§431 Application of Chapter 71 of Title 5, Relating to Federal Service Labor-management Relations; Procedures for Remedy of Violations

Summary

Applies the federal labor-relations rules in chapter 71 of Title 5 to employing offices and to their covered employees and the employees’ representatives. Covered employees do not get the right to be reinstated under 5 U.S.C. 7118(a)(7)(C) or 7123. For these purposes, the word "agency" means an employing office. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) must write rules to put these ideas into practice. Those rules should match the FLRA’s usual chapter 71 rules unless the FLRA shows good cause to change them or needs to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of one. The FLRA must also make special rules for how chapter 71 applies to employees in certain White House and top executive offices, including the White House Office, the Executive Residence, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Policy Development, the Council of Economic Advisers, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Those special rules should follow chapter 71 as much as possible, but the FLRA can modify them for good cause and must exclude employees if needed because of a conflict of interest or the President’s or Vice President’s constitutional duties. Subsections (a) and (b) take effect when the FLRA’s rules take effect or on October 1, 1998, whichever is earlier; the same timing applies for the listed offices when the FLRA’s special rules take effect.