Federal Labor Relations Authority – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule adopts a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on February 16, 2024, without change. The final rule updates regulations of the Federal Labor Relations Authority's (FLRA) Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) to establish revised methods by which the public may obtain specific forms from the FSIP, and then file, or formally submit, those forms and other documents during the course of FSIP proceedings.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), including the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), and the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), are amending their regulations to update their addresses and telephone numbers, and to eliminate the requirement that parties file four copies of original documents that they file with: the FLRA's three-member, decisional component (the Authority); the OGC; and the FLRA's Administrative Law Judges, Regional Directors, and Hearing Officers.

The ``Freedom of Information Act Request and Appeal Files'' is the system that the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) uses to provide the public with a single location to submit and track Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and appeals filed with the FLRA, to manage internal FOIA administration activities, and to collect data for annual reporting requirements to the Department of Justice. FLRA's prior system, FOIAOnline, was recently decommissioned. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, FLRA's Chief FOIA Officer proposes to update the system of records, titled ``Freedom of Information Act Request and Appeal Files,'' with information about FLRA's new FOIA system, FOIAXPress. This notice replaces the notice FLRA published on October 27, 2017 at 82 FR 49813.

This final rule adopts, with one minor change, a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2023. The final rule specifies that, if parties wish to file documents with the Federal Labor Relations Authority's (FLRA's) Office of Case Intake and Publication (CIP) in person, then they must schedule an appointment at least one business day in advance. The final rule also makes other minor technical and formatting changes. In addition, like the proposed rule, the final rule specifies that documents filed through the FLRA's electronic-filing (eFiling) system must be filed electronically by ``11:59 p.m.,'' rather than ``midnight,'' on the due date. However, unlike the proposed rule, the final rule specifies that the 11:59 p.m. filing deadline is ``Eastern Time.''

The Federal Labor Relations Authority is correcting its regulations regarding negotiability proceedings.

This rulemaking proposes revisions to the regulations that the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) follows in processing records under the Privacy Act. The FLRA is revising these regulations to update procedures for requesting information from the FLRA and procedures that the FLRA follows in responding to requests from the public, in order to reflect changes in the law and the FLRA's organization since the regulations were last updated.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is proposing to amend its regulations to specify that, if parties wish to file documents with the FLRA's Office of Case Intake and Publication (CIP) in person, then they must schedule an appointment at least one business day in advance. The proposed amendments also specify that electronically filed (eFiled) documents must be filed by ``11:59 p.m.,'' rather than ``midnight,'' on the due date, and make other minor technical and formatting changes.

This final rule adopts, without change, an interim final rule published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2023, with a correction published on July 12, 2023. The rule permits parties to proceedings before the Federal Labor Relations Authority's (FLRA's) three-Member, decisional component (the Authority) to voluntarily requestin individual cases filed through the FLRA's electronic-filing (eFiling) systemthat the Authority use electronic mail (email) to serve the requesting parties any decisions, orders, and notices (Authority documents) issued in those individual cases.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA or Authority) seeks public comments on a proposed revision to its regulations and a proposed rescission of its general statement of policy or guidance (policy statement) in Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 71 FLRA 571 (2020) (Member Abbott concurring; then-Member DuBester dissenting). The proposed revision and rescission concern the intervals at which Federal employees may revoke their voluntary, written assignments of payroll deductions for the payment of regular and periodic dues allotted to their exclusive representative. Specifically, in addition to rescinding OPM, the Authority proposes either revising its regulation entitled ``Revocation of Assignments'' to provide that dues revocations may be processed only at one-year intervals, or, alternatively, rescinding that regulation in its entirety. The Authority seeks comments on these proposals.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) publishes the names of the persons selected to serve on its SES Performance Review Board (PRB). This notice supersedes all previous notices of the PRB membership.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) solicits written comments on a request from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for a general statement of policy or guidance (general statement) holding that ``zipper clauses''which are provisions that would foreclose or limit mid-term bargaining during the term of a collective-bargaining agreement (CBA)are a mandatory subject of bargaining. Comments are solicited on whether the Authority should issue a general statement, and, if so, what the Authority's policy or guidance should be.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) seeks public comments on a proposed addition to its regulations. This proposed addition concerns the revocation of a written assignment of amounts deducted from the pay of a Federal employee for the payment of regular and periodic dues allotted to an exclusive representative.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) solicits written comments on a request from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a general statement of policy or guidance (general statement) concerning expiring collective-bargaining agreements that state that they will remain in force until the parties reach new agreements. USDA asks for a general statement holding that, if an expiring agreement continues in force during renegotiations, then an agency head may review the legality of the expiring agreement as early as the agency head could review an expiring agreement that was renewed automatically for a fixed term. Comments are solicited on whether the Authority should issue a general statement, and, if so, what the Authority's policy or guidance should be.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) publishes the names of the persons selected to serve on its SES Performance Review Board (PRB). This notice supersedes all previous notices of the PRB membership.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority provides an opportunity for all interested persons to submit briefs as amici curiae on a significant issue arising in a case pending before the Authority. The Authority is considering this case pursuant to its responsibilities under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, and its regulations on the review of arbitration awards.

