Opinion ID: 400160
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The grant of official time for midterm collective bargaining negotiations

Text: 15 Title 5, United States Code, Section 7131(a) provides: 16 Any employee representing an exclusive representative in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement under this chapter shall be authorized official time for such purposes, including attendance at impasse proceedings, during the time the employee otherwise would be in a duty status. The number of employees for whom official time is authorized under this subsection shall not exceed the number of individuals designated as representing the agency for such purposes. 17 The question presented is whether that section authorizes official time for employee representatives during midterm negotiations, as opposed to the negotiation of a basic collective bargaining agreement. The FLRA found, based on an examination of the express language of the statute, legislative history, and public policy, that it does. We agree. 18 Turning first to the statutory language, we take note of the axiom that whenever the same word or phrase is used in different parts of a statute, it will be presumed to be used in the same sense throughout unless there is evidence of a contrary intent. See, e.g., Northern Plains Resource Council v. EPA, 645 F.2d 1349, 1355 (9th Cir. 1981); Chugach Natives, Inc. v. Doyon, Ltd., 588 F.2d 723, 725 (9th Cir. 1978); United States v. Gertz, 249 F.2d 662, 665 (9th Cir. 1957). That rule is especially important in cases such as this, where the answer to our inquiry does not appear either on the face of the statute or in the legislative history. 19 Title VII defines collective bargaining as performance of the mutual obligation to meet at reasonable times and to bargain in a good faith effort to reach agreement with regard to conditions of employment, 1 5 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(12), and a collective bargaining agreement is defined as an agreement entered into as a result of collective bargaining. Id. § 7103(a)(8). Furthermore, Section 7114(b)(3) provides that in order to fulfill the obligation to negotiate in good faith, agency and union representatives shall meet as frequently as may be necessary. It is therefore clear that the reference to negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement in Section 7131(a) encompasses all situations in which agency and union representatives meet with the objective of conducting good faith negotiations concerning conditions of employment. The statute's application cannot be limited to the negotiation of basic agreements. 20 The legislative history of Title VII likewise supports the conclusion that official time is authorized for employee representatives conducting midterm bargaining. Title VII is for the most part a codification of Executive Order 11491 2 , reprinted in 5 U.S.C. foll. § 7101. Section 20 of Executive Order 11491 allowed management and employees to negotiate grants of official time subject to certain limitations, and was interpreted by the Federal Labor Relations Council 3 to limit such grants of official time to the negotiation of basic agreements or management-initiated changes in working conditions. See Local 2151, A.F.G.E., AFL-CIO, et al., F.L.R.C. 76A-106, 5 F.L.R.C. 373, 374, 375 (May 18, 1977). 21 When debating Title VII, however, Congress rejected language that would have preserved the limitation on authorization of official time to negotiations of basic agreements, 4 see S.Rep.No.95-969, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 112, reprinted in (1978) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2723, 2834, enacting instead the language of Section 7131(a). ATF argues that since that section is silent with regard to official time for midterm negotiations, Congress evidently intended to preserve the restrictions of Executive Order 11491. The rejection of language that would have yielded that result persuades us that the FLRA reasonably concluded that Congress intended to enact an authorization of official time for midterm as well as basic collective bargaining agreements. 22 Congress' specific finding that collective bargaining in the federal service is in the public interest further aids this conclusion. See 5 U.S.C. § 7101(a). The FLRA has taken this a step further by reasoning that equalization of the positions of labor and management enhances the effectiveness of collective bargaining. The granting of official time for employee negotiators merely reflects the situation of government negotiators, who are commonly afforded official time for collective bargaining negotiations. 23 In short, we are unpersuaded by ATF's argument that the silence of the statute and legislative history requires us to assume that Congress intended to restrict the availability of official time for midterm negotiations. Congress had the clear opportunity to adopt language limiting official time to the negotiation of basic agreements. Its failure to do so, combined with the fact that a consistent reading of the statutory language indicates that collective bargaining agreement refers to both midterm and basic agreements, leads us to conclude that the FLRA's Interpretation and Guidance is reasoned and supportable on this point; hence, it will be given deference. 24