U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and AFGE National Council of Field Labor Locals (Authority decision, July 16, 1987)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies the Labor Department's request to change who signs and where it posts an unfair labor practice notice, and denies a stay of the earlier remedial order. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review of a final Authority order by petitioning 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 order unless the court orders a stay under § 7123(c).

Plain-English summary

An earlier Authority order found that the Labor Department had unlawfully refused to provide information requested by the AFGE National Council of Field Labor Locals. That order required a notice signed by the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and posted in the department's Washington offices. The department asked instead for an MSHA human resources official to sign it and for posting at an MSHA field office in Price, Utah. The Authority held that disagreement with the selected official and location was not an extraordinary circumstance warranting reconsideration. It denied both the motion and the requested stay.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Reconsideration under 5 C.F.R. § 2429.17.
• Outcome: Reconsideration and stay denied; earlier notice remedy remains in place.
• Key point: Disagreement over the signer and posting location did not justify reconsideration.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v28 p28 ]

28:0028(7)CA

The decision of the Authority follows:

28 FLRA No. 7

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

Respondent

and

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FIELD LABOR LOCALS
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO

Charging Party

Case No. 4-CA-50152
(26 FLRA No. 109)

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

This case is before us on the Respondent's motion for reconsideration, as amended, and request for a stay of our remedial order of May 8, 1987. For the reasons set forth below, we deny the motion and stay request.

In our decision, we held that the Respondent violated section 7116(a)(1), (5) and (8) of the Federal Service Labor - Management Relations Statute (the Statute) in failing and refusing to furnish, as required by section 7114(b)(4) of the Statute, information requested by the Charging Party, the exclusive representative of certain of the Respondent's employees. As a remedy, we ordered, among other things, the posting of a Notice to be signed by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management in the Respondent's Washington, D.C. offices.

In its amended motion for reconsideration, the Respondent contends that it would be more appropriate for the Notice to be signed by the Chief of Human Resources, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and for the Notice to be posted in MSHA's field office in Price, Utah.

Section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations permits a party that can establish "extraordinary circumstances" to request reconsideration of a final decision or order of the Authority. We conclude that the Respondent [PAGE] has not established "extraordinary circumstances" within the meaning of section 2429.17. Rather, the argument presented by the Respondent in support of its amended request constitutes nothing more than disagreement with the determination as to the appropriate official to sign the Notice and location for posting the Notice. The Respondent's motion is therefore denied. The request for a stay is likewise denied.

Issued, Washington, D.C., July 16, 1987.

Jerry L. Calhoun, Chairman

Henry B. Frazier III, Member

Jean McKee, Member

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY [ v28 p2 ]