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Labor-Management Relations: Index of Decisions
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HEALTH AND SAFETY


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . NAME PLATES

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed the following:

All bargaining unit employees who are currently wearing the uniform and after January 1, 2001, any bargaining unit employee who wears a class 1, 2, 3, or 4 uniform and any other uniformed employee who may have contact with the public will be required to wear a name plate on their uniform, with their legal last name, as of July 1, 2000.

The UNION proposed the following:

Either that employees be permitted to continue with the practice of only being identified by their badge number, or that employees be permitted to be identified by a pseudonym.

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the AGENCY's proposal, modified as follows:

All bargaining unit employees who are currently wearing the uniform and after January 1, 2001, any bargaining unit employee who wears a class 1, 2, 3, or 4 uniform and any other uniformed employee who may have contact with the public will be required to wear a name plate on their uniform, with their legal last name, as of March 23, 2001.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . AUTHORIZATION TO CARRY FIREARMS

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed the following:

The Agency will provide authorization to carry the authorized firearm on a 24-hour basis ["24-hour carry"] in accordance with the National Agreement, Article 24, Section 8, and the Commissioner's message issued on January 13, 2000. For any armed bargaining-unit employee not covered by the Commissioner's authorization, the Agency will provide authorization to carry the authorized firearm during off duty hours in accordance with Article 24, Section 8, of the National Agreement between the parties.

The UNION proposed the following:

Customs will provide such nameplate-wearing employees with, at their request, authorization to carry either the Customs issued weapon, or the privately purchased weapon for 24 hours, on or off duty. Nameplates will be phased in at the same ports at the same time as 24-hour carry is phased in.

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the AGENCY's proposal.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . USE OF PSEUDONYMS

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed the following:

Once the Office of Investigations has determined that the employee has received a credible threat concerning their physical safety and it is requested by the employee, Management may authorize the employee to use a pseudonym in lieu of the name plate in 60-day increments pending the outcome of the threat review.

The UNION proposed that "[i]f a name plate is required, ...employees who are threatened or harassed be entitled to use a registered pseudonym."

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the following compromise wording:

When management becomes aware tha[t] an employee, as a result of the performance of official duties, has been subjected to threats, harassment, or other conduct leading to a reasonable fear on the part of the employee for the safety of the employee and/or his or her family, the Employer shall take action as follows. The Employer will promptly discuss the matter with the employee and shall authorize the use of pseudonym for a period of not less than 120 days while the incident is reviewed. At the end of 120 days management may extend the authorization in 60 day increments pending the outcome of the review.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . STATE FIREARMS LICENSING

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed that firearms licenses should be governed by the provisions of Article 24, Section 12 (Off Duty Carry Permits), of the master collective bargaining agreement (MCBA), which clarifies that:

Nothing in the MCBA or Customs policies or regulations should interfere with the right of an employee as a private citizen to carry a privately-owned weapon in an off-duty status in accordance with state or local law.

The UNION proposed that "'Customs shall contact local police departments to expedite the firearms licenses and/or concealed carry permits for Customs officers.'"

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the following modified version of the UNION's proposal:

Upon request from an officer, Customs shall contact local police departments to expedite the firearms licenses and/or concealed carry permits for Customs officers.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . UNLISTED TELEPHONE NUMBER

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed that "'employees would not be required to wear nameplates until July 1, 2000, to give them time to remove their names from telephone directories.'"

The UNION proposed "that the Employer delay implementation of the name plate requirement for [one year] from the date of the Panel's decision so that employees may remove their names from the telephone directory."

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the UNION's proposal.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . REIMBURSEMENT OF LEGAL FEES

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed that the parties abide by Article 32, Section 9, of the master collective bargaining agreement.

The UNION proposed "that the Employer reimburse the employee and the Union for legal fees related to actions taken to exonerate the employee from false charges arising from the employee's wearing a name plate."

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the AGENCY's proposal.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . LIABILITY INSURANCE PREMIUMS

Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C. and National Treasury Employees Union, Case No. 99 FSIP 156, March 23, 2000 (Release No. 430).

The AGENCY proposed that the Panel decline to take jurisdiction over the Union proposal because it is not within its duty to bargain. The employees (Customs Inspectors) covered by the Union's proposal are not "'qualified employees'" under the law authorizing the payment of liability insurance premiums.

The UNION proposed that Customs provide liability insurance coverage for any employee required to wear a name plate showing his or her legal last name.

The PANEL ordered the parties to adopt the AGENCY's proposal.


HEALTH AND SAFETY . . . BOTTLED WATER

Small Business Administration, New York District Office, New York, New York and Local 3134, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Case No. 00 FSIP 46, April 14, 2000 (Release No. 431).

The AGENCY proposed the following:

The Agency is willing to entertain the possibility of purchasing a dorm size refrigerator (approximately 3' by 2' in size) for the convenience of employees. The Agency is willing to provide [two] hours of administrative time to the employees in order to arrange for a voluntary bottled water club.

The UNION proposed the following:

The Agency should continue to provide bottled water to the employees in the New York District Office until such time as a Government-wide rule or regulation is put in place prohibiting such a practice; or

A two-year phase out period to coincide with the most recent Master Agreement. That over this period and time a bottled water committee be established to monitor the water situation on this floor. The Agency has provided bottled water for Bargaining Unit Employees for over 12 years and because it is an established past practice, the Agency should continue to pay for the rental of coolers and bottled water for the first [six] months of the [two] years. The Union agrees to pay after [six] months 25 percent of the cost of the water for the remaining year and a half.

ARBITRATOR Ellen J. Kolansky ordered the following:

The practice of providing cost-free, bottled water shall end [four] months from the date of this decision. During the [four]-month period prior to termination, the Employer agrees to provide [two] hours of administrative time, upon request, for the Union and bargaining-unit employees to meet and decide whether they wish to arrange to purchase bottled water as a group and to work out the detains of such an arrangement. Should [two] hours be insufficient, the Employer may, workload permitting, grant a request for additional administrative time. Upon request by the Union, the Employer shall provide a refrigerator of sufficient size to store employees' lunches, snacks, and drinks. The Employer shall request periodic testing of the quality of water delivered through the building's water system, as permitted under the lease and applicable regulations, and provide the Union with copies of the test results.


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Last Modified August 27, 2001