Thirty-seven years – promoting and protecting labormanagement relations for effective, efficient government.

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U.S. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
UNITED STATES

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

Congressional Budget Justification

Fiscal Year 2017
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

U.S. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY.......................................2

Background and Mission .................................................................................................................2

Organizational Structure ..................................................................................................................2

Agency Trends and Challenges .......................................................................................................5

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION ................................................................................15

Appropriation Language ................................................................................................................15

FY 2017 Funding Request .............................................................................................................15

Change from FY 2016 ...................................................................................................................16

Program and Financing Schedule ..................................................................................................17

Object Classification Schedule ......................................................................................................18

Employment Summary Schedule...................................................................................................18

Inspector General Resources..........................................................................................................19

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN....................................................................22

Strategic and Performance-Planning Framework ..........................................................................22

Goal 1.1.1: Produce timely review and disposition of each case type (ULP, REP, ARB, NEG, 

Impasse).....................................................................................30, 33, 34, 37, 39

i. Unfair-Labor-Practice Cases..................................................................30

ii. Representation Cases...........................................................................33

iii. Arbitration Cases.................................................................................34

iv. Negotiability Cases.............................................................................37

v. Bargaining-Impasse-Dispute Cases..........................................................39

Goal 1.1.2: Resolve overage cases in a timely fashion....................................32, 34, 35, 36

i. Unfair-Labor-Practice Cases..................................................................32

ii. Representation Cases...........................................................................34

iii. Arbitration Cases.................................................................................35

iv. Negotiability Cases.............................................................................36

Goal 2.1.1: Provide targeted access to training, outreach, and facilitation activities within the 

labor-management community.............................................................................38 

Goal 2.2.1: Successfully resolve a significant portion of FLRA cases through ADR..............39

Goal 3.1.1: Recruit, retain, and develop a highly talented, motivated, and diverse workforce to 

accomplish the FLRA’s mission...........................................................................41 

Goal 3.1.2: Improve use of existing technology and deploy new IT systems to streamline and 

enhance organizational operations........................................................................44
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U.S. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

BACKGROUND AND MISSION

The U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is responsible for establishing policies and 

guidance regarding the labor-management-relations program for 2.1 million non-Postal, federal 

employees worldwide, approximately 1.2 million of whom are represented in 2,200 bargaining 

units. The FLRA was created by Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, also known 

as the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute). The agency’s genesis 

dates from the issuance of Executive Order 10,988 by President Kennedy in 1962. In 2012, the 

FLRA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Order, which established the first government-wide, 

labor-management-relations program within the federal government. In 1970, President Nixon 

established the Federal Labor Relations Council, by Executive Order 11,491, to administer the 

federal labor-management-relations program and to make final decisions on policy questions and 

major disputes arising under Executive Order 10,988. Executive Order 11,491, as amended, was 

the basis for President Carter’s proposal to Congress to create the FLRA as an independent 

agency.

The Statute protects the rights of federal employees to form, join, or assist a labor organization, 

or to refrain from such activity, freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal. These rights 

include acting for a labor organization as a representative and, in that capacity, presenting the 

views of the organization. Employees also have the right to engage in collective bargaining with 

respect to conditions of employment through representatives chosen by the employees.

The mission of the FLRA is to promote stable, constructive labor-management relations through 

the resolution and prevention of labor disputes in a manner that gives full effect to the collectivebargaining rights of employees, unions, and agencies. Although the FLRA is a small agency, 

accomplishing its mission – including timely, quality, and impartial resolution of labormanagement disputes – is essential for program performance government-wide. If a labormanagement dispute remains unresolved for too long, then mission accomplishment at the 

affected agencies likely will suffer.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The FLRA is organized into three statutory components – the Authority, the Office of the 

General Counsel (OGC), and the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) – each with unique 

adjudicative or prosecutorial roles. The agency also provides full program and staff support to 

two other organizations – the Foreign Service Impasse Disputes Panel and the Foreign Service 

Labor Relations Board.
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FEDERAL SERVICE IMPASSES PANEL AUTHORITY Ernest DuBester, Member Patrick Pizzella, Member OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL

FOREIGN SERVICE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD FOREIGN SERVICE IMPASSE DISPUTES PANEL REGIONAL OFFICES Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver San Francisco Washington, D.C.

OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES

OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR

COLLABORATION AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION OFFICE OFFICE OF CASE INTAKE AND PUBLICATION

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIVISION BUDGET AND FINANCE DIVISION HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DIVISION

Carol Waller Pope, Chairman/Member Chief Executive & Administrative Officer Julia Akins Clark, General Counsel Mary E. Jacksteit, Chairman Barbara B. Franklin, Member Edward F. Hartfield, Member Martin H. Malin, Member Donald S. Wasserman, Member Marvin E. Johnson, Member David E. Walker, Member

U.S. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

The Authority

The Authority comprises three full-time, presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed 

Members who are appointed for fixed, five-year, staggered terms. The President designates one 

Member to serve as Chairman. The Chairman acts as the agency’s chief executive and 

administrative officer. 

The Authority is responsible for adjudicating unfair-labor-practice (ULP) complaints, 

determining whether to grant exceptions to arbitrators’ awards, resolving disputes over the

negotiability of proposals and provisions made during collective bargaining, and reviewing 

representation decisions of Regional Directors in representation disputes over union elections 

and unit determinations.

Other program offices under the jurisdiction of the Authority include the Office of the Solicitor, 

the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), the Office of Case Intake and Publication, and 

the Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (CADRO). 

The Office of the Solicitor represents the FLRA in court proceedings before all U.S. courts, 

including the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the Federal District Courts. 

In this connection, parties aggrieved by certain Authority orders may institute an action for 

judicial review within 60 days after the order issues. The Authority may also seek enforcement 
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of its orders, temporary relief, or restraining orders in the appropriate U.S. Courts of Appeals or 

Federal District Courts. The Office of the Solicitor also serves as the agency’s in-house counsel, 

providing legal advice to all FLRA components, and performs various functions under the 

Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. The Solicitor also serves as the Designated 

Agency Ethics Official.

The Authority Members appoint Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) to hear and prepare 

recommended decisions in cases involving ULP complaints, as well as decisions involving 

applications for attorney fees filed pursuant to the Back Pay Act or the Equal Access to Justice 

Act. The OALJ – through its Settlement Judge Program administered by the CADRO – also 

provides alternative-dispute resolution (ADR) services in all ULP cases. Decisions of the ALJs 

may be appealed to the Authority.

The Office of the General Counsel

The General Counsel, who is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the 

Senate, has separate and independent responsibilities from the Authority. Under the Statute, the 

General Counsel has sole responsibility – independent of the Authority – over the investigation 

and prosecution of ULP cases. The General Counsel’s determinations in these matters are final 

and unreviewable. The General Counsel has direct authority over, and responsibility for, all 

employees in the OGC, including those in the FLRA’s Regional Offices. Approximately 

50 percent of the FLRA’s staff is employed in the regions, where all ULP charges and 

representation petitions are filed. The Regional Offices, on behalf of the General Counsel, 

investigate and resolve alleged ULPs, file and prosecute ULP complaints, effectuate compliance 

with settlement agreements and Authority Orders, and provide training and ADR services. In 

addition, through delegation by the Authority, the Regional Offices investigate and resolve 

representation cases and conduct secret-ballot elections.

The General Counsel has a small staff at FLRA Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C. 

Headquarters management provides administrative oversight; develops policies, guidance, 

procedures, and manuals that provide programmatic direction for the Regional Offices and 

training and education for the parties; and processes appeals from the Regional Offices’ 

dismissals of ULP charges. Each Regional Office is headed by a Regional Director who 

provides leadership and management expertise for the respective region.
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The Federal Service Impasses Panel

The FSIP resolves impasses between federal agencies and unions representing federal employees 

arising from negotiations over conditions of employment under the Statute and the Federal 

Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act. The FSIP normally comprises seven 

part-time Presidential appointees – a Chairman and six other Members – who are appointed for 

five-year terms. 

If bargaining between the parties, followed by mediation assistance, does not result in a 

voluntary agreement, then either party or the parties, jointly, may request the FSIP’s assistance. 

Following a preliminary investigation by its staff, the FSIP may determine to assert jurisdiction 

over the request. If the FSIP asserts jurisdiction, then it has the authority to recommend or direct 

the use of various ADR procedures, including informal conferences, additional mediation, factfinding, written submissions, and mediation-arbitration by FSIP Members, the FSIP’s staff, or 

private arbitrators. If the parties are still unable to reach a voluntary settlement, then the FSIP 

may take whatever action it deems necessary to resolve the dispute, including imposition of 

contract terms through a final action. Parties may not appeal the merits of the FSIP’s decision to 

any court.

AGENCY TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

The FLRA’s mission is to promote stable, constructive labor-management relations through the 

resolution and prevention of labor disputes in a manner that gives full effect to the 

collective-bargaining rights of employees, unions, and agencies. Accomplishing its mission in 

an effective and efficient manner is key to enabling the federal government, as a whole, to adapt 

to changing circumstances, as necessary, to continue delivering the highest quality services to the 

Atlanta Regional 

Office

Boston Regional 

Office

Chicago Regional 

Office

Dallas Regional 

Office

Denver Regional 

Office

San Francisco 

Regional Office

Washington DC 

Regional Office
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American public, consistent with President Obama’s Management Agenda to deliver a more 

nimble, more innovative, and more accountable federal government.

2015-2018 Strategic Plan

With the agency’s existing 2010-2015 Strategic Plan nearing its expiration, in FY 2015, the 

FLRA engaged in a comprehensive strategic-planning initiative to develop and implement a 

2015-2018 Strategic Plan. 

The FLRA focused a great deal of dedicated effort into the entire strategic-planning endeavor. It 

was an important opportunity for everyone – senior leaders, the employees’ representative 

organization, and staff throughout the agency – to shape a shared vision for the future of the 

FLRA. The draft plan was developed through one-on-one interviews and focus groups with 

FLRA leadership, staff, and external stakeholders. Agency employees worked collectively to 

establish shared goals, objectives, and strategies, as well as the supporting performance goals 

that will help the agency to accomplish its mission and drive improvements in daily operations. 

The process was highly participatory, and it served as an opportunity for leadership, staff, and 

external stakeholders to share ideas about the FLRA’s strategy. Everyone was asked for their 

best thinking and creativity – no ideas were off the table. This was a transparent effort, and there 

was continuous communication with agency employees – at all levels throughout the agency –

for the duration of the project. 

