Federal Labor Relations Authority 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), intends to issue an interim regulation for employees of the FLRA that supplements the executive-branch-wide Standards of Ethical Conduct (Standards) issued by OGE. The supplemental regulation: Establishes procedures for seeking prior approval for outside employment; prohibits certain outside employment; and requires employees who disqualify themselves from participation in particular matters for ethical reasons to notify their supervisors and the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) of that disqualification.

This document contains corrections to technical amendments to regulations which were published in the Federal Register of Thursday, October 8, 2009. The regulations relate to the enforcement of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities conducted by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority). The corrections being made will remove a requirement that the Authority conduct a self-appraisal of its policies and practices for compliance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by September 6, 1989.

The Chairman and Members of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (the Authority) seek public comment on proposed revisions to its regulations concerning review of arbitration awards and the Authority's miscellaneous and general requirements to the extent that they set forth procedural rules that apply to the review of arbitration awards. The purpose of the proposed revisions is to improve and expedite review of such awards.

The General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) proposes to revise portions of its regulations regarding unfair labor practice (ULP) proceedings (Part 2423, subpart A). In keeping with the Chairman's focus on the revitalization of the mission of the FLRA, the purpose of the proposed revisions is to clarify the Office of the General Counsel's (OGC) role in facilitating the resolution of disputes and in providing training and educating the FLRA's customers about their rights and responsibilities under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (Statute). The revisions also clarify certain administrative matters relating to the filing and investigation of ULP charges. These revisions establish the OGC's leadership role in providing guidance on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques to union and agency representatives to strengthen labor-management relationships that will aid in resolving disputes short of litigation. These amended regulations are also consistent with the purposes underlying Executive Order 13522 (EO 13522) on Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve Delivery of Government Services, issued on December 9, 2009, by President Obama. EO 13522 provides a platform from which a cooperative and productive form of labor- management relations throughout the executive branch of the Federal government will be established. The FLRA will play a prominent role in providing services, i.e., training; materials and guidances; and facilitation, which are needed to accomplish the objectives of EO 13522. With renewed attention to customer service, the OGC will use its expertise to foster successful labor-management relations through the training of union representatives and agency personnel in dispute resolution and cooperative methods of labor-management relations. Implementation of the proposed regulatory changes will also enhance the purposes and policies of the Statute by promoting the resolution of disputes at an early stage, thereby preventing ULPs and/or reducing the need to file ULP charges, which will lower costs to the public.