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56 FLRA No. 89
Association of Civilian Technicians and U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau Alabama National Guard, Montgomery, Alabama, Case No. 0- NG-2530 (Decided August 22, 2000)
This case concerned the negotiability of a provision disapproved by the Agency head under section 7114(c) of the Statute. The Authority found that the provision was not contrary to law, and ordered the Agency to rescind its disapproval.
The Authority noted that it has held that a provision that would permit National Guard Technicians to wear civilian attire at third-party proceedings would not be inconsistent with the requirement in 32 U.S.C. § 709(b)(3) that a technician must wear a military uniform while performing duties as a technician. The Authority further stated that it has rejected argument that section 709 requires a technician to wear the military uniform when participating in a third-party proceeding because the technician would be performing technician duties as a representative of a military organization. Rather, the Authority has held that the meaning of the phrase "duties as a technician" in section 709 does not include participation by a technician in a third-party proceeding. The Authority also found that because the disputed sections involved the use of official time under section 7131(d) of the Statute, the sections were not contrary to management's right to assign work under section 7106(a)(2)(B) of the Statute.