The FLRA developed this strategic plan against the backdrop of external trends and challenges 

that pose a risk to overall mission delivery. These trends include budget uncertainty, an 

increasing caseload, and workforce challenges. The goals and objectives in this plan support the 

FLRA’s mission in light of these trends and challenges. 

In addition, the FLRA identified performance goals that will allow the agency to both monitor 

progress towards achieving its strategic goals and to recalibrate strategies, as necessary. This 

continues the FLRA’s increasing focus on data and data-driven leadership and decision-making. 

In developing this strategic plan, the FLRA referenced evidence-based performance and resource 

trends, and it intends to use data collected to measure progress against this strategic plan, in 

conjunction with future evaluations, to support agency decision making. 

Mission – Case Processing & ADR

With respect to its mission accomplishments, the FLRA as a whole has continued its significant 

improvement over the last six and a half years in providing customers with timely and quality 

adjudication and dispute-resolution services. But the FLRA has had to overcome significant 

obstacles in meeting its mission requirements. In addition to increased case filings in certain 

components of the agency, the agency experienced a wave of key employee retirements and 

departures starting in FY 2013 and continuing into FY 2015. This left well over 10 percent of 

the FLRA’s already small workforce vacant to start FY 2014, and the agency has devoted 

significant effort to rebuilding its workforce throughout FY 2014 and FY 2015. 
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Authority (including OALJ, CADRO)

In FY 2014, the Authority faced a backlog of cases that accrued when the Authority lacked a 

quorum of Members necessary to issue decisions for a 10-month period. And while the 

Authority devoted much of FY 2014 to issuing its oldest cases and eliminating that backlog, 

some of those overage cases remained, and a large number of newer cases went overage in the 

process – resulting in the Authority beginning FY 2015 with 63 percent of its cases already being 

overage. In addition, during FY 2015, the Authority experienced a 22 percent increase in case 

filings over FY 2014. There were also several key retirements and departures, and a budget 

lapse that precluded backfilling those vacancies for 90 days or more. All together, these factors 

have posed a challenge for the Authority in terms of meeting its performance goals in FY 2015. 

Despite these challenges, the Authority is began FY 2016 in a significantly better position than 

when it began FY 2015. As the result of a case-issuance strategy (an action plan) that the 

Authority adopted in early FY 2015, as well as the use of temporary assistance from other 

offices, the Authority eliminated all of its remaining overage-case backlog in FY 2015. And, 

compared with the 133 cases that the Authority closed on the merits in FY 2014, the Authority 

closed approximately 165 cases on the merits in FY 2015 – a nearly 25 percent increase. As a 

result of these efforts, the Authority began FY 2016 well-positioned to meet its performance 

goals. 

Moreover, the Authority continued in FY 2015 to yield performance dividends from ongoing 

arbitration and negotiability case-processing initiatives. As a result of a comprehensive review 

of arbitration case processing and implementation of associated regulatory changes several years 

ago – along with the development and periodic updating of a Guide to Arbitration under the 

Statute – the Authority continues to experience reduced numbers of procedural deficiencies in 

the parties’ filings, which leads to reduced overall case-processing times. Additionally, the 

Authority continued to review and make regular updates to its Comprehensive Arbitration 

Training program, which it presented to its parties several times throughout the year. Further, as 

a result of its review of negotiability law and practice in recent years, the Authority developed a

Guide to Negotiability under the Statute, and the accompanying Comprehensive Negotiability 

Training program, which it continued to review, revise, and deliver to its customers on an 

ongoing, consistent basis. The currency of these materials and the provision of up-to-date, 

relevant training have yielded real performance-improvement outcomes. The parties are better 

educated about the Authority’s law and case-processing requirements, which has resulted in 

fewer procedural deficiency orders and procedural dismissals. For example, there has been an 

over 37 percent reduction in procedural dismissals in arbitration cases from FY 2012 to FY 2015. 

In addition, the Authority is receiving higher-quality, better-drafted briefs. That, in turn, enables 

the Authority to more efficiently and expeditiously process those cases. 

The OALJ resolved cases in FY 2015 at a dramatic pace, issuing nearly 80 decisions and more 

than doubling the substantial improvement in case processing delivered in FY 2014. In response 

to a backlog of cases awaiting decision, the agency reallocated resources to the OALJ – through 

use of details, a temporary-attorney hire, contract paralegal support, and two re-employedannuitant ALJs – to assist in resolving cases more expeditiously. With nearly 1,000 new cases 

on the docket in the last four years, the OALJ has successfully resolved cases without the need 
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for costly litigation involving a hearing or written decision through use of the OALJ Settlement 

Judge Program – with ADR services administered by the CADRO. In FY 2015, in over 87 

percent of cases in which the parties participated in the Settlement Judge Program, they reached 

agreement and fully resolved their dispute. This is real evidence that the delivery of ADR 

services at all stages of case processing results in more effective and cost-efficient program 

performance for the FLRA, as well as the timely resolution of disputes for its customers. As a 

result, the OALJ has seen a decrease in demand for hearings even though the number of 

complaints issued by the OGC alleging ULPs exceeded 200 in FY 2015. For those cases that 

cannot be settled without a hearing, the ALJs continue to encourage the parties to request a 

bench decision, where appropriate under the facts of the case, to reduce the need for written 

decisions. 

In addition to its highly successful work with the OALJ Settlement Judge Program, the CADRO 

continues to have great success in helping parties before the Authority to resolve significant 

disputes in pending cases, most significantly in negotiability cases, but also increasingly 

expanding to include arbitration cases. In fact, in FY 2015, 100 percent of CADRO negotiability 

cases resulted in full resolution of the underlying dispute and closure of the pending case. And 

100 percent of CADRO arbitration cases resulted in at least partial resolution of the underlying 

dispute. 

Noteworthy CADRO cases in FY 2015 include a case in which, following more than two years 

of bargaining over subjects that included wages (at an agency where negotiating over wages 

takes place), the parties obtained an interest-arbitration award intended to resolve all remaining 

disputes in their national term contract. Both parties filed arbitration exceptions with the 

Authority to more than a dozen contract articles ruled on by the arbitrator. This would most 

likely have resulted in additional years of resource-intensive litigation and a less-than-satisfying 

result. Instead, the parties engaged in several days of CADRO mediation that resolved all of the 

exceptions in the case pending before the Authority, and that even assisted the parties in reaching 

voluntary agreement on contract articles that the arbitrator had failed to resolve. In another case 

involving a term contract, an agency and a union bargained for years, followed by agency-head 

disapproval of the resulting contract. The parties returned to the bargaining table, again reached 

agreement, and again submitted the agreement for agency-head review. This time, the agency 

head disapproved 44 contract provisions, after which the union filed a negotiability petition with 

the Authority. The parties agreed to use CADRO’s mediation services, through which they were 

able to completely resolve all 44 provisions in only two days of mediation, resulting in 

withdrawal of the case before the Authority. Given the large volume of issues in dispute, formal 

adjudication by the Authority would have consumed an enormous amount of staff resources, and 

final resolution of the dispute would have taken far longer to achieve.

CADRO was also successful in resolving a dispute in which $80M of an agency’s FY 2015 

budget was tied to implementing a single career track (SCT) for a nationwide group of 

employees. Due to implementation delays, the agency risked losing the implementation 

funds. The parties jointly requested CADRO assistance to engage in pre-decisional involvement 

(PDI) pursuant to Executive Order 13,522, Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve 

Delivery of Government Services. CADRO facilitated two very long days of outreach with 

15 party representatives from around the nation. The parties met their implementation deadline 
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and thereby achieved critical mission-related results that also improved the quality of employee 

work life and fostered a better labor-management relationship between the parties.

The parties universally reported that these ADR services improve their ability to resolve 

important problems, make critical decisions, and develop more successful problem-solving 

relationships. And CADRO’s efforts serve the dual purpose of preventing unnecessary and 

costly litigation before the FLRA and making case processing more effective and efficient. 

Moreover, CADRO also delivers “prevention” services, teaching parties techniques for 

effectively resolving labor-management issues on their own, without the need for third-party 

involvement. These types of services have helped the parties develop constructive workplace 

relationships that promote better mission performance, as well as quality of work life – real 

evidence that the program works. 

OGC

The OGC continued delivering strong results in FY 2015. The OGC exceeded its strategic 

performance goals for the timely resolution of both ULP and representation cases, and it 

continued closing cases at increased rates. The OGC closed over 4,600 ULP cases and 220 

representation cases. In addition, the OGC conducted over 70 secret-ballot representation 

elections. 

In conjunction with the OGC’s emphasis on resolving cases in a timely and high-quality manner, 

the OGC has expanded its use of voluntary ADR services to resolve cases. This is particularly 

important as the OGC has the largest case intake and inventory among all of the FLRA 

components (handling over three quarters of the FLRA’s total case intake), and it is the FLRA 

component with which the parties have the most direct contact. The beneficial effects of 

voluntary ULP settlements and representation agreements are obvious, and the OGC pursues 

both aggressively.

In FY 2015, the OGC resolved over 1,000 ULP cases by voluntary adjustment during the 

investigative process. In addition, the OGC resolved over 96 percent of the ULP cases in which 

merit was found and 95 percent of the representation cases in which the parties agreed to use the 

OGC’s ADR services. These successful, voluntary ADR efforts resulted in significant savings of 

governmental staff and budgetary resources. 

For example, in early 2015 an agency and a union requested that the OGC assist them in 

clarifying their existing bargaining-unit certification in light of significant organizational and 

personnel changes. The scope of the project was nationwide and involved large numbers of 

employees. Realizing that resolving these issues in the traditional formal investigation and 

hearing manner would be time consuming and expensive, the parties asked the OGC to provide 

ADR services. After working closely with the OGC over several days, the parties reached 

voluntary stipulations clarifying the scope of the unit and the status of many categories of 

employees. In another example, an agency and an exclusive representative had several ULP 

cases involving disputes over information that the union had requested. This was a recurring 

issue for the parties, and it was having a negative effect on their relationship. At the OGC’s 

suggestion, the parties agreed to use the OGC’s ADR services and jointly develop a new strategy 
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for handling information requests. After working closely with the OGC and jointly attending an 

educational workshop presented by the OGC on the Statute, the parties developed a new protocol

that provides a streamlined process for requesting and providing necessary information. This

new approach has resolved an issue that was causing friction between the parties, and it has 

prevented them from filing additional ULP cases. By using the OGC’s ADR services, the parties 

avoided the time-consuming and expensive formal-hearing process and gained valuable 

experience and expertise to resolve future issues in an effective and efficient manner.

