Federal Labor Relations Authority – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 2010 Service Contract inventory. This inventory provides information on service contract actions over $25,000 that were made in FY 2010. 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/487.

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.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) is making technical amendments to its regulations. The amendments update rules and regulations that prescribe uniform ethical conduct standards and disclosure requirements applicable to all executive branch personnel and update regulations to reconcile with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and update or delete several outdated provisions and citations The amendments also make technical revisions to the requirements for documents filed in negotiability disputes and make technical revisions regarding when filings made by commercial delivery are considered served.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) seeks public comment on a proposed revision to its regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act, as amended. The proposed regulations contain new provisions to comply with the OPEN Government Act of 2007, as well as changes to satisfy the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996. The regulations have also been revised to reflect changes required by Executive Order 12600 and Executive Order 13392. In addition, the proposed regulations have been updated to reflect changes in the Authority's policies and procedures. As a result of these proposed amendments, the public will have a clearer understanding of the Authority's policies and procedures implementing the FOIA.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) seeks public comment on a proposed rule that would set out procedures for requesters to follow when making demands on or requests to an employee of the FLRA, the General Counsel of the FLRA (General Counsel) or the Federal Service Impasses Panel (Panel) to produce official records or provide testimony relating to official information in connection with a civil legal proceeding in which the FLRA is not named as a party. The rule would establish procedures to respond to such demands and requests in an orderly and consistent manner. The proposed rule will promote uniformity in decisions, protect confidential information, provide guidance to requesters, and reduce the potential for both inappropriate disclosures of official information and wasteful allocation of agency resources.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) is amending sections of part 2429 of its Regulations. The amendments, described below, make technical changes to the regulations regarding the address to which filings must be sent and the number of copies to be filed.

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). The purpose of the proposed revisions is to clarify the Office of the General Counsel's (OGC) role during the investigatory stage of processing unfair labor practice charges consistent with the policies of the General Counsel, and to clarify certain administrative matters relating to the filing and investigation of ULP charges. Implementation of the proposed changes confirms and enhances the neutrality of the OGC before a ULP merit determination is made.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is publishing this notice in accordance with Title II of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107- 174) (No FEAR Act). Section 202 of the No FEAR Act requires the FLRA and other Federal agencies to notify all employees, former employees, and applicants for employment of the rights and remedies available to them under the Federal Antidiscrimination and Whistleblower Protection Laws.

Notice is hereby given of the members of the Performance Review Board.

On March 9, 2005 (70 FR 11535), a final rule was published announcing the relocation of the Boston Regional Office of the Federal Labor Relations Authority effective March 21, 2005. However, the moving date of the Boston Regional Office has been delayed and the relocation will be effective April 25, 2005.