14:0025(4)CU - EPA Region VII, Kansas City MO and NFFE Local 1205 -- 1984 FLRAdec RP

 14 FLRA No. 4
 
 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 REGION VII
 KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
 Activity
 
 and
 
 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL
 EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1205
 Petitioner
 
                                            Case No. 7-CU-20014
 
                    DECISION AND ORDER CLARIFYING UNIT
 
    Upon a petition duly filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority
 under section 7111(b)(2) of the Federal Service Labor-Management
 Relations Statute (the Statute), a hearing was held before a hearing
 officer of the Authority.  The hearing officer's rulings made at the
 hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
 
    Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the
 parties' contentions, the Authority finds:  The National Federation of
 Federal Employees, Local 1205 (NFFE) was certified as the exclusive
 bargaining representative for a unit of all nonsupervisory and
 nonprofessional General Schedule employees, including temporary
 employees who are expected to exceed ninety (90) days employment,
 employed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kansas City,
 Missouri.  Essentially, NFFE's petition herein seeks to clarify the
 status of Mary Lou Goucher, Personnel Assistant (Typing), GS-203-06, and
 Ina Square, Secretary (Typing), GS-318-05, who the Activity contends
 should be excluded from the unit on the grounds that they are
 confidential employees /1/ and/or are engaged in Federal personnel work
 in other than a purely clerical capacity.  /2/
 
    Goucher, who works in the Personnel and Organization Branch of the
 Activity, has major responsibilities for the recruiting and staffing of
 GS-05 positions and below, including orientation of new employees,
 preparation and processing of all types of personnel actions, processing
 of confidential data under the merit pay system, processing of
 retirement paperwork, answering inquiries from other agencies on
 Activity employees who are applying for jobs, and answering inquiries
 for employees and supervisors concerning provisions of the Federal
 Personnel Manual.  Goucher is also responsible for keeping employee
 personnel information up-to-date, including keeping track of dates for
 employee personnel actions and coding them into the Activity's computer
 system.  In this regard, she has signature authority to grant back pay
 to employees based on her finding of errors which cause employee loss of
 salary increases.  Based on the above, the Authority finds that Mary Lou
 Goucher, Personnel Assistant (Typing), GS-203-06, is an employee
 "engaged in personnel work in other than a purely clerical capacity"
 within the meaning of section 7112(b)(3) and should be excluded from the
 unit.  /3/
 
    Square works in and is the only secretary for the Personnel and
 Organization Branch of the Activity which includes, among others,
 Barbara Kountzman, Labor Relations Specialist.  The Parties stipulated
 that Kountzman is an individual who "formulates or effectuates
 management policies in the field of labor-management relations" within
 the meaning of that phrase as used in section 7103(a)(13).  Square, who
 handles all secretarial work, including answering the phone, typing,
 filing, and screening mail for the Classification Specialist, Labor
 Relations Specialist and the Acting Branch Chief, is presently
 supervised by Kountzman.  The record indicates that in the four months
 that Square has held her present position, she has only typed two
 representation petitions and several pieces of correspondence dealing
 with unfair labor practices and an employee reprimand.  The record also
 indicates that former incumbents in this position have had substantial
 labor relations involvement including the preparation of contract
 proposals, reduction-in-force notices, internal memos dealing with labor
 relations matters, answers to employee grievances and other similar
 correspondence and Kountzman testified that she would also expect Square
 to type and process papers involving all phases of labor-management
 relations.  Based on the above, and in the absence of any record
 evidence to indicate that Square will not perform the duties spelled out
 by kountzman, /4/ the authority finds thac ina square, Secretary
 (Typing), GS-318-05, is a confidential employee within the meaning of
 section 7103(a)(13) of the Statute as she works in a confidential
 capacity to an individual who formulates or effectuates management
 policies in the field of labor management relations.  Accordingly, the
 Authority shall exclude her from the bargaining unit.  /5/
 
                                   ORDER
 
    IT IS ORDERED that the unit sought to be clarified be, and it hereby
 is, clarified by excluding from said unit Mary Lou Goucher, Personnel
 Assistant (Typing), GS-303-06 and Ina Square, Secretary (Typing),
 GS-318-05.
 
    Issued, Washington, D.C., February 6, 1984
                                       Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman
                                       Ronald W. Haughton, Member
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ Section 7103(a)(13) of the Statute defines a "confidential
 employee" as:
 
          . . . an employee who acts in a confidential capacity with
       respect to an individual who formulates or effectuates management
       policies in the field of labor-management relations(.)
 
 
    /2/ Section 7112(b)(3) of the Statute provides in pertinent part:
 
          (b) A unit shall not be determined to be appropriate . . . if
       it includes--
 
                                  * * * *
 
          (3) an employee engaged in personnel work in other than a
       purely clerical capacity(.)
 
 
    /3/ In view of the above, the Authority finds it unnecessary to rule
 on whether Goucher is also a confidential employee.
 
 
    /4/ See Homestead Air Force Base, Homestead, Florida, 10 FLRA No.
 115, n. 3(1982)
 
 
    /5/ In view of the above, the Authority finds it unnecessary to rule
 on whether Square is also an employee engaged in personnel work in other
 than a purely clerical capacity.