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Management rights is a term which defines those
areas over which management exercises exclusive decision-making authority. These rights
are spelled out in the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. There are two
categories of management rights, “mandatory” or reserved rights, such as the
right to determine mission, budget, internal security and “permissive” rights.
Permissive rights are those rights (e.g., numbers, types and grades of employees assigned
to an organizational subdivision, work project, or tour of duty) that management may
bargain, but is not statutorily required to do so.
Even with respect to nonnegotiable
“mandatory” management rights, management must bargain, upon request, over the
procedures it will use in exercising these rights and on appropriate arrangements for
employees adversely affected by the exercise of such rights. For example, in a
reduction-in-force, the decision to RIF is a management right, but how that RIF is
conducted and outplacement or other assistance for displaced employees are negotiable
issues.
When there is a question whether a proposal is outside the duty to bargain because it
involves a management right or is subject to bargaining as a condition of employment, the
matter may be raised as a negotiability appeal to the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
Negotiability decisions of the FLRA can be challenged in Federal court. |
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A union may propose measures whose purpose is to
alleviate the adverse impact on unit employees of a management action. If, however, the
union’s proposal seriously interferes with the exercise of a management right, the
FLRA will apply the “excessive interference” test. That test provides that a
union proposal whose purpose is to ameliorate the adverse affects of a management decision
is negotiable unless it impinges upon a management right to an excessive degree.
RELATED
TOPICS: Representational Rights of Unions; Employee
Rights; Negotiations |
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