Opinion ID: 410277
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Federal Labor Relations History.

Text: 3 This case arises under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (the Act), 5 U.S.C. Secs. 7101-7135 (Supp. IV 1980). The Act codified the federal service labor relations program previously governed by executive order. We therefore briefly review these orders as background for this decision. 4 In January 1962, President Kennedy promulgated Executive Order 10988, see 3 C.F.R. 531 (Comp. 1959-63), which governed federal service labor-management relations between 1962 and 1969. Under Executive Order 10988, the granting of official time 1 to employees serving as union representatives was solely within the agency's discretion. The Executive Order, however, did not provide for the payment of travel expenses or per diem. 2 In 1970, Executive Order 11491 became effective, superseding Executive Order 10988. It authorized the Federal Labor Relations Council as the central authority to oversee federal service labor-management relations. Executive Order 11491 provided that employees representing a union in negotiations with management would not receive official time. 3 This provision reflected the belief that an employee works for the labor organization when negotiating an agreement on behalf of a federal employees union. Report of the Federal Labor Relations Council (FLRC Report), Legis.Hist. at 1167. 5 One year after the issuance of Executive Order 11491, the Federal Labor Relations Council initiated a review and assessment of its operations under the Executive Order. This review resulted in the promulgation of Executive Order 11616, which amended Executive Order 11491 to incorporate the suggested changes. FLRC Report, Legis.Hist. at 1168. Executive Order 11616, which became effective in November 1971, modified the original prohibition on the payment of official time to permit an agency and a union to agree to a reasonable amount of official time for employees representing unions in negotiations. Specifically, an employee could receive up to 40 hours or up to one-half the time spent in negotiations during working hours. 4 This order eliminated the absolute prohibition on official time to avoid undue hardship on employees who represented the union, but expressly limited the amount of official time to maintain a reasonable policy with respect to union self-support and an incentive to economical and businesslike bargaining practices. FLRC Report, Legis.Hist. at 1169. Executive Order 11491, as amended, however, did not authorize agencies to pay travel expenses or per diem for employees serving as union negotiators. FLRC Report, Legis.Hist. at 1264. Executive Orders 11636 and 11838 further amended Executive Order 11491, but did not change the provisions at issue here. 6 In 1978, Congress passed the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, for the first time codifying the federal service labor relations program. In response to criticism of the Federal Labor Relations Council, Congress established a new body along the lines of the National Labor Relations Board, which it named the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). See Department of Defense v. FLRA, 659 F.2d 1140, 1144-45 (D.C.Cir.1981) (outlining authority of FLRA), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 945, 102 S.Ct. 1443, 71 L.Ed.2d 658 (1982). Congress did not specifically authorize travel expenses or per diem for employees acting as union representatives in collective bargaining sessions, stating only that these employees should receive official time during the time the employee otherwise would be in a duty status. 5 U.S.C. Sec. 7131(a) (Supp. IV 1980). 5 7