§7118 Prevention of unfair labor practices

Summary

The General Counsel must look into any charge that an agency or labor group did an unfair labor practice and can file a formal complaint. If the General Counsel decides not to file because the charge does not allege a violation, the person who complained must get a written explanation. Any complaint must say what the charge is, that a hearing will be held before the Authority (or a member or a person the Authority names), and when and where the hearing will be. The agency or labor group can answer the complaint and can appear and give testimony. Normally a complaint cannot cover events that happened more than 6 months before the charge was filed, unless the General Counsel finds the complainant was blocked from filing by a failure to do a duty or by concealment that hid the problem. A hearing must be held at least 5 days after the complaint is served. The hearing can be informal, people may be allowed to join, and a transcript must be kept. The Authority may accept more evidence or argument after the hearing. If the evidence shows it is more likely than not that an unfair practice happened, the Authority will write findings and can order the agency or labor group to stop the practice, to renegotiate a bargaining agreement with retroactive effect, to reinstate an employee with backpay under section 5596, or any combination of these or other actions to carry out the law. If the evidence does not show a violation, the Authority will write findings and dismiss the complaint. The Authority may ask the Director of OPM for an advisory opinion about OPM rules under section 7105(i).