The OGC has continued to provide the parties with training on rights and responsibilities under 

the Statute, delivering over 95 sessions and reaching over 3,600 participants in FY 2015. This is 

a key ADR activity as it reduces and prevents disputes through active education. The OGC also 

continued providing the parties with up-to-date and topical web-based resources, including a 

comprehensive Guidance on Meetings. The OGC’s web-based resources are go-to site for the 

parties, and they have drawn much favorable feedback.

FSIP

With respect to the FSIP, a significant number of requests for assistance in FY 2015 involved 

impasses over successor collective-bargaining agreements. Such impasses typically are complex 

in nature, involving many contract articles and issues over which the parties have been 

negotiating for considerable lengths of time. Among others, the FSIP resolved voluntarily –

during mediation-arbitration proceedings or informal conferences conducted by FSIP Members –

successor-agreement impasses between the Internal Revenue Service and the National Treasury 

Employees Union, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Association of 

Government Employees, and the General Services Administration and the National Federation of 

Federal Employees (NFFE). This is consistent with the FSIP’s guiding philosophy that the 

voluntary settlement of bargaining impasses using mediation-arbitration techniques is the most 

effective and efficient form of dispute resolution. In fact, in cases where the FSIP used 

mediation-arbitration or informal conferences to resolve federal-sector impasses, it obtained 

complete, voluntary settlements over 78 percent of the time, surpassing the 60-percent settlement 

rate that it achieved in FY 2014. As a result of this high percentage of voluntary settlements, in 

FY 2015, FSIP Members issued only 6 Arbitration Opinions and Decisions imposing contract 

terms on the parties. 

In FY 2015, the FSIP also continued to prioritize case processing to minimize disruption to 

government operations and costs to taxpayers. One example of this prioritization was an 

impasse that arose as a result of Administration initiatives requiring agencies to ensure that their 

total physical space (i.e., square footage) remains at their FY 2012 baseline levels and to dispose 

of excess real properties. In this regard, the National Science Foundation decided to relocate its 

headquarters from Arlington, Virginia to Alexandria, Virginia, affecting approximately 935 

bargaining-unit employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees 

(AFGE). When the parties could not reach a voluntary settlement of their impasse, the FSIP 

Member designated to resolve the dispute through mediation-arbitration issued a timely 

Arbitrator Opinion and Decision permitting the relocation to proceed in accordance with the 

agency’s timetable. Another example of prioritization of case processing involves disputes over 

the termination of compressed work schedules (CWS) under the Federal Employees Flexible and 
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Compressed Work Schedules Act. In such cases, the FSIP has 60 days to determine whether an 

agency has met its burden of proof by demonstrating through the totality of the evidence that the 

CWS is causing an adverse agency impact. In one such impasse involving the Federal Bureau of 

Prisons and AFGE, the FSIP scheduled the parties to appear before the FSIP’s Chairman for a 

mediation-arbitration proceeding on a timetable allowing for timely issuance of a decision in the 

event that the parties cannot reach a voluntary settlement. 

Mission Accomplishment – Providing Training across the Federal Government

Further, in FY 2015, the FLRA continued to provide web-based and in-person training 

nationwide to members of the federal-sector labor-management community – union 

representatives, agency representatives, and neutrals – in all aspects of the FLRA’s case law and 

processes. In FY 2015, the FLRA, as a whole, provided over 300 training, outreach, and 

facilitation sessions to over 8,000 participants. Over the last 5 years, the FLRA has provided 

nearly 1,400 such sessions to over 40,000 participants worldwide. 

The Authority, the OGC, and the FSIP provided training at several nationwide, annual 

conferences, including the Society of Federal Labor and Employee Relations Professionals 

symposium and the Federal Dispute Resolution conference. These sessions included 

presentations of newly prepared materials of current relevance, as well as updated materials for 

more standard sessions. In addition, the Authority sponsored its own training programs, 

including several, full-day sessions of Comprehensive Arbitration Training and Comprehensive 

Negotiability Training. In particular, because negotiability cases have the highest rate of 

procedural dismissals of any type of case filed with the Authority, the negotiability training is 

intended to meet the goals of helping the parties to: comply with the Authority’s regulatory 

procedural requirements (thus reducing case-processing time); file their cases in a different, 

appropriate forum when necessary; and use ADR to avoid costly litigation. The overwhelmingly 

positive feedback received from participants in these sessions indicates that these trainings 

produced the desired results and will further the above goals in future cases.

The OGC continued to focus its training efforts on where labor-relations issues arise. By 

bringing its training services directly to the parties, the OGC educated management and labor 

representatives on their rights and responsibilities under the Statute, thereby empowering them to 

more effectively and efficiently avoid – and, if necessary, resolve – workplace disputes at the 

lowest level. 

Additionally in FY 2015, the OGC, in support of the ongoing OMB and GSA “Reduce the 

Footprint” initiative, led cross-component (OGC, Authority, FSIP) and inter-agency (FMCS and 

GSA) development of a specialized, two-day workshop on office moves, space allocations, and 

the labor-relations and collective-bargaining implications. The registrations for the workshop 

quickly reached capacity, and there was a large waiting list. The workshop focused on resolving 

labor-relations issues associated with the “Reduce the Footprint” policy in a cooperative and 

collaborative manner and featured cross-component and inter-agency presentations by the 

FMCS, the FSIP, the Authority, the GSA, and the OGC. Because the program was so successful 

and demand is so great, the OGC plans to expand the program in FY 2016. Moreover, this 

training program supports Executive Order 13,522, Creating Labor-Management Forums to 
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Improve Delivery of Government Services, and the work of the National Council on Federal 

Labor-Management Relations. 

The OGC’s training initiatives are intended to make case processing more effective and efficient 

and to better serve the parties by providing meaningful and clear guidance on statutory rights and 

responsibilities. Ensuring that OGC customers are knowledgeable about their rights and 

obligations under the Statute, as well as FLRA case law, regulations, and case-processing 

procedures furthers timely and efficient case processing. In FY 2015, the OGC issued a 

comprehensive Guidance on Meetings, providing the parties with clear explanations of their 

rights and responsibilities in this important area so that they can operate in a manner that 

promotes cooperative labor-management relations and prevent disputes.

Employee Engagement

Consistent with the PMA Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goal on People and Culture, the FLRA 

is a leader in creating a culture of excellence and engagement to enable higher performance. 

In FY 2015, the FLRA continued its overall success and improvement as measured by the Office 

of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), with an 

all-time-high employee-response rate of 84 percent – significantly higher than the governmentwide average of 50 percent. The FLRA’s 2015 positive ratings increased from 2014 in 64 items. 

And the FLRA’s Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework index scores again 

increased in every category – by as much as 8 percent over 2014. Specifically, the agency scored 

86 percent in “Leadership and Knowledge Management,” 78 percent in “Results-Oriented 

Performance Culture,” 85 percent in “Talent Management,” and 82 percent in “Job Satisfaction” 

– exceeding the government-wide average in each. These responses reflect the FLRA’s progress 

toward meeting government-wide human-capital objectives and demonstrating the relationship to 

improved organizational performance. And, consistent with an agency-wide focus on targeting 

challenges identified in the survey, the FLRA addresses areas of weakness or concern in full 

collaboration with employees at all levels through its own Labor-Management Forum. As an 

example, the FLRA placed special emphasis in FY 2015 on strengthening supervisory skills and 

improving the supervisor-employee relationship, especially as it relates to giving and receiving 

feedback on performance. The agency also sought to improve scores relating to the 

reasonableness of workloads. In this connection, the agency gathered information to identify the 

source of the issue – through use of pulse surveys, analysis of caseload data, and constant 

communication. And then it used that information to make data-driven decisions about where to 

allocate additional, permanent, temporary, or detail staffing. As a result of these efforts, in FY 

2015, the agency increased its positive responses to that question by over 23% from FY 2014. 

In addition, in 2015, the FLRA captured the rank of #3 among small agencies in the Partnership 

for Public Service’s 2015 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings – up from #5

in 2014 with an impressive 6-point increase in its index score. With an overall employeesatisfaction score of 85.2 percent, the FLRA exceeded a key objective of the People and Culture 

CAP Goal of the PMA to improve employee engagement government-wide to 67 percent by 

2016. This extraordinary accomplishment reflects a dramatic and unprecedented improvement 

of over 300 percent since 2009 – the year in which the FLRA placed last in the survey. And it 

reflects the ongoing and sustained commitment of agency leadership at all levels to improving 
13

employee satisfaction and morale – as measured by OPM’s FEVS – on an ongoing basis by 

comprehensively analyzing FEVS data and using additional internal surveys to target selected 

challenges, develop and implement solutions, and review progress. This commitment, which 

began in 2009, resulted first in the FLRA being named the 2010 Most Improved Small Agency. 

Building on that success in 2011, the agency once again placed among the top of the most 

improved small agencies, and in 2012 and 2013, it captured the #7 and #8 small-agency 

rankings, respectively, before being named #5 in 2014. 

In 2015, for the second consecutive year, the FLRA’s scores again increased in every category 

and sub-category of the Best Places rankings. Of note, employees indicated large increases in 

satisfaction ratings for such workplace issues as work-life balance (+10.3), empowerment 

(+ 9.8), fairness (+ 9.1), supervisors (+ 8.6), and effective leadership (+7.5). And the FLRA 

impressively ranked #1 in 6 of 10 categories: effective leadership (including the sub-categories 

of fairness, leaders, and supervisors); pay; strategic management; teamwork; training and 

development; and performance-based rewards and advancement. In addition, the FLRA ranked 

#2 in 3 other categories: employee skills-mission match; work-life balance; and support for 

diversity. As to the remaining category – innovation – the FLRA made significant improvement 

there, rising to #6 from #8 in 2014. 

 

The FLRA’s dramatic and sustained improvement with respect to employee engagement and 

satisfaction over the last seven and a half years reflects the commitment of leadership – at all 

levels and throughout the agency – to manage the agency with transparency and accountability 

and to engage employees. It also demonstrates the commitment and dedication of FLRA 

employees. Concurrent with the agency’s significant increase in employee morale and 

satisfaction since 2009, there has been a marked improvement in the FLRA’s mission 

performance and the delivery of services to its customers. 

