Source: http://www.chanrobles.com/usa/us_supremecourt/527/229/case.php
Timestamp: 2019-10-18 10:46:04
Document Index: 653912235

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7105', '§ 7114', '§ 7103', '§ 7114', '§ 101', '§8', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 6', '§ 6', '§ 6', '§ 3', '§ 9', '§2', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 6', '§ 7114', '§ 7114', '§ 302', '§ 2472']

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINIS­ TRATION ET AL. v. FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY ET AL. 527 U.S. 229 - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
(a) Contrary to NASA's and NASA-OIG's argument, ordinary tools of statutory construction, combined with the Authority's position, lead to the conclusion that the term "representative" is not limited to a representative of the "entity" that collectively bargains with the employee's union. By its terms, § 7114(a)(2)(B) refers simply to representatives of "the agency," which, all agree, means NASA. The Authority's conclusion is consistent with the FSLMRS and, to the extent the statute and congressional intent are unclear, the Court may rely on the Authority's reasonable judgment. See, e. g., Federal Employees v. Depart-cralaw
STEVENS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which KENNEDY, SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and O'CONNOR and SCALIA, JJ., joined, post, p. 246.cralaw
*Gregory O'Duden and Barbara A. Atkin filed a brief for the National Treasury Employees Union as amicus curiae urging affirmance.cralaw
NASA and NASA-OIG petitioned for review, asking whether the NASA-OIG investigator was a "representative" of NASA, and whether it was proper to grant relief against NASA as well as its OIG. The Court of Appeals upheld the Authority's rulings on both questions and granted thecralaw
NASA and its OIG argue that, when § 7114(a)(2)(B) is read in context and compared with the similar right to union representation protected in the private sector by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the term "representative"cralaw
In resolving this issue, the Authority was interpreting the statute Congress directed it to implement and administer. 5 U. S. C. § 7105. The Authority's conclusion is certainly consistent with the FSLMRS and, to the extent the statute and congressional intent are unclear, we may rely on the Authority's reasonable judgment. See Federal Employees v. Department of Interior, 526 U. S. 86, 98-100 (1999); Fort Stewart Schools v. FLRA, 495 U. S. 641, 644-645 (1990).cralaw
Second, the phrase "representative of the agency" is used in two other places in the FSLMRS where it may refer to representatives of agency management acting in their capacity as actual or prospective parties to a collectivebargaining agreement. One reference pertains to grievances, § 7114(a)(2)(A), and the other to the bargaining process itself, § 7103(a)(12) (defining "collective bargaining"). NASA and NASA-OIG submit that the phrase at issue should ordinarily retain the same meaning wherever used in the same statute, and we agree. But even accepting NASA's and NASA-OIG's characterization of §§ 7114(a)(2)(A) and 7103(a)(12), the fact that some "representative[s] of the agency" may perform functions relating to grievances and bargaining does not mean that other personnel who conductcralaw
1 Congressman Udall, whose substitute contained the section at issue, explained that the "provisions concerning investigatory interviews reflect the ... holding in" Weingarten. 124 Congo Rec. 29184 (1978); Legislative History of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (Committee Print compiled for the House Subcommittee on Postal Personnel and Modernization of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service), Ser. No. 96-7, p. 926 (1979) (hereinafter FSLMRS Leg. Hist.); see NASA, 50 F. L. R. A. 601, 606 (1995).cralaw
2 See id., at 608, n. 5 (Congress recognized that the right to union representation might evolve differently in the federal and private sectors); R. R. Conf. Rep. No. 95-1717, p. 156 (1978), FSLMRS Leg. Rist. 824; cf. Karahalios v. Federal Employees, 489 U. S. 527, 534 (1989) (the FSLMRS "is not a carbon copy of the NLRA").cralaw
3 Such establishments are described as "agencies" in other federal legislation, such as the FSLMRS. See 5 U. S. C. §§ 101-105, 7103(a)(3). Note also that other OIG's were created by subsequent amendments to the IGA and may be structured differently than those OIGs, such as NASA's, discussed in the text. See, e. g., 5 U. S. C. App. §§8, 8E, 8G.cralaw
