The Wages of Federal Employees: Can We Talk?
Abstract
This thesis examines the negotiability of wages for federal sector employees. Wages may be negotiable for those employees whose salaries are not specifically set by statute. The thesis examines recent case law and the language and legislative history of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Recent cases are divided in their holdings and yet uniform in the questions they have examined. The issues are clearly threefold. First, whether compensation of federal employees whose rates of compensation are not specifically set by statute is a negotiable "condition of employment." Second, whether bargaining proposals which involve compensation of employees are non-negotiable because they interfere with the agency's management right to determine its budget. Third, whether the duty to bargain over wages is inconsistent with federal law or government-wide rules or regulations, or alternately with agency rules or regulations for which a compelling need exists. It has been the position of various federal agencies that these types of proposals are not negotiable. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has insisted that they are indeed negotiable. Judicial circuits that have considered the question are equally divided in their response. Most recently the question was addressed to the United States Supreme Court. The author concludes that wages are a "condition of employment" and may be subject to collective bargaining.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA456297
Entities
People
- Natalie L. Griffin
Organizations
- The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School