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60 FLRA No. 23
SSA, Office of Hearings And Appeals, Boston Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts and SSA, Boston, Massachusetts and AFGE, Local 1164, AFL-CIO Case Nos. BN-CA-02-0266-REC, BN-CA-02-0434-REC (59 FLRA 875 (2004) (Decided July 16, 2004)
This case is before the Authority on a motion by the General Counsel (GC) for reconsideration of the Authority's remedial order and notice in 59 FLRA 875 (2004). The Authority granted the GC's motion for reconsideration and modified the remedial order and notice in 59 FLRA 875 to the extent consistent with this decision.
The Authority noted that the Authority's decision in 59 FLRA 875 erroneously identified the Respondent in Case No. BN-CA-02-0434 as the "SSA, OHA Boston Regional Office," instead of "SSA, Boston, Massachusetts. Also, the Authority's decision incorrectly referred to the SSA Somerville Field Office as a Hearing Office, and the highest official in the Somerville Office as the Hearing Office Chief Administrative Law Judge. These inadvertent errors established extraordinary circumstances warranting reconsideration of the Authority's remedial order and notice with respect to the appropriate official to sign the notice and the scope of the posting of the notice.
Upon reconsideration, the Authority found that the Respondent charged in the complaint in Case No. BN-CA-02-0434 - SSA, Boston, Massachusetts -- was responsible for the violation.Therefore, consistent with Authority precedent, the Regional Commissioner for SSA, Boston, Massachusetts, as the highest management official of the activity responsible for the violations, should sign the notice. In determining the scope of a posting requirement, the Authority considers the two purposes served by the posting of a notice. First, the notice provides evidence to unit employees that the rights guaranteed under the Statute will be vigorously enforced. Second, in many cases, the posting is the only visible indication to those employees that a respondent recognizes and intends to fulfill its obligations under the Statute. Here, the Authority found that the notice should be posted in all offices of SSA, Boston, Massachusetts, as requested by the GC, and not only in the Somerville Field Office, as requested by the Respondent.