Section 4 contains a detailed description of the duties of each Inspector General with respect to the agency "within which his Office is established." § 4(a). Those duties include conducting audits and investigations, recommending new policies, reviewing legislation, and keeping the head of the agency and the Congress "fully and currently informed" through such means as detailed, semiannual reports. §§ 4(a)(1)-(5). Pursuant to § 5, those reports must be furnished to the head of the agency, who, in turn, must forward them to the appropriate committee or subcommittee of Congress with such comment as the agency head deems appropriate. § 5(b)(1); see also § 5(d). Section 6 grants the Inspectors General specific authority in a variety of areas to facilitate the mission of their offices. Accordingly, Inspectors General possess discretion to conduct investigations "relating to the administration of the programs and operations of the applicable" agency, § 6(a)(2); the ability to request information and assistance from Government agencies, § 6(a)(3); access to the head of the agency, § 6(a)(6); and the power to hire employees, enter into contracts, and spend congressionally appropriated funds, §§ 6(a)(7), (9); see also § 3(d). Finally, § 9(a)(1)(P) provides for the transfer of the functions previously performed by NASA's" 'Management Audit Office' and the 'Office of Inspections and Security''' to NASA-OIG.cralaw
5See §2; S. Rep. No. 95-1071, pp. 1,5-7,9 (1978); H. R. Rep. No. 95-584, pp. 2, 5-6 (1977).cralaw
6 See, e. g., United States INS, 46 F. L. R. A. 1210, 1226-1231 (1993), review den. sub nom. American Federation of Govt. Employees, AFLCIO, Local 1917 v. FLRA, 22 F.3d 1184 (CADC 1994); United States Dept. of Justice, INS, 46 F. L. R. A. 1526, 1549 (1993), review granted sub nom. United States Dept. of Justice v. FLRA, 39 F.3d 361 (CADC 1994); Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Serv., 28 F. L. R. A. 1145, 1157-1159 (1987), enf'd sub nom. Defense Criminal Investigative Servo V. FLRA, 855 F.2d 93 (CA3 1988); see also Martin V. United States, 20 Cl. Ct. 738, 740-741 (1990).cralaw
7 In fact, a violation of § 7114(a)(2)(B) seems less likely to occur when the agency and its OIG are not acting in concert. Under the Authority's construction of the FSLMRS, when an employee within the unit makes a valid request for union representation, an OIG investigator does not commit an unfair labor practice by (1) halting the examination, or (2) offering the employee a choice between proceeding without representation and discontinuing the examination altogether. United States Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, 27 F. L. R. A. 874, 879-880 (1987); see also NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U. S. 251, 258-260 (1975). Disciplining an employee for his or her choice to demand union participation or to discontinue an examination would presumably violate the statute, but such responses require more authority than Congress granted the OIG's in the IGA.cralaw
NASA and NASA-OIG identify no legal authority restricting an employee's ability to discuss the matter with others. Furthermore, an employee cannot demand the attendance of a union representative when an OIG examination does not involve reasonably apparent potential discipline for that employee. Interviewing an employee who may have information relating to agency maladministration, but who is not himself under suspicion, ordinarily will not trigger the right to union representation. Thus, a variety of OIG investigations and interviews-and many in which confidentiality concerns are heightened-will not implicate § 7114(a)(2)(B) at all. Though legitimate, NASA's and NASA-OIG's confidentiality concerns are not weighty enough to justify acralaw
8The same can be said of NASA's and NASA-OIG's concerns that the reach of § 7114(a)(2)(B) will become the subject of collective bargaining between agencies and unions, or hinder joint or independent FBI investigations of federal employees. See United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n v. FLRA, 25 F.3d 229 (CA4 1994) (adopting the agency's position that it could not bargain over certain procedures by which its OIG conducts investigatory interviews); 50 F. L. R. A., at 616, n. 13 (distinguishing FBI investigations). The process by which the scope of § 7114(a)(2)(B) may properly be determined, and the application of that section to law enforcement officials with a broader charge, present distinct questions not now before us.cralaw