 

And although the FLRA already has a highly engaged workforce, the agency continued to look 

for ways to improve upon its successes in this area in FY 2015. In this connection, a small, 

diverse, cross-component group of managers participated in an Employee Engagement Sprint 

Initiative. The team is in the process of developing an agency-wide action plan – in conjunction 

with the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan – that will serve as the framework for sustaining, embedding, 

0

20

40

60

80

100

2005 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Best Places to Work Score
14

and continuing to improve upon the FLRA’s impressive employee-engagement scores and the 

associated mission results. 
15

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION

APPROPRIATION LANGUAGE

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

For necessary expenses to carry out functions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, pursuant 

to Reorganization Plan Numbered 2 of 1978, and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 

including services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, and including hire of experts and consultants, 

hire of passenger motor vehicles, and including official reception and representation expenses 

(not to exceed $1,500) and rental of conference rooms in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, 

[$26,200,000] $27,062,000: Provided, That public members of the Federal Service Impasses 

Panel may be paid travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence as authorized by law (5 

U.S.C. 5703) for persons employed intermittently in the Government service, and compensation 

as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109: Provided further, That, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, funds 

received from fees charged to non-Federal participants at labor-management relations 

conferences shall be credited to and merged with this account, to be available without further 

appropriation for the costs of carrying out these conferences. (Financial Services and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 2016.)

FY 2017 FUNDING REQUEST

The FLRA requests $27,062,000 in FY 2017 to fund employee salaries and related operating 

expenses necessary to meet its annual performance targets. The agency’s FY 2017 request 

would fund 138 full-time equivalents (FTEs).

(In thousands of dollars)

Program Activity

FY 2015 

Actual

FY 2016 

Estimate

FY 2017 

Request

Change 

from 

FY 2016

Authority $13,940 $14,377 $14,730 $353

Office of the General Counsel 10,669 10,749 11,320 571

Federal Service Impasses Panel 892 1,074 1,012 (62)

Direct Obligations $25,501 $26,200 $27,062 $862

FTEs 131 138 138 0

The requested FY 2017 funding level incorporates cost-savings measures initiated over the past 

few years to increase program effectiveness and to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and 

duplication. The previous FLRA Headquarters lease in Washington, D.C., for example, expired 

in FY 2013, and in response to growing participation in the agency telework program, the FLRA 

reduced the size of its Headquarters location by approximately 12,000 square feet, commencing 

with the new lease term.
16

In addition, the initial launch of the FLRA’s modernized website in 2009, and continual 

enhancements to the site, including a refresh that will be unveiled by the second quarter of FY16, 

have allowed the agency to provide timely and accurate information to its customers – other 

federal agencies, federal unions, federal employees, and neutrals – including FLRA decisions, 

legal guidance and memorandums, policy documents, and legal training and resources. 

The requested level also reflects an approximate 20 percent decrease in IT spending since FY 

2014. The FLRA has achieved this savings by strengthening its in-house capacity to develop and 

manage large-scale, agency-wide projects, such as development and implementation of 

electronic case-management and case-filing systems. It also highlights the agency’s successful 

efforts in long-term strategic IT planning.

CHANGE FROM FY 2016

The requested funding level for FY 2017 includes an increase of $862,000 over FY 2016 to 

cover rising employee-compensation-and-benefits costs and office rent. Of note, based on 

improvements in productivity from streamlining processes, creative use of technology, and 

elimination of low-priority tasks and programs, the FLRA intends to absorb all inflationary 

increases for FY 2017 contractual goods and services within its baseline resource level.

Personnel Compensation and Benefits

The FY 2017 request includes an additional $656,000 to cover statutory pay raises of 1.3 and 1.6 

percent in January 2016 and January 2017, respectively. Further, FLRA benefits costs, as a 

percentage of compensation, continue to rise as the percentage of the agency’s workforce under 

the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) increases. As those in the Civil Service 

Retirement System (CSRS) retire or transfer to other agencies, they are generally replaced by 

those under the FERS. FERS benefits cost the FLRA, on average, twice as much as CSRS 

benefits, per employee. The agency’s personnel-benefits estimate, therefore, assumes that the 

ongoing, government-wide transition to the FERS will cost the FLRA an additional $150,000 in 

FY 2017.

Rent

The FLRA makes rental payments to the GSA for office space in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, 

Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. An additional $56,000 will be necessary 

in FY 2017 to cover the agency’s annual, inflationary rent increase over FY 2016.

Since 2009, the agency has placed an emphasis on telework, and it seeks to consolidate space 

wherever possible in an effort to reduce operating costs. Since implementation of the telework 

program in January 2010, approximately 80 percent of the FLRA’s workforce has engaged in 

some form of telework, with roughly half of teleworkers engaged “regularly” and the other half 

engaged “periodically.” Telework has also contributed to increased employee morale, as 

measured in the OPM’s FEVS. The opportunity to telework has proven useful as a recruitment

and retention tool, as it has been the deciding factor in job acceptance and has encouraged 

several employees to stay with the agency. In response to growing participation in the FLRA 
17

telework program, and consistent with government-wide direction and guidelines, the agency is 

systematically “reducing its footprint” – most recently reducing the size of its Headquarters 

location by approximately 12,000 square feet in early FY 2014, as well its Boston, Chicago, San 

Francisco, and Denver Regional Offices over the last three years. These reductions in space 

have, in some instances, reduced annual costs, and, in others, allowed the FLRA to avoid the 

costs of what would have otherwise been significant rent increases. The FLRA’s Dallas 

Regional Office lease expires in September 2017, and, at that time, the FLRA will again seek to 

reduce its space. 

PROGRAM AND FINANCING SCHEDULE

(In thousands of dollars)

FY 2015 

Actual

FY 2016 

Estimate

FY 2017 

Request

Budgetary resources:

Unobligated balance (total) 1,692 1,692 1,692

Appropriation, discretionary (total) 25,548 26,200 27,062

Spending authority from offsetting collections, 

discretionary (total) 31 100 0

Total budgetary resources 27,271 27,992 28,754

Status of budgetary resources:

Direct obligations (total) 25,602 26,200 27,062

Reimbursable obligations (total) 25 100 0

Obligations incurred 25,627 26,300 27,062

Unobligated balance, end of year 1,644 1,692 1,692

Total budgetary resources 27,271 27,992 28,754

Change in obligated balance:

Obligated balance, start of year 2,848 1,836 1,836

Obligated balance, end of year 1,836 1,836 1,836

Budget authority and outlays, net:

Budget authority, gross 25,579 26,200 27,062

Outlays, gross (total) 25,426 26,043 26,900

Offsets against gross budget authority and outlays 

(total) (31) (35) 0

Additional offsets against budget authority only 

(total)

0 (65) 0

Budget authority, net (discretionary) 25,548 26,200 27,062

Outlays, net (discretionary) 23,395 23,973 24,761
18

OBJECT CLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE

(In thousands of dollars)

FY 2015 

Actuals

FY 2016 

Estimate

FY 2017 

Request

Direct obligations:

Personnel compensation:

Full-time permanent $14,372 $14,878 $15,384

Other than full-time permanent 453 848 856

Other personnel compensation 372 240 240

Total personnel compensation 15,197 15,966 16,480

Civilian personnel benefits 4,411 4,710 5002

Travel and transportation of persons 206 220 220

Transportation of things 12 12 12

Rental payments to GSA 2,554 2,615 2,671

Communications, utilities, and misc. charges 358 358 358

Printing and reproduction 41 11 11

Other services from non-federal sources 1,260 1,034 1,034

Other goods and services from federal sources 947 783 783

Operation and maintenance of facilities 6 6 6

Operation and maintenance of equipment 291 289 289

Supplies and materials 130 126 126

Equipment 90 70 70

Direct obligations $25,503 $26,200 $27,062

Reimbursable obligations:

Travel and transportation of persons 25 100 

Reimbursable obligations 25 100 

Total new obligations $25,528 $26,300 $27,062

EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY SCHEDULE

FY 2015 

Actual

FY 2016 

Estimate

FY 2017 

Request

Direct civilian full-time equivalent employment 131 138 138
19

INSPECTOR GENERAL RESOURCES

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) provides independent and objective assessments of 

the FLRA’s efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with laws and regulations. This is 

accomplished through proactive evaluations of agency operational processes. In addition to 

striving to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse of the FLRA’s resources and operations, a 

key goal of the Inspector General (IG) is to serve as a catalyst for improving operations and 

maximizing the efficiency and integrity of agency programs.

In fulfilling these responsibilities and objectives, the IG conducts and supervises investigations, 

internal reviews, audits, and evaluations of the programs and operations of the agency. The IG

communicates the results of investigations and assessments to FLRA management, the Congress, 

other oversight entities, and the public, as appropriate. Generally, the IG communicates results 

in formal reports that contain findings and recommendations aimed at correcting any deficiencies 

identified and promoting efficiency and effectiveness in agency programs and operations. The 

IG also manages a hotline to provide employees and the public with a direct means for 

confidentially communicating information on potential fraud, waste, or abuse.

The FLRA’s FY 2017 funding request includes $523,000 for the OIG. The funding level 

requested by the IG, including $5,000 for training and $1,600 to support the Council of the 

Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency has been funded in total. The IG has certified that 

the FLRA’s funding request for the OIG satisfies all training requirements for FY 2017.
20

January 21, 2016

The Inspector General Reform Act (Pub. L. 110-149) was signed by the President on October 14, 

2008. Section 6(f) (1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. app. 3, was amended to 

require certain specifications concerning Office of Inspector General (OIG) budget submissions 

each fiscal year (FY). 

Each inspector general (IG) is required to transmit a budget request to the head of the 

establishment or designated Federal entity to which the IG reports specifying:

 The aggregate amount of funds requested for the operations of the OIG, 

 The portion of this amount requested for OIG training, including a certification from the 

IG that the amount requested satisfies all OIG training requirements for the fiscal year, 

and 

 The portion of this amount necessary to support the Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).

The head of each establishment or designated Federal entity, in transmitting a proposed budget to 

the President for approval, shall include:

 An aggregate request for the OIG, 

 The portion of this aggregate request for OIG training,

 The portion of this aggregate request for support of the CIGIE, and

 Any comments of the affected IG with respect to the proposal.

The President shall include in each budget of the U.S. Government submitted to Congress. 

 A separate statement of the budget estimate submitted by each IG,

 The amount requested by the President for each OIG,

 The amount requested by the President for training of OIGs ,

 The amount requested by the President for support of the CIGIE, and 

 Any comments of the affected IG with respect to the proposal if the IG concludes that the 

budget submitted by the President would substantially inhibit the IG from performing 

duties of the OIG.

Following the requirements as specified above, the Federal Labor Relations Authority inspector 

general submits the following information relating to the OIG’s requested budget for FY 2017:

INSPECTOR GENERAL

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20424-0001
21

 The aggregate budget request for the operations of the OIG is $522,764.

 The portion of this amount needed for OIG training is $5,000, and

 The portion of this amount needed to support the CIGIE is $ 1,564. 

