§7117 Duty to Bargain in Good Faith; Compelling Need; Duty to Consult

Summary

Requires agencies to bargain in good faith over workplace matters even when those matters are covered by agency rules, but only if the rules are not Government-wide and if doing so does not break any federal law or Government-wide rule. If a union says an agency rule is negotiable because there is no “compelling need” for it, the Authority will decide, under its own rules, whether a compelling need exists. The agency that wrote the rule must be part of any hearing on that question. A hearing can happen but is optional and should be sped up when used. If an agency tells a union it won’t bargain about something, the union has 15 days to file a petition with the Authority and give a copy to the agency head. The agency then has 30 days after getting that copy to withdraw its claim or explain its reasons and must send that to the union. The union has 15 days after getting the agency’s statement to reply. The Authority may hold a hearing (the General Counsel is not a party) and must move the case quickly and give a written decision as soon as reasonably possible. Separately, a union that represents a substantial number of employees (criteria set by the Authority) must be consulted about agency-wide rule changes that change working conditions, be told about proposed changes, be given reasonable time to comment, and receive written reasons when the agency makes a final decision.