATIONS OF THE AUTHORITY ISSUED THEREUNDER.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 695 AND
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, U.S. MINT, DENVER, COLORADO, CASE NO.
O-NG-26, 1 FLRA NO. 39 (MAY 10, 1979), REPORT NO. 6. /1/

BY THE AUTHORITY.

SINCERELY,

SAMUEL A. CHAITOVITZ

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CC: J. KURTZ

IRS

/1/ IT IS NOTED THAT THE UNION HAS FILED ANOTHER NEGOTIABILITY APPEAL
UNDER THE STATUTE INVOLVING THE SAME PARTIES AND THE IDENTICAL PROPOSALS
AT ISSUE IN THE INSTANT CASE. THAT APPEAL (O-NG-85) IS CURRENTLY
PENDING BEFORE THE AUTHORITY.