I certify as the IG of the Federal Labor Relations Authority that the amount I have requested for 

training satisfies all OIG training needs for FY 2017.

Inspector General

Federal Labor Relations Authority
22

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN

STRATEGIC AND PERFORMANCE-PLANNING FRAMEWORK

With the agency’s existing 2010-2015 Strategic Plan nearing its expiration, in FY 2015, the 

FLRA engaged in a comprehensive strategic-planning initiative to develop and implement a 

2015-2018 Strategic Plan. Through a comprehensive, collaborative review by agency leadership 

and employees – at all levels and throughout the agency – of its operations, staffing, work

processes, resource allocations, and performance, the FLRA established strategies and goals that 

are designed to maximize the delivery of agency services throughout the federal government. 

The FLRA has engaged in a continuous assessment of performance, FEVS results, and other 

mission-related data to ensure that it is accomplishing its mission effectively and efficiently, and 

that it is promoting innovation throughout the agency. 

Under the FLRA’s 2015-2018 Strategic Plan, 3 strategic goals – each of which is supported by a 

number of strategic objectives – promote the FLRA’s ability to fulfill its mission. In addition, 

the FLRA has identified performance goals that will allow the agency to both monitor progress 

towards achieving its strategic goals and to recalibrate strategies, as necessary. This continues 

the FLRA’s increasing focus on data analytics. In developing this strategic plan, the FLRA 

referenced evidence-based performance and resource trends, and it intends to use data collected 

to measure progress against this strategic plan, in conjunction with future evaluations, to support 

agency decision making. 

In FY 2017, the FLRA’s strategic- and performance-planning framework will be based on the 

agency’s FY 2015-2018 Strategic Plan and supported by the Annual Performance Plan, which 

establishes the agency’s annual performance goals. The Annual Performance Plan reflects the 

FLRA’s commitment to establishing meaningful measures that will assist in assessing 

performance outcomes, aligning resources, and effectively identifying staffing and training 

needs. The Annual Performance Plan also demonstrates the FLRA’s ongoing commitment to 

organizational excellence. 

Consistent with the government-wide initiative to leverage existing data to facilitate agencies’

programmatic work and enhance the value of data, the FLRA strategically monitors its progress 

in accomplishing the goals and measures set forth in the Annual Performance Plan. This 

ongoing, agency-wide review is conducted on a monthly basis with distribution of the Monthly 

Analysis of Performance and Status (MAPS) Report, which contains statistical case and 

performance data derived from the FLRA’s Case Management System (CMS) and agency 

management. The agency examines the data contained in the MAPS Report in a variety of 

forums, and it shares the agency’s status toward meeting its case-processing performance goals 

with all employees through the weekly, agency-wide newsletter. At the component and office 

levels, there are also daily performance assessments using a variety of reports, including: casefiling reports, which track the number and age of cases; case-status reports, which track the 

status of all assigned pending cases within the Authority, the OGC, and the FSIP; and monthly 

disposition reports, which track the number, age, and resolution type of every closed case within 

the OGC. 
23

The analysis and assessment of these reports drive, among other things: decisions to target 

services (including training, facilitations, and on-site investigations) to certain parties or 

geographical locations; adjustments in workload through case transfers at the national, regional, 

and office levels; and reallocation of resources, including use of details, contract support, and 

temporary hires. As to the latter point, after identifying a backlog of cases awaiting decision in 

the OALJ, the FLRA reallocated an attorney position to the office; utilized internal details; 

created and filled an additional, temporary not-to-exceed, six-month attorney appointment; 

contracted for time-specific paralegal support; and sought assistance from re-employed 

annuitants to increase mission performance and eliminate the backlog of cases in that office.

The FLRA seeks to achieve its strategic goals primarily through the timely, high-quality, and 

impartial review and disposition of cases. The agency supplements these efforts with a focus on 

reducing litigation and its attendant costs by helping parties to resolve their own disputes through 

collaboration, ADR, education, and labor-management-cooperation activities. Further 

supporting these efforts is the FLRA’s focus on internal improvements in IT and more effective 

and efficient use of human capital. 
24

FY 2017 Performance Goals 

1.1.1: Produce timely review and disposition of each case type (ULP, REP, ARB, NEG, 

Impasse).

1.1.2: Resolve overage cases in a timely fashion.

2.1.1: Provide targeted access to training, outreach, and facilitation activities within the labormanagement community. 

2.2.1: Successfully resolve a significant portion of FLRA cases through ADR.

3.1.1: Recruit, retain, and develop a highly talented, motivated, and diverse workforce to 

accomplish the FLRA’s mission. 

3.1.2: Improve use of existing technology and deploy new IT systems to streamline and 

enhance organizational operations. 

Timeliness and Quality

Continued improvements in the timeliness of case disposition further the FLRA’s critical role in 

facilitating orderly, effective, and efficient change within the federal government. In large part, 

the FLRA exists to promote effective labor-management relations that, in turn, permit improved 

employee performance and government operations. Timely resolution – or avoidance – of FLRA 

cases is critical to this endeavor. And effective case resolution includes not only timeliness, but 

also: effective process execution; clear communication with the parties around case processes; and 

the issuance of well-written and understandable decisions that provide deliberate, impartial, and 

legally sound analyses and consideration of the issues in dispute.

The agency facilitates improvements in performance, government-wide, that have inevitable 

effects on employee working conditions and that implicate the bargaining rights of the more than 

1.2 million employees represented by labor organizations. Unless management and labor can 

collaboratively resolve their disputes and avoid litigation or – failing that – have their 

disagreements adjudicated expeditiously by the FLRA, mission performance will suffer. This is 

particularly relevant now as federal agencies are making significant adjustments and changes in 

how they perform their missions in response to the budgetary and policy challenges that they are 

facing.

Alternative Dispute Resolution and Education

Throughout the years, the Authority, the OGC, and the FSIP have not only recognized the many 

benefits associated with using ADR to resolve workplace disputes, but they have also integrated 

ADR techniques into all aspects of case processing. Put simply, offering ADR services in every 

case, at every step, results in faster, more effective outcomes for the parties and the FLRA. For 

this reason, the agency continues to leverage existing staff and resources to increase its ADR 

reach. This includes partnering with other agencies – such as the Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service (FMCS), the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the General Services 

Administration (GSA) – to train large numbers of practitioners, and supporting labor-management 

forums, pursuant to Executive Order 13,522, Creating Labor-Management Forums to Improve 

Delivery of Government Services.
25

In addition, the FLRA’s training initiatives are intended to make case processing more effective 

and efficient, and to better serve the FLRA’s customers by providing meaningful and clear 

guidance on statutory rights and responsibilities. Timely and efficient case processing is furthered 

by FLRA customers being knowledgeable about their rights and obligations under the Statute, as 

well as FLRA case law, regulations, and case-processing procedures. The FLRA delivers its 

educational materials through a variety of means, such as: in-person training sessions; 

comprehensive, web-based training modules; and case outlines, manuals, and subject-matter 

guides that are easily accessible on www.FLRA.gov. All of these materials have been developed 

to assist members of the federal labor-management-relations community with issues and cases 

arising under the Statute. Using collaboration and ADR techniques – alone or in conjunction with 

other training, outreach, and facilitation services – to assist parties in minimizing or resolving 

labor-management disputes significantly reduces the need for litigation and its attendant costs, and 

it gets the parties back to work accomplishing their missions and delivering effective and efficient 

government services.

Information Technology

IT and automation of agency processes will continue to be key areas of focus for the agency. 

Both are fundamental for ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the FLRA, as measured by 

the agency’s ability to meet its annual performance goals. The agency continues to improve its 

overall effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the customer-service experience, by engaging in 

new and innovative ways to conduct business, such as through electronic case filing (eFiling). In 

addition, the agency has placed significant emphasis on IT modernization to ensure that its IT 

equipment and infrastructure enable it to maximize gains in efficiency that can be achieved 

through use of technology.

The FLRA will continue to work towards implementing the agency’s long-term goal of sharing 

end-to-end electronic case files throughout the FLRA, as well as the OMB-mandated target of 

having fully electronic files by 2019. Increasing eFiling is critical to achieving this goal. In this 

regard, the more case-related information that the FLRA receives electronically – rather than in 

hard copy – from the outset, the easier it is to convert that information into an electronic case 

file, without the need for FLRA staff to manually scan documents. The plan is to implement this 

transition in 4 agile phases over 4 years, beginning in FY 2015. 

Phase 1 is completion of the implementation of an eFiling System – eFiling 1.0 – for all FLRA 

offices that accept case filings, and the refinement and improvement of that system – based on 

user experience and feedback – through implementation of eFiling 2.0. The FLRA’s eFiling 

System is an important E-Government initiative that was developed to provide easier and more 

user-friendly access to the FLRA and its services. In early FY 2015, the agency completed 

development and implementation of eFiling 1.0 so that every FLRA office that receives case 

filings – the FSIP, the Authority, the OGC, and the OALJ – was capable of receiving those 

filings electronically. 

During Phase 1, the agency recognized that users were slow to adopt the new eFiling system, and 

the agency began actively seeking feedback regarding the eFiling interface and its usability. 

Based on that user feedback, the agency focused on developing, testing, and implementing 
26

eFiling 2.0 with a new interface that is more intuitive, user-friendly, and visually appealing. 

FLRA eFiling 2.0 is scheduled to be completed for all FLRA offices by the second quarter of 

FY 2016. 

The new and improved eFiling 2.0 interface also serves as the catalyst for Phase 2, which – using 

the same eFiling 2.0 technology – will provide a similar user-friendly and simpler interface for 

the agency’s electronic Case-Management System. Phase 2 also includes the implementation of 

an agency Document Management System, which provides the storage capacity and platform for 

the eventual integration of all electronic case-processing systems. Phase 2 is expected to be 

completed by the end of FY 2017. Phase 3, which is targeted for completion in FY 2018, is the 

integration of the automated connection between the Case Management System, the eFiling 

System, and the Document Management System. And Phase 4 is the complete transition to 

100 percent electronic case files throughout the agency, with a goal of FY 2019 for completion. 

In addition, the FLRA will continue to gain efficiencies and cost savings in network and travel 

costs by leveraging its Video Teleconferencing (VTC) System and its transition to business 

cable. The VTC System will continue to return value by saving agency travel funds and offering 

alternative methods for achieving agency-wide training, outreach, and intervention goals. And 

the transition to business cable will continue to achieve between 5 and 10 percent savings 

annually for network services, as well as faster connections for the FLRA’s Regional Offices, 

increasing network speeds by 50 to 80 percent. Both initiatives are key components in the 

agency’s effort to achieve efficiencies through use of technology.

