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American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1647  v. FLRA, 388 F.3d 405 (3d Cir. 2004), reviewing 59 FLRA 369 (2003).

The Third Circuit denied the union’s petition for review. The Authority’s decision held nonnegotiable a union proposal requiring the agency to use its Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF) to reimburse employees for personal losses such as forfeited airline tickets, hotel deposits, and the like, resulting from the cancellation of previously approved leave. The union argued that because the AWCF was a revolving fund, the money collected was at least in part nonappropriated funds that could be used to reimburse employees.   Rejecting this argument, the court agreed with the Authority’s reasoning that the AWCF should be treated as an “on-going or continuing appropriation.”  However, the court disagreed with the Authority’s blanket generalization that revolving funds are always appropriations since the test depends on “whether the particular revolving fund is financed-or is permitted to be financed-by appropriated funds.”  The court therefore examined the AWCF to see whether Congress had clearly expressed its intent to separate the agency from general federal revenues.  The court held in this regard that Congress intended that the AWCF was to be supported by appropriated funds.