§40122 Federal Aviation Administration personnel management system

Summary

Create and run a new FAA personnel system that gives the agency more flexibility in hiring, training, pay, and work location. The Administrator must negotiate changes with the certified union and talk with other employees. If they cannot agree, they must try the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or use another agreed method. For mid-term deals, the Federal Service Impasses Panel can help. For term deals, the Panel can order binding arbitration by a three-member private board. The board must be picked from a list of not less than 15 arbitrators, each side picks one within 10 days, those two pick a third within 7 days (or names are struck alternately). The board holds a hearing, must decide within 90 days, its decision is final, and the parties split the cost. Final agreements may be ratified by the union if requested and must be approved by the agency head. The FAA and unions must try to find cost savings and meet yearly to look for more. Three years after the system starts, an outside expert review must be done within 3 months. The Administrator may hire experts under section 3109 and may sole-source contracts. No FAA officer or employee may be paid more than the Administrator’s annual basic pay. The FAA must follow Executive Order No. 12674 and Office of Government Ethics rules, including section 2635 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Administrator must implement paid parental leave at least as good as section 6382 of title 5. Until July 1, 1999, basic wages and certain pay types must not be involuntarily cut because of this law, except for poor performance, a reduction in force, reorganization, or union agreement. Existing labor agreements in effect on the Air Traffic Management System Performance Improvement Act of 1996 effective date stay in force until they expire unless both sides agree otherwise. The new system was to be developed by January 1, 1996 and takes effect April 1, 1996. Most parts of title 5 do not apply to the new system, but these do: section 2302(b); sections 3304(f), 3308–3320, 3330a–3330d; chapter 71; section 7204; chapter 73; chapter 81; chapters 83–85, 87, and 89; sections 1204, 1211–1218, 1221, and 7701–7703; subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 4507 and subsections (b) and (c) of section 4507a (with lump-sum awards of 20% and 35% of annual basic pay for certain ranks); and section 6329 (subject to verification rules). An FAA employee facing a major adverse personnel action may choose to contest it through the union grievance process, the FAA’s Guaranteed Fair Treatment internal review, or under the Merit Systems Protection Board rules in subsection (g)(3), but must pick only one forum unless law allows more. “Major adverse personnel action” means suspension over 14 days, pay or grade reduction, removal for conduct or performance, nondisciplinary removal, a furlough of 30 days or less (not including nonpay due to a funding lapse), or a reduction in force. A “covered position” means a safety‑critical job (including contract towers) in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands; the Administrator may recruit more widely for these jobs if multiple vacancy announcements fail and special circumstances exist, after consulting the union.