Finally, the FLRA will continue to enhance its website – www.FLRA.gov – in order to provide 

timely and accurate information, including FLRA decisions, legal guidance and memoranda, 

policy documents, and legal training and resources, to its customers – other federal agencies, 

federal unions, federal employees, and neutrals. The FLRA will continue to gather input from 

key internal and external stakeholders, and engage in highly collaborative, cross-component 

efforts to develop improvements in the FLRA’s website and promote innovative change in how 

the FLRA delivers its online information and services to customers. This focus is consistent with 

efforts in FY 2015 and 2016 to launch a new and improved agency website that allows visitors to 

find the information that they need more quickly – with fewer mouse clicks. The new site is also 

more intuitive through improved organization of content. By refocusing the website’s 

organization on case types – rather than on office functions – it provides users with more 

comprehensive, integrated information regarding the FLRA’s mission-related, case processing 

work. The new site also provides users with integrated access to all FLRA training information 

and other educational materials in one, centralized location. And it provided a successful model 

for cross-component collaboration on a project of agency-wide significance. 

Human Capital

Capturing the rank of #3 in the 2015 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings –

up from #5 last year – the FLRA continues its overall success and sustained improvement as 

measured by OPM’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, leaving no doubt that the FLRA 

continues to have a highly engaged workforce that is dedicated to the accomplishment of its 

mission. It not only captured the rank of #2 on three important indexes – Employee 
27

Engagement, Global Satisfaction, and New IQ (which relates to the inclusivity of the work 

environment) – but it also achieved an all-time-high employee response rate of 84 percent (which 

is significantly higher than the government-wide average of 50 percent). The latter demonstrates 

that employees value the survey process and use the FEVS as a tool to communicate their 

interests and concerns to agency leadership and managers. In addition, the FLRA’s Human 

Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework index scores again increased in every

category for the third straight year – by as much as 8 percent over 2014. Specifically, the agency 

scored 86 percent in “Leadership and Knowledge Management,” 78 percent in “Results-Oriented 

Performance Culture,” 85 percent in “Talent Management,” and 82 percent in “Job Satisfaction” 

– exceeding the government-wide average in each. And the FLRA realized positive-ratings 

increases from 2014 in 66 items. Moreover, the agency’s scores are above the government-wide 

average in 82 out of 84 questions, with: 99% of FLRA respondents reporting that they are 

willing to put in extra effort to get a job done; 98% indicating that they are being held 

accountable for achieving results; 98% positively rating the overall quality of the work done by 

their work unit; 96% indicating that employees in their work unit share job knowledge with each 

other; 95% believing that the workforce has the job-relevant knowledge and skills to accomplish 

organization goals; 94% believing that the agency is successful at accomplishing its mission; 

94% knowing how their work relates to the agency’s goals and priorities; 94% finding that 

supervisors in their unit support employee development; 94% believing that managers review 

and evaluate the organization’s progress toward meeting its goals and objectives; and 94% 

saying that senior leaders support work/life programs. 

These results show that employees at all levels understand the mission of the FLRA, understand 

their role in achieving the mission, and see themselves as an integral part of achieving agencywide success. The agency continues to credit its mission-performance successes to its high level 

of employee engagement. Moreover, the agency’s values of transparency, open dialogue, and 

pre-decisional involvement allow for effective collaboration, communication, and continuous 

feedback around mission performance and agency operations. The agency will work to sustain –

and improve upon – this high level of employee engagement in order to increase mission 

performance even more. 

Consistent with OPM’s Recruitment, Engagement, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Roadmap, 

the FLRA will continue to use the FEVS to develop and implement a data driven, forwardlooking human-capital-management strategy that reflects a commitment to the People and 

Culture pillar of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). Focusing on key drivers of 

employee engagement, the FLRA will continue to develop strategies for employees to build and 

cultivate key skills that lead to greater individual and organizational performance and job 

satisfaction. In this connection, the FLRA will continue to invest in its employees through 

classroom training, rotational details, cross-component learning, challenging assignments, and 

leadership-development trainings and opportunities to enhance and broaden employees’ skills. 

Employees at all levels – both professional and administrative-support staff – will continue to 

deliver positive agency outcomes and lead numerous mission-related initiatives, including: 

enhancement of the FLRA’s eFiling System and the development and implementation of fully 

electronic case files; the FLRA website refresh; the streamlining of internal case-processing 

procedures; and the development and regular updating of Authority and OGC training materials, 

guides, and manuals – many of which are web-based – to educate the FLRA’s customers about 
28

the Statute, applicable legal standards and FLRA precedent, and the agency’s case-processing 

procedures. 

Internal developmental details will continue to accomplish two strategic objectives: 

(1) development of future leaders to facilitate succession planning; and (2) cross-training to 

allow for the reassignment of employees to positions that are more closely matched to their 

career interests – and to the agency’s needs. 

In order to further fulfill the FLRA’s mission, the agency also focuses on succession planning by 

identifying its future human-resources needs, potential organizational and skills gaps, and 

vulnerabilities, and then setting goals to address them. With respect to succession planning, the 

FLRA continued a training initiative designed to assist senior, high-potential employees identify 

and strengthen critical leadership skills in preparation for eventually transitioning to formal 

leadership positions. To strengthen and support the FLRA’s new cadre of first-time managers 

and supervisors, the agency identified a series of trainings geared towards developing strategic 

thinking and other critical skills in preparation for effective leadership at the FLRA. And the 

FLRA continued to develop and provide high-level, mission-based training for its attorneys –

nearly 20 percent of whom are new to the FLRA – that built upon their existing legal, technical, 

and ADR skills to improve and maximize performance. These training initiatives crossed 

components, bringing together future agency leaders from all offices to enhance their skills and 

encourage ongoing collaboration among peers. 

The FLRA has engaged its workforce around improving its work processes, resulting in the 

FLRA continuing to climb nearly 5 percent in its “Innovation” rankings. The innovation 

category measures employee perceptions of efforts to improve the way work is done, including 

their own personal motivation to promote change, and the support and rewards that they receive 

for promoting new ideas. The FLRA’s commitment to rewarding creativity, and provision of 

forums for employees to share and promote learning and coordination between components and 

offices, have clearly demonstrated that learning more about the work going on across the agency, 

sparks creativity and collaboration. These efforts have produced real results. 

The FLRA is committed to fostering a workplace where employees from all backgrounds are 

recruited, retained, and developed for successful performance and career progression. The

agency will continue to achieve greater diversity in its workforce by increasing strategic and 

targeted recruitment and posting job opportunities with career-planning and placement services, 

local colleges and universities, and professional affinity-group organizations. Consistent with 

the REDI Roadmap, the FLRA is using data to help identify and eliminate barriers to recruiting 

and hiring the diverse talent that it needs. Serving as one of three Small-Agency Representatives 

on the Diversity and Inclusion in Government Council, the FLRA is participating in governmentwide discussions concerning the implementation of President Obama’s Executive Order 13,583, 

Establishing a Coordinated Government-Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in 

the Federal Workforce, to develop a path forward for federal agencies to create and foster a 

workforce that includes and engages federal employees and reflects all segments of society. 

Further, the FLRA continues to receive top rankings in terms of “New IQ Performance,” which 

measures the results of 20 separate survey questions related to inclusive environments. The 
29

FLRA showed increases in 17 of those 20 questions. In particular, 83 percent of FLRA 

respondents – up from 81 percent in 2014 – reported that supervisors work well with employees 

of different backgrounds. And 81 percent of respondents – an 8 percent increase from 2014 –

stated that the FLRA’s policies and programs promote diversity in the workplace (e.g., recruiting 

minorities and women, training in awareness of diversity issues, mentoring). Both of these 

statistics show that the FLRA is well above the government-wide average with respect to both 

questions – 20 percent higher for each.
30

STRATEGIC GOAL 1: WE WILL RESOLVE DISPUTES UNDER THE 

STATUTE IN A TIMELY, HIGH-QUALITY, AND IMPARTIAL MANNER

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: PRODUCE TIMELY REVIEW AND 

DISPOSITION OF UNFAIR-LABOR-PRACTICE CASES.

The General Counsel has independent responsibility for the investigation, settlement, and 

prosecution of ULP charges. ULP cases originate with the filing of a charge in a Regional Office 

by an employee, a labor organization, or an agency. Once a charge has been filed, the Regional 

Office will investigate the charge to determine whether it has merit. If the Regional Director 

determines that the charge has merit, then he or she will, absent settlement, issue and prosecute a 

complaint before an ALJ. If the Regional Director determines that the charge lacks merit, then 

the charging party is entitled to a written explanation, and, if not satisfied, may appeal that

decision to the General Counsel in Washington, D.C. If the General Counsel upholds the 

dismissal, then the case is closed. The Authority has appointed ALJs to hear ULP cases 

prosecuted by the General Counsel. The OALJ transmits recommended decisions of the ALJs to 

the Authority, which may affirm, modify, or reverse them in whole or in part on exceptions. If 

no exceptions are filed to an ALJ’s decision, then the Authority adopts the decision without 

precedential significance. 

OGC 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 1,453 1,488 1,570 1,425 1,178 1,058

Charges filed 4,375 4,659 4,696 4,418 4,600 4,600

Total caseload 5,828 6,147 6,266 5,843 5,778 5,658

Charges withdrawn/settled 3,377 3,646 3,779 3,662 3,670 3,720

Charges dismissed 732 673 809 800 820 840

Complaints issued 231 258 253 203 230 240

Total cases closed 4,340 4,577 4,841 4,665 4,720 4,800

Cases pending, end of year 1,488 1,570 1,425 1,178 1,058 858

OALJ 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 72 115 120 105 62 42

Cases received from the OGC 240 271 260 222 220 220

Total caseload 312 386 380 327 282 262

Settlements before hearing 177 223 245 187 200 200

Cases closed by decision 20 43 30 78 40 40

Total cases closed 197 266 275 265 240 240

Cases pending, end of year 115 120 105 62 42 22
31

Authority 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 6 2 12 13 24 23

Exceptions filed 20 27 27 62 34 34

Total caseload 26 29 39 75 58 57

Cases closed procedurally 16 16 18 37 23 23

Cases closed based on merits 8 1 8 14 12 12

Total cases closed 24 17 26 51 35 35

Cases pending, end of year 2 12 13 24 23 22

Measure 1.1: The percentage of ULP charges resolved by the OGC by complaint, withdrawal, 

dismissal, or settlement within 120 days of filing of the charge. 

