Workforce

President of Largest Federal Employee Union Resigns Amid Investigation

J. David Cox was accused last year of a pattern of behavior including sexual harassment and unwanted advances toward union employees. Cox reportedly resigned after additional charges were levied against him earlier this month.

Management

Senators From Both Political Parties Urge Trump to 'Reconsider' Defense Union Memo

Lawmakers say the president’s January decision to give Defense Secretary Mark Esper blanket authority to abolish collective bargaining runs counter to congressional intent.

Management

Defense Chief Says He Didn’t Ask for Union Memo, Declines to Say How He Will Use New Power

Esper told lawmakers he would wait for staff recommendations before using the newly granted authority to outlaw collective bargaining among Pentagon civilian workers.

Management

Democratic Lawmakers Warn Proposed Social Security Rule Could Be Illegal

Leaders of several congressional committees call on the Social Security Administration to abandon a proposed rule that would allow appeals officers to hear lower-level disability cases.

Management

Trump Administration Publishes Memo That Could End Defense Unions

More than three weeks after President Trump signed a memo authorizing Defense Secretary Mark Esper to effectively outlaw collective bargaining at the Defense Department, the White House has posted the document to the Federal Register.

Management

Union Sues to Block a Plan That Would Make It Easier for Feds to Quit Paying Dues

Labor authority last week signaled that it will move ahead on the plan, although critics say the agency's legal justification doesn’t add up.

Management

Labor Authority Moves Forward With Plan to Make It Easier for Feds to Cancel Union Dues

Lone Democrat on the labor-management relations board accuses his colleagues of using recent Supreme Court precedent as a pretext to enable union busting.

Management

Civil Rights Groups Join Fight Against EEOC Official Time Proposal

A pair of nonprofit groups said plan to make the right to official time for union representatives subject to collective bargaining agreements lacks "adequate justification" and will harm federal workers.

Management

White House Memo Could End Unionization at the Pentagon

In a January memo, President Trump authorized Defense Secretary Mark Esper to exempt the Defense Department from the law governing collective bargaining in the federal government.

Management

More Than 100 Lawmakers Urge HHS to Resume Bargaining with Union

The department has not responded in nearly five months to calls to continue talks with its labor union, despite an arbitrator's finding that it had engaged in bad faith bargaining.

Management

Administrative Law Judges Union Asks Court to Intervene in Impasses Case

Union says two labor-management panels ignored calls to address constitutional complaints related to how the president appoints members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel.

Management

House Panel Advances Bill Granting Full Rights to TSA Workers

Currently, employees at the Transportation Security Administration do not get annual raises along with workers on the General Schedule, and have significantly curtailed rights to collective bargaining and appealing adverse personnel actions.

Management

Administrative Law Judges: Proposed Social Security Rule Would Violate Law, Supreme Court Decision

A union representing the judges submitted comments opposing a proposed rule that would allow Social Security appeals officers to hear lower-level disability cases.

Pay & Benefits

Social Security Announces More Telework Cuts

The move comes after Congress directed the agency to reinstate telework in other offices within SSA.

Management

Union Asks Judge to Suspend Guidance Limiting Discussion of Impeachment in Federal Offices

AFGE argues the 2018 Office of Special Counsel Hatch Act guidance infringes on federal workers' First Amendment rights.

Pay & Benefits

On the Anniversary of Government Reopening, Contractors Renew Push for Back Pay

Although Congress enacted back pay for furloughed federal employees at the end of last year’s 35-day partial government shutdown, Senate Republicans have repeatedly thwarted efforts to similarly compensate low-wage federal contractors.

Oversight

House Committees Demand Documents on EEOC Official Time Proposal

Federal employee unions and Democratic lawmakers have criticized a proposed rule that would strip union employees from the right to official time when aiding a colleague to prepare a discrimination complaint.

Management

Labor Authority Seeks Comments on What Happens With Existing Union Contracts During Negotiations for New Ones

The Agriculture Department asked FLRA to clarify whether collective bargaining agreements that are renewed on a short-term basis while unions and management negotiate a new contract are subject to legal review by agency heads.

Management

Labor Authority Beats Back Agency Efforts to Narrow Bargaining Obligations

Since November, the agency that governs labor-management relations in the federal government declined half a dozen different requests for “policy statements” that would give management an advantage in talks with unions.