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  • Social Security Administration, Regional Office of Quality Assurance and Performance Assessment, Dallas, Texas (Respondent) and American Federation of Government, Employees, Local 1336 (Charging Party)

Social Security Administration, Regional Office of Quality Assurance and Performance Assessment, Dallas, Texas (Respondent) and American Federation of Government, Employees, Local 1336 (Charging Party)

[ v56 p1108 ]

56 FLRA No. 197

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
REGIONAL OFFICE OF QUALITY ASSURANCE
AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
DALLAS, TEXAS
(Respondent)

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1336
(Charging Party)

DA-CA-90671

_____

DECISION AND ORDER

February 27, 2001

_____

Before the Authority: Donald S. Wasserman, Chairman; Dale Cabaniss and Carol Waller Pope, Members.

I.     Statement of the Case

      This unfair labor practice case is before the Authority on exceptions to the attached decision of the Administrative Law Judge filed by the General Counsel.

      The complaint alleges that the Respondent violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) by refusing to bargain over a change of no longer allowing employees to wear personal headsets when working Saturday overtime. The General Counsel contended that the Respondent's actions changed the past practice. The Judge, finding no such past practice, concluded that the General Counsel failed to establish that the Respondent had violated the Statute as alleged. Accordingly, the Judge recommended that the Authority dismiss the complaint.

      Upon consideration of the Judge's decision, the General Counsel's exceptions, and the entire record, we adopt the Judge's findings, conclusions, and recommended Order. [n1] 

II.     Order

      The complaint is dismissed.

File 1: Authority's Decision in 56 FLRA No. 197
File 2: ALJ's Decision

Footnote # 1 for 56 FLRA No. 197 - Authority's Decision

   In part, the General Counsel argues that the Judge committed reversible error by failing to address its primary argument that there was no policy prohibiting employees from wearing personal headsets when working Saturday overtime, and the institution of such a policy, without notice, is a violation of the Statute. A Judge does not err by failing to address an issue when the issue was neither expressly alleged in the complaint, nor fully and fairly litigated. See BOP, Office of Internal Affairs, Wash., D.C. and Phoenix, Ariz., 52 FLRA 421, 428-30 (1996); United States Dep't of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 55 FLRA 968, 971 (1999). We have reviewed the record and find that the issue was not specifically encompassed in the complaint and was not fully and fairly litigated. As such, the Judge did not err.