9 The dissent does not dispute much of our analysis; it indicates that NASA-OIG is an "ar[m]" of NASA "work[ing] to promote overall agency concerns." Post, at 260. The dissent's premise is that the Authority determined that the phrase "representative of the agency" means "representative of ... agency [management]," and that this issue is now uncontested. See post, at 246-247, 248-259, 262. But see post, at 251, n. 3. Putting aside the fact that NASA's and NASA-OIG's construction of the statute-however one interprets their argument-is very much in dispute, see Brief for Respondent American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO 26-32; Brieffor Respondent FLRA 23-25, 31, and the rule that litigants cannot bind us to an erroneous interpretation of federal legislation, see Roberts v. Galen of Va., Inc., 525 U. S. 249, 253 (1999), we have ignored neither the actual rationale of the Authority's decision in this case nor NASA's and NASA-OIG's arguments before this Court. Focusing on its plain reasoning, we cannot fairly read the Authority's decision as turning on whether NASA "management" was involved. The Authority emphasized that FSLMRS rights do not depend on "the organizational entity within the agency to whom the person conducting the examination reports"; and in discussing NASA-OIG's role within the agency, the Authority's decision repeatedly refers to NASA headquarters together with its components-that is, to the agency as a whole. 50 F. L. R. A., at 615-616; id., at 621 (noting "the investigative role that OIG's perform for the agency" and concluding that NASA-OIG "represents" not only its own interests, "but ultimately NASA [headquarters] and its subcomponent of-cralaw
fices"). Nowhere did the Authority rely on the assertion that OIG's act as "agency management's agent," a term coined by the dissent. Post, at 253.cralaw
1 It appears that OIG's inspector informed P that he would face dismissal if he did not answer the questions put to him. See 120 F.3d 1208, 1210, n. 2 (CAll 1997).cralaw
As the Court correctly recognizes, ante, at 233, several points are not in dispute at this stage of the litigation. The fact that P requested union representation and reasonably believed that disciplinary action might be taken against him on the basis of information developed during the examination has never been in dispute in this case. See NASA, 50 F. L. R. A. 601, 606, n. 4 (1995). Although petitioners contested the matter before the Authority, on review in the Eleventh Circuit, they conceded that OIG's investigator conducted the interview of P in a way that did not comport with what § 7114(a)(2)(B) requires. See 120 F. 3d, at 1211. And all parties agree that the relevant "agency" for purposes of § 7114(a)(2)(B) is NASA. One other point is not disputedthe "representative" to which § 7114(a)(2)(B) refers must represent agency management, not just the agency in some general sense as the Court suggests, ante, at 233-234, 240. See 50 F. L. R. A., at 614 (" '[R]epresentative of the agency' under section 7114(a)(2)(B) should not be so narrowly construed as to exclude management personnel employed in other subcomponents of the agency"); id., at 615 (" 'We doubt that Congress intended that union representation be denied to the employee solely because the management representative is employed outside the bargaining unit''') (quoting Defense Criminal Investigative Servo v. FLRA, 855 F.2d 93, 99 (CA3 1988)); Brief for Respondent FLRA 16 ("The Authority has determined that the phrase 'representative of the agency' should not be so narrowly construed as to exclude management personnel, such as the OIG, who are located in other components of the agency"); id., at 21; Reply Brief for Petitioners 1 ("[A] 'representative of the agency' in Section 7114(a)(2)(B) must be a representative of agency management").cralaw
The Authority headed its discussion of its first determination "Section 7114(a)(2)(B) Covers the Actions of Management Personnel Employed in Other Subcomponents of the Agency." Id., at 615. This statement appears to suggest OIG itself is part of agency management. But the remainder of the Authority's discussion appears to advance a different theory-one that OIG serves as agency management's agent because OIG inspectors ultimately report to NASA's Administrator, see ibid. (OIG's investigator, "although employed in a separate component from the MSFC, is an employee of and ultimately reports to the head of NASA"), and because OIG provides information to management that sometimes results in discipline to union employees, ibid. ("OIG not only provides investigatory information to NASA [headquarters] but also to other NASA subcomponent offices"); see also id., at 616 (Congress would regard an OIG investigator as a representative of the agency because "[t]he information obtained during the course of an OIG investigatory examination may be released to, and used by, other subcomponents of NASA to support administrative or disci-cralaw