This document amends regulations listing the current addresses and describing the geographic jurisdictions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Federal Service Impasses Panel. These changes reflect the closing of the Boston Regional Office and changes to the geographical jurisdictions of the Washington, DC and Chicago Regional Directors.

The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that each agency publish notice of all the systems of records that it maintains. This document proposes the amendment of six of the FLRA's existing systems of records, the introduction of a new system of records, and the rescindment of eleven systems of records that are no longer in use or that are covered by government-wide system of records notices. With the proposed addition and rescindment of systems, the FLRA will maintain seven systems of records. Additional details are provided under Supplementary Information, below.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) publishes the names of the persons selected to serve on its SES Performance Review Board (PRB). This notice supersedes all previous notices of the PRB membership.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) amends its procedures for requesters to follow when making requests to or demands on an employee of the FLRA's three-member Authority component (Authority), the Office of the General Counsel, or the Federal Service Impasses Panel (Panel) to produce official records or provide testimony relating to official information in connection with a legal proceeding. Specifically, the amendments expand the regulation's definition of ``legal proceeding'' to include matters in which the FLRA is a party. The amendments additionally delegate decision-making responsibility to the heads of each of the three components, depending on where the information is located, to ensure that responses to such requests or demands are handled in an orderly, efficient, and consistent manner. The amended procedures will better protect confidential information, provide guidance to requesters and FLRA employees, and reduce the potential for both inappropriate disclosures of official information and wasteful allocation of FLRA resources.

Pursuant to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (``FLRA'') is issuing a regulation governing procedures for collecting debts owed to the federal government by present and former FLRA employees. The regulation sets forth the procedures that the FLRA will follow in collecting debts owed to the United States arising from activities under FLRA jurisdiction. These procedures include collection of debts through administrative offset and salary offset. These regulations supersede the FLRA's debt- collection procedures applied under FLRA Internal Regulation 2790, dated December 29, 1986.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority provides an opportunity for all interested persons to submit briefs as amici curiae on a significant issue arising in a case pending before the Authority. The Authority is considering this case pursuant to its responsibilities under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, 5 U.S.C. 7101-7135 (the Statute), and its unfair-labor-practice (ULP) regulations, set forth at 5 CFR part 2423. The issue concerns whether a presidential order, which was issued under Sec. 7103(b)(1) of the Statute to exclude an agency subdivision ``from coverage under'' the Statute, precludes the Authority from finding that an employee of the excluded subdivision acted as a ``representative of the agency'' under Sec. 7114(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Statute. Because the Authority has not directly addressed this issue before, there is an absence of controlling precedent. And, as this matter is likely to be of concern to agencies, labor organizations, and other interested persons, the Authority finds it appropriate to provide for the filing of amici briefs addressing this matter.

In accordance with Section 743 of Division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-117), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is publishing this notice to advise the public of the availability of the FY 2013 Service Contract inventory. This inventory provides information on service contract actions over $25,000 that were made in FY 2013. The information is organized by function to show how contracted resources are distributed throughout the agency. The inventory has been developed in accordance with guidance issued on November 5, 2010 by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). OFPP's guidance is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ omb/procurement/memo/service-contract-inventories-guidance- 11052010.pdf. The FLRA has posted its inventory and a summary of the inventory on the FLRA homepage at the following link: https://www.flra.gov/webfmsend/866.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) publishes the names of the persons selected to serve on its SES Performance Review Board (PRB). This notice supersedes all previous notices of the PRB membership.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (the FLRA) is engaged in an initiative to make electronic filing, or ``eFiling,'' available to parties in all cases before the FLRA. Making eFiling available to its parties is another way in which the FLRA is using technology to improve the customer-service experience. EFiling also is expected to increase efficiencies by reducing procedural filing errors and resulting processing delays.