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

61% 68% 67% 72% 72% 74%

Measure 1.2: The percentage of decisions on an appeal of a Regional Director’s dismissal of a 

ULP charge issued within 60 days of the date filed, and in no case more than 120 days.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

99%/100% 100%/100% 98%/100% 98%/100% 95%/100% 95%/100%

Measure 1.3: The percentage of ULP complaints issued by the General Counsel resolved or 

decided in the OALJ within 180 days of the complaint being issued.

Results

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

90% 86% 91% 77%

Measure 1.3: The percentage of ULP complaints issued by the General Counsel decided in the 

OALJ within 180 days of the complaint being issued.*

Targets *Clarified measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

50% 90%
32

Measure 1.4: The percentage of ULP cases decided within 180 days of assignment to an

Authority Member.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

75% 100% 50% 57% 75%

Measure 1.4: The percentage of ULP cases decided within 150 days of assignment to an 

Authority Member.

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

75%

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2: RESOLVE OVERAGE 

UNFAIR-LABOR-PRACTICE CASES IN A TIMELY FASHION.

Measure 2.1: The percentage of ULP charges resolved by the OGC by complaint, withdrawal, 

dismissal, or settlement within 240 days of filing of the charge.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

95% 98%

Measure 2.2: The percentage of ULP complaints issued by the General Counsel decided in the 

OALJ within 365 days of the complaint being issued.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

98% 98%

Measure 2.3: The percentage of ULP cases decided within 365 days of assignment to an 

Authority Member.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

95%
33

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: PRODUCE TIMELY REVIEW AND 

DISPOSITION OF REPRESENTATION CASES.

The Statute sets out a specific procedure for employees to petition to be represented by a labor 

union and to determine which employees will be included in a “bargaining unit” that a union 

represents. Implementing this procedure, the FLRA conducts secret-ballot elections for union 

representation and resolves a variety of issues related to questions of union representation of 

employees. These issues include, for example, whether particular employees are managers or 

“confidential” employees excluded from union representation, whether there has been election 

misconduct on the part of agencies or unions, and whether changes in union and agency 

organizations affect existing bargaining units. Representation cases are initiated when an 

individual, a labor organization, or an agency files a petition with a Regional Office. After a 

petition is filed, the Regional Director conducts an investigation to determine the appropriateness 

of a unit or other matter related to the petition. After concluding such investigation, the Regional 

Director may conduct a secret-ballot election or hold a hearing to resolve disputed factual 

matters. After a hearing, the Regional Director issues a Decision and Order, which is final 

unless an application for review is filed with the Authority.

OGC 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 82 89 89 65 70 65

Petitions filed 290 253 235 225 230 230

Total caseload 372 342 324 290 300 295

Petitions withdrawn 115 106 118 95 100 105

Cases closed based on merits 168 147 141 125 135 140

Total cases closed 283 253 259 220 235 245

Cases pending, end of year 89 89 65 70 65 50

Authority 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 6 0 9 7 2 3

Applications for review 6 11 13 16 14 14

Total caseload 12 11 22 23 16 17

Cases closed procedurally 0 1 2 2 1 1

Cases closed based on merits 12 1 13 19 12 14

Total cases closed 12 2 15 21 13 15

Cases pending, end of year 0 9 7 2 3 2
34

Measure 1.5: The percentage of representation cases resolved by the OGC through 

withdrawal, election, or issuance of a Decision and Order within 120 days of the filing of a 

petition.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

62% 60% 66% 72% 70% 70%

Measure 1.6: The percentage of representation cases in which the Authority issued a decision 

whether to grant review within 60 days of the filing of an application for review.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2: RESOLVE OVERAGE REPRESENTATION 

CASES IN A TIMELY FASHION.

Measure 2.3: The percentage of cases resolved by the OGC through withdrawal, election, or 

issuance of a Decision and Order within 365 days of the filing of a petition.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

95% 98%

Measure 2.4: The percentage of representation cases in which the Authority grants review, 

where the Authority will issue a decision on review, or reach other final resolution of the case, 

within 365 days of the filing of the application for review.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

95%

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: PRODUCE TIMELY REVIEW AND 

DISPOSITION OF ARBITRATION CASES.

Either party to grievance arbitration may file with the Authority an exception to (or appeal of) an 

arbitrator’s award. The Authority will review an arbitrator’s award to which an exception has 

been filed to determine whether the award is deficient because it is contrary to any law, rule, or 

regulation, or on grounds similar to those applied by federal courts in private-sector labormanagement relations.
35

Authority 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 66 40 123 90 50 43

Exceptions filed 107 124 89 99 103 103

Total caseload 173 164 212 189 153 146

Cases closed procedurally 24 19 16 15 11 11

Cases closed based on merits 109 22 106 124 99 97

Total cases closed 133 41 122 139 110 108

Cases pending, end of year 40 123 90 50 43 38

Measure 1.7: The percentage of arbitration cases decided within 180 days of assignment to an 

Authority Member.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

58% 91% 34% 40% 75%

Measure 1.7: The percentage of arbitration cases decided within 150 days of assignment to an 

Authority Member.

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

75%

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2: RESOLVE OVERAGE ARBITRATION CASES

IN A TIMELY FASHION.

Measure 2.5: The percentage of arbitration cases decided within 365 days of assignment to an 

Authority Member.

Target *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

95%

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: PRODUCE TIMELY REVIEW AND 

DISPOSITION OF NEGOTIABILITY CASES.

A federal agency bargaining with a union may claim that a particular union proposal cannot be 

bargained because it conflicts with federal law, a government-wide rule or regulation, or an 

agency regulation for which there is a compelling need. In both of these situations, a union may 
36

petition the Authority to resolve the negotiability dispute. In addition, agency heads may 

disapprove collective-bargaining agreements if those agreements are contrary to law, and a union 

may petition the Authority to resolve the negotiability dispute. 

Authority 2012 2013 2014 2015 

2016 

Est.

2017 

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 15 8 9 17 23 23

Petitions filed 45 30 43 54 40 40

Total caseload 60 38 52 71 63 63

Cases closed procedurally 38 27 29 40 33 33

Cases closed based on merits 14 2 6 8 7 7

Total cases closed 52 29 35 48 40 40

Cases pending, end of year 8 9 17 23 23 23

Measure 1.8: The percentage of negotiability cases decided within 180 days of assignment to 

an Authority Member.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

50% 80% 60% 50% 75%

Measure 1.8: The percentage of negotiability cases decided within 150 days of assignment to 

an Authority Member.

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

75%

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2: RESOLVE OVERAGE NEGOTIABILITY 

CASES IN A TIMELY FASHION.

Measure 2.6: The percentage of negotiability cases decided within 365 days of assignment to 

an Authority Member.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2017

FY 2017

95%
37

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: PRODUCE TIMELY REVIEW AND 

DISPOSITION OF BARGAINING-IMPASSE CASES.

In carrying out the right to bargain collectively, it is not uncommon for a union representative 

and a federal agency to simply not agree on certain issues, and for the bargaining to reach an 

impasse. Several options are available by which the parties may attempt to resolve the impasse. 

The parties may: decide, on their own, to use certain techniques to resolve the impasse, but may 

proceed to private, binding arbitration only after the FSIP approves the procedure; seek the 

services and assistance of the FMCS; or seek the assistance of the FSIP in resolving the 

negotiation impasse, but only after the previous options have failed.

FSIP 2012 2013 2014 2015

2016

Est.

2017

Est.

Cases pending, start of year 53 38 40 28 33 33

Impasses filed 176 194 134 139 140 140

Total caseload 229 232 174 167 173 173

Cases closed 191 192 146 134 140 140

Cases pending, end of year 38 40 28 33 33 33

Measure 1.9: The percentage of bargaining-impasse cases in which jurisdiction is declined 

closed within 140 days of the date filed.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

92% 95% 89% 100% 80% 80%

Measure 1.10: The percentage of bargaining-impasse cases voluntarily settled after 

jurisdiction has been asserted within 160 days of the date filed.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

86% 97% 68% 100% 70% 70%

Measure 1.11: The percentage of bargaining-impasse cases resolved through a final action 

closed within 200 days of the date filed.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

77% 87% 61% 100% 70% 70%
38

STRATEGIC GOAL 2: WE WILL PROMOTE STABILITY IN THE 

FEDERAL LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING 

LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE THROUGH ADR AND EDUCATION

Key to the FLRA’s ADR objectives is to offer high-quality outreach and preventive services, as 

well as resources, to promote more effective labor-management relations across the federal 

government. In furtherance of that objective, the FLRA has integrated ADR and consensus 

decision-making into virtually all of its processes, and it has significantly expanded its training, 

outreach, and facilitation activities. ADR is an informal process that allows parties to discuss 

and develop their interests in order to resolve the underlying issues and problems in their 

relationships. This includes interest-based conflict resolution and intervention services in 

pending ULP cases, representation cases, arbitration cases, negotiability appeals, and 

bargaining-impasse disputes. The agency also provides facilitation and training to help labor and 

management develop collaborative relationships. Many of the FLRA’s training programs are 

now available as web-based training modules, bringing educational tools and resources directly 

to agency customers at their desks to further assist them in resolving labor-management disputes. 

The FLRA’s goals include delivering outreach, training, and facilitation services that 

significantly contribute to the mission of the FLRA, and ensuring that training participants 

evaluate FLRA training as highly effective. 

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: PROVIDE TARGETED ACCESS TO 

TRAINING, OUTREACH, AND FACILITATION ACTIVITIES WITHIN 

THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY.

Measure 1.1: The number of training, outreach, and facilitation activities delivered.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

221 302 225 306 250 275

Measure 1.2: The number of participants involved in training, outreach, and facilitation 

activities.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

8,933 5,976 5,114 8,294 6,000 7,000
39

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2: SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVE A 

SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF FLRA CASES THROUGH ADR.

Measure 1.1: The percentage of ULP cases in the OGC in which an offer of ADR services is 

accepted that are partially or totally resolved.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

97% 98% 98% 96% 95% 95%

Measure 1.2: The percentage of ULP cases in the OALJ in which an offer of SettlementJudge services is accepted by the parties that are partially or totally resolved.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

80% 78% 96% 87% 85% 85%

Measure 1.3: The percentage of representation cases in the OGC in which an offer of ADR 

services is accepted by the parties that are partially or totally resolved.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

91% 100% 100% 96% 95% 95%

Measure 1.4: The percentage of appropriate ULP cases in the Authority in which ADR 

services are offered.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

75% 80%

Measure 1.5: The percentage of ULP cases in the Authority in which ADR services are 

provided that are partially or totally resolved.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

85% 85%
40

Measure 1.6: The percentage of appropriate arbitration cases in which ADR services are 

offered.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

50% 55%

Measure 1.7: The percentage of arbitration cases in which an offer of ADR services is 

accepted by the parties that are partially or totally resolved.

