| n Collective
Bargaining n Impact and Implementation Bargaining n Past Practice n Negotiability Appeals n Duty to Bargain |
Federal law and Government-wide regulations limit negotiations. The same is true for regulations issued by a federal agency or a primary national subdivision of that agency. However, unions may challenge these agency regulations on the basis that there is no "compelling need" for them. When such challenges are made to the FLRA, the agency must demonstrate that a compelling need exists for the regulation. This requires that the agency show that the regulation is
- essential, as opposed to helpful or desirable, to the accomplishment of the agency’s mission or the execution of functions of the organization;
- necessary to insure the maintenance of basic merit principles; or
- implements a mandate to the agency or its primary national subdivision under law or other outside authority, which implementation is essentially nondiscretionary in nature.
A union has 15 days from receipt of the agency’s assertion of nonnegotiability in which to file a petition with the FLRA challenging that assertion. The union is required to provide the FLRA both with the precise language that is in dispute and its interpretation of the meaning of the proposal.
| REF: n 5 USC 7117; n 5 CFR Part 2424 |