2 The Authority also relied on a policy ground here. It asserted that there was "no basis in the Statute or its legislative history to make the existence of [the representational rights provided by § 7114] dependent upon the organizational entity within the agency to whom the person conducting the examination reports." 50 F. L. R. A., at 615. It elaborated, in a footnote, that "[i]f such were the case, agencies could abridge bargaining unit rights and evade statutory responsibilities under section 7114(a)(2)(B), and thus thwart the intent of Congress, by utilizing personnel from other subcomponents (such as the OIG) to conduct investigative interviews of bargaining unit employees." Id., at 615, n. 12.cralaw
4 Section 7114(a)(1) details what "[a] labor organization which has been accorded exclusive recognition" is entitled to and must do; § 7114(a)(2) indicates when an exclusive representative may be present at discussions or examinations conducted by agency management; § 7114(a)(3) requirescralaw
5 I disagree with the Court as to the proper reading of petitioners' argument that the phrase "representative of the agency" refers only to the entity that has a collective-bargaining relationship with a union. I do not take petitioners to mean that OIG's representative did not represent the "agency," NASA, for the simple reason that only Space Center management had a collective-bargaining relationship with P's union. If that were truly petitioners' view, its later argument that OIG cannot represent NASA because the IG is substantially independent from the agency head would not make sense-it would be enough for petitioners to argue that OIG is not under the control of the Marshall Center's management. Rather, as petitioners make clear in their reply brief, they are simply arguing that "a 'representative of the agency' must be a representative of agency management, as opposed to just another employee." Reply Brief for Petitioners 2, and n. 4. It appears that they would agree, in accordance with the Authority's precedent, see, e. g., Air Force Logistics Command, 46 F. L. R. A. 1184, 1186 (1993); Department of Health and Human Services, 39 F. L. R. A. 298, 311-312 (1991), that NASA headquarters also qualifies as agency management under the FSLMRS, even though it lacks a direct collective-bargaining relationship with a union, because it directs its subordinate managers who have such a collective-bargaining relationship.cralaw
Investigators within NASA's OIG might "represent" the agency if they acted as agency management's representative-essentially, if OIG was agency management's agent or somehow derived its authority from agency management when investigating union employees. And something akin to an agency theory appears to be the primary basis for the Authority's decision. The agency theory does have a textual basis-§ 7114(a)(2)(B)'s term "representative," as is relevant in this context, can mean "standing for or in the place of another: acting for another or others: constituting the agent for another esp[ecially] through delegated authority," or "one that represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate usu[ally] being invested with the authority of the princi-cralaw
7 The Court, ante, at 240, does not report the full story with respect to Inspector General supervision. We were told at oral argument that Executive Order 12993, 3 CFR 171 (1996), governs the procedures to be followed in those instances where the Inspector General and NASA's Administrator are in conflict. Tr. of Oral Arg. 51-52. Complaints against an Inspector General are referred to a body known as the "Integrity Committee," which is composed "of at least the following members": an official of the FBI, who serves as Chair of the Integrity Committee; the Specialcralaw
Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel; the Director of the Office of Government Ethics; and three or more Inspectors General, representing both the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency and the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency. The Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, or his designee, serves as an advisor to the Integrity Committee with respect to its responsibilities and functions under the Executive Order.cralaw
8The Inspector General, however, does not have the authority to subpoena documents and information from other federal agencies. See 5 U. S. C. App. §§ 6(a)(4), 6(b)(1).cralaw