Results Targets

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017

N/A 100% 80% 43% 75% 75%

Measure 1.8: The percentage of appropriate negotiability cases in which ADR services are 

offered.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

100% 100%

Measure 1.9: The percentage of proposals or provisions – in negotiability cases in which an 

offer of ADR services is accepted by the parties – that are partially or totally resolved.

Results

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

100% 100% 100% 100%

Measure 1.10: The percentage of negotiability cases in which ADR services are provided that 

are partially or totally resolved.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

90% 90%

Measure 1.11: The percentage of bargaining-impasse cases in which an offer of ADR 

services is accepted by the parties that are partially or totally resolved.

Results

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

32% 28% 27% 39%
41

Measure 1.12: The percentage of bargaining-impasse cases in which parties’ disputes are 

totally resolved voluntarily.*

Targets *New measure beginning in FY 2016

FY 2016 FY 2017

30% 30%

STRATEGIC GOAL 3: WE WILL MANAGE OUR RESOURCES 

EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE 

ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

The FLRA’s ability to fulfill its core mission under the Statute depends on excellent management 

of the organization and its resources. The organizational-excellence goal emphasizes how the 

agency’s employees, IT infrastructure, and allocation of resources are central to achieving all of 

the strategic goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan. 

The landscape of the federal workplace and workforce continues to evolve, as do the needs of the 

parties that the FLRA serves. Approximately 60 percent of the FLRA’s workforce has been with 

the agency for five years or less, and many of the agency’s most experienced employees are 

currently eligible to retire. In light of these facts, it is crucial for the FLRA to simultaneously 

focus on developing the workforce of the future, while retaining valuable institutional 

knowledge. 

The agency is prepared to meet ever-changing business demands through the innovative use of 

IT to best manage the workload and interact with parties. The FLRA continues to be an effective 

steward of taxpayer dollars, with a renewed focus on maximizing the use of data to inform 

decision making. The agency’s future operational approaches are designed to foster nimble and 

seamless deployment of resources coupled with cost-avoidance strategies to support productive 

labor-management relations across the federal government. And, consistent with the PMA, the 

FLRA has a comprehensive, forward-looking plan to increase quality and value in its 

administrative functions, continue efforts to enhance productivity and achieve cost savings, 

unlock the full potential of its workforce, and build the FLRA’s workplace and workforce for the 

future.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 1: RECRUIT, RETAIN, AND DEVELOP A 

HIGHLY TALENTED, MOTIVATED, AND DIVERSE WORKFORCE TO

ACCOMPLISH THE FLRA’S MISSION.

Over the last six and a half years, the FLRA has demonstrated significant and marked 

improvement in its performance and service delivery, and it has continued to rank among the top 

ten small agencies in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Survey. These results 

demonstrate the agency’s commitment to empowering and developing a highly engaged and 
42

effective workforce. The success of FLRA employees is instrumental to its success as an 

agency. It is within this spirit that the FLRA actively manages its human-capital programs.

Measure 1.1: Program managers ensure that the right employees are in the right place to 

achieve results.

Results

FY 2012

Enhanced development offerings, to include competency-based training, 

career-ladder developmental programs, and continuation of human-resources 

workshops and educational brown bags. Drafted and implemented a five-year 

Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan to make the agency a more inclusive 

and inviting workplace for all of its employees. Increased diversity by hiring 

summer student interns, in some cases using targeted minority-hiring 

strategies. Expanded developmental offerings, to include attorney details.

FY 2013

Implemented a web-based time and attendance system to increase efficiency 

and accuracy of reporting. Obtained provisional certification of the FLRA’s 

SES Performance-Management System from OPM. Established an ADR 

process for resolving performance-management issues. As part of its strategic 

workforce planning efforts, continued employee development, including 

attorney details to other offices; ADR-facilitator training; and 

leadership-development and other workforce training. Established a Student 

Pathways Policy for student internships and partnered with the University of 

Maryland’s Federal Semester Program to offer unpaid internships to students.

FY 2014

Focused on succession planning by increasing targeted attorney recruitment. 

Renewed agreement with the University of Maryland for discounted tuition 

for agency employees. Increased agency resources through recruitment, 

staffing, and placement. Utilized the Student Pathways and Summer 

Externship programs to increase resources for casework and administrative 

initiatives throughout the agency. Realigned functions within the agency’s 

Office of the Executive Director to allow for improved efficiencies and 

customer service to agency employees. Worked extensively with managers to 

hold employees accountable for performance and development. Updated the

Attorney Recruitment Policy in order to allow managers greater hiring 

flexibility of the agency’s mission-critical occupation and to streamline the 

recruitment process. In collaboration with the Partnership for Public 

Service’s Excellence in Government Fellows program, developed and piloted 

an Employee Onboarding Handbook to improve the onboarding process and 

increase employee engagement.

FY 2015

Implemented a fully automated and integrated electronic system for personnel 

actions. Developed a more robust onboarding process through increased use 

of technology and piloted implementation of an Employee Onboarding 

Handbook. Updated certain human-resources policies and procedures. 

Continued to build internal capacity for handling the major human-resources 

functional areas. Position descriptions continued to be updated and now 

allow for greater growth and advancement opportunities within the agency, 

and employees readily volunteered for collateral-duty assignments, new 

initiatives, and projects. The agency also renewed its agreement with a local 
43

university to offer discounted tuition to FLRA employees for self-directed 

study. Improved office customer service by improving the quality of advice 

provided to managers and employees. Worked with managers to educate 

them about and increase diversity and inclusion when seeking new agency 

talent. The agency achieved greater diversity in its workforce in FY 2015 by 

increasing strategic and targeted recruitment and posting job opportunities 

with career-planning and placement services, local colleges and universities, 

and professional affinity-group organizations. With respect to succession 

planning, the FLRA continued to offer cross-component developmental 

details and its training initiative designed to assist higher-graded employees 

identify and strengthen critical leadership skills in preparation for eventually 

transitioning to formal leadership positions. To strengthen and support the 

FLRA’s new cadre of first-time managers and supervisors, the agency 

identified a series of trainings geared towards developing strategic thinking 

and other critical skills in preparation for executive leadership at the FLRA. 

These training initiatives crossed components, bringing together future 

agency leaders from all offices to enhance their skills and encourage 

collaboration among peers. 

Measure 1.2: Demonstrate strong recruitment and retention practices.

Targets 

*New measure in FY 2016 and FY 2017

FY 2016

Promote a diverse applicant pool by identifying student and professional 

groups aimed at increasing diversity; delivering targeted information sessions 

semi-annually; and sharing 100 percent of job announcements to affinity 

groups per year.

Deliver a robust onboarding program to 100 percent of new hires that 

strengthens knowledge of the agency’s programmatic and operational offices. 

Foster an inclusive environment within the agency by including diversity and 

inclusion metrics in 100 percent of managers’ performance plans.

FY 2017

Achieve 90 percent positive scores on internal survey questions that relate to 

work-life balance.

85 percent of employees who joined the FLRA since 2014 remain at the 

FLRA for five years.
44

Measure 2.1: Maintain and grow agency expertise through employee development.

Targets 

*New measure in FY 2016 and FY 2017 

FY 2016

Provide formal opportunities for employees to engage professionally across 

components (e.g., through participation in cross-component task forces, detail 

assignments, training delivery, and rotational opportunities). 

100 percent of new managers and supervisors complete leadership training 

within their first year of being promoted.

Maintain sustained growth of positive responses to the OPM EVS question 

“supervisors in my work unit support employee development.”

FY 2017

Building on the agency’s evolving succession plan designed to lessen the 

impact of institutional knowledge loss as employees retire or leave and to 

maximize current talent utilization by closing leadership staffing and 

competency gaps/deficiencies, implement a formal agency developmentaldetail program, establishing cross-component detail opportunities to provide 

employees with training and developmental experiences that will enhance 

their skills and increase their understanding of the agency’s mission and 

operation across program lines, as well as the relevance of their work to the 

mission and programs of the FLRA. 

Managers will assess annually 100 percent of employees on their 

developmental needs and provide at least one targeted developmental 

opportunity to each of their staff members per year.

Maintain sustained growth of positive responses to the OPM EVS question 

“supervisors in my work unit support employee development.”

PERFORMANCE GOAL 2: IMPROVE USE OF EXISTING 

TECHNOLOGY AND DEPLOY NEW IT SYSTEMS TO STREAMLINE 

AND ENHANCE ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS.

The FLRA began accepting eFilings in FY 2013, and, as of FY 2015, eFiling is available for all 

FLRA offices that receive case filings. The FLRA is continuing to work towards implementing 

the agency’s long-term goal of sharing end-to-end electronic case files throughout the FLRA, as 

well as the OMB-mandated target of having fully electronic files by 2019. Increasing eFiling is 

critical to achieving this goal. In this regard, the more case-related information that the FLRA 

receives electronically – rather than in hard copy – from the outset, the easier it is to convert that 

information into an electronic case file, without the need for FLRA staff to manually scan 

documents. In recognition of this, in FY 2015, the agency developed and began implementing a 

plan to accomplish the transition to fully electronic case files in 4 agile phases over the next 4 

years. 
45

Measure 2.1: Expand the use of eFiling.

Results

FY 2012

Completed development of Authority and OGC eFiling capability. Began 

testing eFiling capability with customers.

FY 2013 10% of cases eFiled.

FY 2014 12% of cases eFiled.

FY 2015 17% of cases eFiled.

Targets

FY 2016 50% of cases eFiled.

FY 2017 65% of cases eFiled.

Measure 2.2: Electronic end-to-end case processing.

Results

FY 2012

Enhanced the CMS to provide the structure that supports end-to-end 

electronic case processing.

FY 2013 Conducted a pilot program on end-to-end case processing.

FY 2014 Migrated the CADRO to an end-to-end electronic case file.

FY 2015

Made eFiling available for OALJ cases, resulting in eFiling being available 

for all offices that accept case filings. As a result, completed full integration 

of the CMS and eFiling systems, enabling end-to-end electronic case 

processing throughout the agency. 

Targets

FY 2016 Maintain and enhance the CMS and eFiling systems, and implement an 

agency Document Management System.

FY 2017

Integrate the CMS and eFiling systems with the agency Document 

Management System, enabling end-to-end electronic case processing 

throughout the agency.
1

U.S. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

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www.flra.gov