National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals, American Federation of Government Employees and Social Security Administration (Authority decision, May 8, 1985)

Final FLRA decision. This is a final order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in a negotiability case. 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

The Social Security Administration ended a practice of giving some Region III employees paid time beside their unpaid lunch break. The union proposed 20 minutes of paid banking time on paydays and 20 paid minutes beside lunch each day. The Authority found that both proposals would extend the lunch period with paid breaks, contrary to federal work schedule law. It dismissed the consolidated negotiability petitions because the agency had no duty to bargain over either proposal.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Federal work scheduling requirements under 5 U.S.C. § 6101.
• Outcome: Consolidated negotiability petitions dismissed.
• Key point: Paid time appended to an unpaid lunch period could not be required through bargaining.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v17 p924 ]

17:0924(121)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

17 FLRA No. 121

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SSA FIELD
OPERATIONS LOCALS, AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
Union

and

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION
Agency

Case No. 0-NG-873

and

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SSA FIELD
OPERATIONS LOCALS, AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION
Agency

Case No. 0-NG-891

CONSOLIDATED DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUE

The petitions for review in these cases /1/ come before the Authority pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), and raise an issue regarding the negotiability of two similar Union proposals. Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the parties' contentions, the Authority makes the following determinations.

Union Proposal 1

All OFO employees in Region III will have an additional 20 minutes paid time for banking purposes on pay days.

Union Proposal 2

All employees in Region III will be excused and paid for 20 minutes immediately preceding or following the unpaid lunch period.

The record indicates that the Union sought negotiations over the disputed proposals following the Agency's decision to terminate a long standing practice of routinely granting certain employees in Region III 15 minutes of administrative leave in addition to a half hour unpaid lunch period. Union Proposal 1 would give employees 20 minutes of paid time on pay days, and the record indicates that such time is intended to be appended to the lunch period. Union Proposal 2 would give employees 20 minutes of paid time immediately preceding or following the lunch period on a daily basis. In this regard, the Union proposals herein are to the same effect as the union proposal found to be outside the duty to bargain in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3231 and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, 17 FLRA No. 83 (1985). In that decision, the Authority held that a proposal which would have attached a paid break to an unpaid lunch period was nonnegotiable because it conflicted with 5 U.S.C. 6101
/2/ as interpreted in Comptroller General Decision B-190011 (December 30, 1977). Similarly, the proposals at issue herein would require the Agency to append a paid break to the unpaid lunch period for the purpose of extending the lunch period. Thus, for reasons set forth in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO Local 3231 and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, the Authority concludes in agreement with the Agency that the Union proposals are inconsistent with law, 5 U.S.C. 6101, and are outside the duty to bargain.

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. /3/ Issued, Washington, D.C., May 8, 1985 Henry B. Frazier III, Acting Chairman William J. McGinnis, Jr., Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

--------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------

/1/ The Authority, pursuant to a request by the parties, has consolidated these two cases because the proposals involved are similar and present the same negotiability question.

/2/ 5 U.S.C. 6101 provides in pertinent part as follows:

(2) The head of each Executive agency, military department, and of the government of the District of Columbia shall--

(A) establish a basic administrative workweek of 40 hours for each full-time employee in his organization; and

(B) require that the hours of work within that workweek be performed within a period of not more than 6 of any 7 consecutive days.

(3) Except when the head of an Executive agency, a military department, or of the government of the District of Columbia determines that his organization would be seriously handicapped in carrying out its functions or that costs would be substantially increased, he shall provide, with respect to each employee in his organization, that--

(A) assignments to tours of duty are scheduled in advance over periods of not less than 1 week;

(B) the basic 40-hour workweek is scheduled on 5 days, Monday through Friday when possible, and the 2 days outside the basic workweek are consecutive;

(C) the working hours in each day in the basic workweek are the same;

(D) the basic nonovertime workday may not exceed 8 hours;

(E) the occurrence of holidays may not affect the designation of the basic workweek; and

(F) breaks in working hours of more than 1 hour may not be scheduled in a basic workday.

/3/ In view of the decision herein, it is unnecessary to address the Agency's additional contentions.