17:0924(121)NG - National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals, AFGE and HHS, SSA; National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals, AFGE and HHS, SSA -- 1985 FLRAdec NG

 17 FLRA No. 121
 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SSA FIELD 
 OPERATIONS LOCALS, AMERICAN 
 FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT 
 EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO 
 Union 
 
 and 
 
 DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND
 HUMAN SERVICES, SOCIAL SECURITY 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. 0-NG-873
 
 and 
 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF SSA FIELD 
 OPERATIONS LOCALS, AMERICAN 
 FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT 
 EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO 
 Union 
 
 and 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
 HUMAN SERVICES, SOCIAL SECURITY 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. 0-NG-891
 
          CONSOLIDATED DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUE
 
    The petitions for review in these cases /1/ come before the Authority
 pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service
 Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), and raise an issue
 regarding the negotiability of two similar Union proposals.  Upon
 careful consideration of the entire record, including the parties'
 contentions, the Authority makes the following determinations.
 
                             Union Proposal 1
 
          All OFO employees in Region III will have an additional 20
       minutes paid time for banking purposes on pay days.
 
                             Union Proposal 2
 
          All employees in Region III will be excused and paid for 20
       minutes immediately preceding or following the unpaid lunch
       period.
 
    The record indicates that the Union sought negotiations over the
 disputed proposals following the Agency's decision to terminate a long
 standing practice of routinely granting certain employees in Region III
 15 minutes of administrative leave in addition to a half hour unpaid
 lunch period.  Union Proposal 1 would give employees 20 minutes of paid
 time on pay days, and the record indicates that such time is intended to
 be appended to the lunch period.  Union Proposal 2 would give employees
 20 minutes of paid time immediately preceding or following the lunch
 period on a daily basis.  In this regard, the Union proposals herein are
 to the same effect as the union proposal found to be outside the duty to
 bargain in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local
 3231 and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security
 Administration, 17 FLRA No. 83 (1985).  In that decision, the Authority
 held that a proposal which would have attached a paid break to an unpaid
 lunch period was nonnegotiable because it conflicted with 5 U.S.C. 6101
 /2/ as interpreted in Comptroller General Decision B-190011 (December
 30, 1977).  Similarly, the proposals at issue herein would require the
 Agency to append a paid break to the unpaid lunch period for the purpose
 of extending the lunch period.  Thus, for reasons set forth in American
 Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO Local 3231 and Department of
 Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, the Authority
 concludes in agreement with the Agency that the Union proposals are
 inconsistent with law, 5 U.S.C. 6101, and are outside the duty to
 bargain.
 
    Accordingly, pursuant to section 2424.10 of the Authority's Rules and
 Regulations, IT IS ORDERED that the Union's petition for review be, and
 it hereby is, dismissed.  /3/ Issued, Washington, D.C., May 8, 1985
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Acting
                                       Chairman
                                       William J. McGinnis, Jr., Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ The Authority, pursuant to a request by the parties, has
 consolidated these two cases because the proposals involved are similar
 and present the same negotiability question.
 
 
    /2/ 5 U.S.C. 6101 provides in pertinent part as follows:
 
    (2) The head of each Executive agency, military department, and of
 the government of the District of Columbia shall--
 
          (A) establish a basic administrative workweek of 40 hours for
       each full-time employee in his organization;  and
 
          (B) require that the hours of work within that workweek be
       performed within a period of not more than 6 of any 7 consecutive
       days.
 
    (3) Except when the head of an Executive agency, a military
 department, or of the government of the District of Columbia determines
 that his organization would be seriously handicapped in carrying out its
 functions or that costs would be substantially increased, he shall
 provide, with respect to each employee in his organization, that--
 
          (A) assignments to tours of duty are scheduled in advance over
       periods of not less than 1 week;
 
          (B) the basic 40-hour workweek is scheduled on 5 days, Monday
       through Friday when possible, and the 2 days outside the basic
       workweek are consecutive;
 
          (C) the working hours in each day in the basic workweek are the
       same;
 
          (D) the basic nonovertime workday may not exceed 8 hours;
 
          (E) the occurrence of holidays may not affect the designation
       of the basic workweek;  and
 
          (F) breaks in working hours of more than 1 hour may not be
       scheduled in a basic workday.
 
 
    /3/ In view of the decision herein, it is unnecessary to address the
 Agency's additional contentions.