Opinion ID: 6641617
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Particularized Need

Text: The FLRA’s order is also unacceptable on an independent ground. Section 7114(b) “entitles the union to ‘necessary,’ not to ‘relevant’ information.” Department of Air Force, Scott Air Force Base v. FLRA, 956 F.2d 1223, 1224 (D.C.Cir.1992) (citation omitted). This court’s decisions require a showing by the union of “particularized need” tested against countervailing anti-disclosure interests of the agency. See, e.g., United States Dep’t of Justice, Bureau of Prisons v. FLRA, 988 F.2d 1267, 1270 (D.C.Cir.1993). 6 The FLRA made no such realistic, comparative evaluation; it merely hypothesized ways in which the minutes might bear upon protected employee rights. 7 Cf. United States Dep’t of Justice Office of Justice Programs, 45 F.L.R.A. 1022, 1039-40 (1992) (appended ALJ opinion) (denying request as mere “fishing expedition”; employer had engaged in “no conduct [that could] prompt [employee to] fil[e] a grievance”); Bohemia, Inc., 272 N.L.R.B. 1128, 1129 (1984) (denying request in absence of “objective factual basis for believing ... a transfer [of bargaining-unit work] had occurred”).