At those hearings, testimony was received from several Inspectors General. June Gibbs Brown, the Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, praised Secretary Shalala for "never, not even once, [seeking] to encroach on [her] independence." Id., at 4. In her written testimony, she offered: "A key component of OIG independence is our direct communication with the Members and staff of the Congress. Frankly, I suspect that no agency head relishes the fact that IGs have, by law, an independent relationship with oversight Committees. Information can and must go directly from the Inspectors Gen-cralaw
The Authority essentially provided four reasons why OIG represented agency management in this case: because OIG is a subcomponent of NASA and subject to the "general supervision" of its Administrator; because it provides information obtained during the course of its investigations to NASA headquarters and its subcomponents; because that information is sometimes used for administrative and disciplinary purposes; and because OIG's functions support broader agency objectives. In my view, the fact that OIG is housed in the agency and subject to supervision (an example of which neither the Authority nor the Court can provide) is an insufficient basis upon which to rest the conclusion that OIG's employees are "representatives" of agency management. It is hard to see how OIG serves as agency management's agentcralaw
9 The Court posits, ante, at 241, that "nothing in the [Inspector General Act] indicates that, if the information had been supplied by the Administrator of NASA rather than the FBI, NASA-OIG would have had any lesser obligation to pursue an investigation." It appears shocked at the proposition that petitioners might think that "even when an OIG conducts an investigation in response to a specific request from the head of an agency, an employee engaged in that assignment is not a 'representative' of the agency within the meaning of [5 U. S. C.] § 7114(a)(2)(B)." Ibid. The answer to the Court is quite simple. So far as the Inspector General Act reveals, OIG has no obligation to pursue any particular investigation. And presumably the Court would agree that if NASA's Administrator referred a matter to the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (who also, we are told, rely on agency management to compel an employee's appearance at an interview, Reply Brief for Petitioners 5-6), those independent agencies would not "represent" the agency. I fail to see how it is different when the investigatory unit, although independent from agency management, is housed within the agency.cralaw
The Court mentions, ante, at 242, that the Inspector General lacks the authority to compel witnesses to appear at an interview as if that provided support for the Authority's decision. Perhaps it is of the view that because the Inspector General must rely upon the agency head to compel an employee's attendance at an interview, management's authority is somehow imputed to OIG, or OIG somehow derives its authority from the agency. This proposition seems dubious at best. The Inspector General is provided the authority to investigate under the Inspector General Act, and iscralaw
The proposition seems especially dubious in this case, as P agreed to be interviewed. The record does not reveal that NASA's management compelled him to attend the interview nor does it reveal that P was threatened with discipline if he did not attend the interview. The Eleventh Circuit, to be sure, indicated that OIG's investigator threatened P with discipline if he did not answer the questions put to him. But that threat, assuming it indeed was made, had little to do with attendance and more to do with the conduct of the interview. As the Authority has interpreted § 7114(a)(2)(B), as the Court notes, ante, at 242, n. 7, no unfair labor practice is committed if an employee who requests representation is given the choice of proceeding without representation and discontinuing the interview altogether. Perhaps it could be argued that by threatening P with discipline if he did not answer the questions put to him, rather than giving P the choice of proceeding without representation, that OIG's investigator invoked agency management's authority to compel (continued) attendance. Along those lines, respondent AFGE contends that OIG's representative must have been acting for agency management by threatening P with discipline because only NASA's Administrator and his delegates, 5 U. S. C. § 302(b)(1); 42 u. S. C. § 2472(a), have the authority to discipline agency employees. Brief for Respondent AFGE 15-16. If OIG's investigator did mention that P could face discipline, he was either simply stating a fact or clearly acting ultra vires. OIG has no authority to discipline or otherwise control agency employees. Since the mere in-cralaw