The agency's reply

The agency may file a reply to the union's response, if the union has raised new arguments. For example, if the union says that the proposal or provision does not violate management rights because it is electively negotiable or is a procedure or appropriate arrangement, the agency may state why it disagrees with that. Similarly, if the union requests severance for the first time in its response, the agency may reply to that with its own arguments. The agency is not supposed to raise anything new, and should limit its reply to things that the union put in its response.