FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY OALJ 16-11
Office of Administrative Law Judges
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20424
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN DORN VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA RESPONDENT | Case No. AT-CA-15-0475 |
AND AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1915 CHARGING PARTY |
Ayo A. Glanton
For the General Counsel
Tamara Nichols
Asha Burrell
For the Respondent
Johnny Allen
For the Charging Party
Before: CHARLES R. CENTER
Chief Administrative Law Judge
DECISION ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
On October 14, 2015, the Regional Director of the Atlanta Region of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA/Authority),issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing, alleging that the Department of Veterans Affairs, William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, South Carolina (Respondent), violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (Statute). The Complaint alleged that the Respondent did not respond to the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1915 (Union), request to negotiate over a change to the extension of a detail of bargaining unit employee Richard Verry for 120 days.
The Complaint indicated that a hearing on the allegations would be held on December 8, 2015, and advised the Respondent that an Answer to the Complaint was due no later than November 9, 2015. The Complaint was served by first class mail on Respondent’s agents, Tamara Nichols, Chief, Human Resources Management Service and Asha Burrell, Employee/Labor Relations Specialist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 6439 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, SC 29209, and the Respondent failed to file an Answer to the Complaint.
On November 19, 2015, Counsel for the General Counsel (GC) filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (MSJ) based upon the Respondent’s failure to file an Answer to the Complaint, contending that by application of 5 C.F.R. § 2423.20(b), the Respondent admitted all of the allegations set forth in the Complaint. Accordingly, the GC contends that there are no factual or legal issues in dispute and summary judgment pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 2423.27(a) is proper. The Respondent failed to file a response to the motion for summary judgment. As I have determined that summary judgment in this matter is appropriate, the hearing scheduled for December 8, 2015, in Columbia, South Carolina, is cancelled.
DISCUSSION OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
The relevant portion of the Authority’s Rules and Regulations provides:
(b) Answer. Within 20 days after the date of service of the complaint . . .
the Respondent shall file and serve, . . . an answer with the Office of
Administrative Law Judges. The answer shall admit, deny, or explain each
allegation of the complaint. . . . Absent a showing of good cause to the contrary, failure to file an answer or respond to any allegation shall constitute an admission. . . .
The regulations also explain how to calculate filing deadlines and how to request extensions of time for filing the required documents. See, e.g.,sections 2429.21 through 2429.23.
In the text of the Complaint, the Regional Director provided the Respondent with detailed instructions concerning the requirements for its Answer, including the date on which the Answer was due, the persons to whom it must be sent, and references to the applicable regulations. The plain language of the notice leaves no doubt that Respondent was required to file an Answer to the Complaint.
Moreover, the Authority has held, in a variety of factual and legal contexts, that parties are responsible for being aware of the statutory and regulatory requirements in proceedings under the Statute. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, Envtl. Research Lab., Narragansett, R.I.,49 FLRA 33, 34-36 (1994) (answer to a complaint and an ALJ’s order); U.S. Dep’t of VA Med. Ctr., Waco, Tex., 43 FLRA 1149, 1150 (1992) (exceptions to an arbitrator’s award); U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Customs Serv., Wash., D.C.,37 FLRA 603, 610 (1990) (failure to file an answer due to a clerical error is not good cause sufficient to prevent a summary judgment).
In this case the Respondent has not filed an Answer, nor has it demonstrated any “good cause” for the failure to do so. In U.S. Dep’t of Transp., FAA, Hous., Tex.,63 FLRA 34, 36 (2008), the Authority held that the agency’s misfiling of a complaint, resulting in its filing an answer two weeks after the deadline, did not demonstrate “extraordinary
circumstances” that might constitute “good cause” for the late filing. See also U.S. Dep’t of VA Med. Ctr., Kan. City, Mo., 52 FLRA 282, 284 (1996) and the cases cited therein. Moreover, after the General Counsel filed its MSJ, the Respondent did not file a response or otherwise offer any explanation for its failure to answer the Complaint. Given the Respondent’s failure to respond to the Complaint or the MSJ, and the absence of good cause for such failures, application of the admission provision of 5 C.F.R. § 2423.20(b) is appropriate. Thus, Respondent has admitted each of the allegations set forth in the Complaint. As I have determined that this case is ripe for summary judgment, the hearing scheduled for December 8, 2015, is canceled. Accordingly, there are no disputed factual issues and summary judgment in favor of the General Counsel is granted.
Based on the existing record, I make the following findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The Department of Veterans Affairs, William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, South Carolina, is an agency under § 7103(a)(3) of the Statute.
2. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is a labor organization under § 7103(a)(4) of the Statute and is the exclusive representative of a unit of employees appropriate for collective bargaining at the Respondent.
3. AFGE Local 1915 is an agent of AFGE for the purpose of representing employees within the unit described in paragraph 2.
4. The Union filed the charge in Case No. AT-CA-15-0475 with the Atlanta Regional Director on May 4, 2015.
5. A copy of the charge was served on the Respondent.
6. At all material times, Mylinda Young occupied the position of DRT supervisor and was a supervisor and/or management official of the Respondent within the meaning of § 7103(a)(10) and (11) of the Statute, and was an agent of the Respondent acting upon its behalf.
7. On or about April 10, 2015, the Respondent, by Young, notified the Union that it was extending the detail of unit employee Richard Verry for 120 days.
8. On April 13, 2015, the Union, by Executive Vice President Johnny Allen, requested to negotiate over the change described in paragraph 7.
9. The Respondent did not respond to the Union’s request as described in paragraph 8.
10. By the conduct described in paragraph 9 the Respondent committed an unfair labor practice in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7116(a)(1) and (5).
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
By the conduct described in the facts set forth above as drawn from the Complaint containing allegations to which the Respondent failed to file an Answer or otherwise demonstrate good cause for such failure, the Respondent admits that it did not respond to the Union’s request to negotiate over the extension of a detail of a bargaining unit employee. Therefore, the Respondent violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Statute.
REMEDY
As a remedy, the GC requests that the Respondent be ordered to cease and desist from failing to respond to the Union’s request to negotiate and to post a notice signed by the Medical Center Director using bulletin boards and electronic email to all bargaining unit employees. I have determined that this is an appropriate remedy in this matter and will order such.
Accordingly, I recommend that the Authority grant the General Counsel’s Motion for Summary Judgment and adopt the following order:
ORDER
Pursuant to § 2423.41(c) of the Authority’s Rules and Regulations and § 7118 of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (Statute), the Department of Veterans Affairs, William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, South Carolina, shall:
1. Cease and desist from:
(a) Refusing to respond to the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1915 (Union), request to negotiate over a change to the extension of a detail of bargaining unit employee Richard Verry for 120 days.
(b) In any like or related manner, interfering with, restraining, or coercing bargaining unit employees in the exercise of the rights assured them by the Statute.
2. Take the following affirmative actions in order to effectuate the purposes and policies of the Statute:
(a) Negotiate, upon request, with the Union over the extension of the detail of Richard Verry, for 120 days.
(b) Post at its facilities where bargaining unit employees represented by the Union are located, copies of the attached Notice on forms to be furnished by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Upon receipt of such forms, they shall be signed by the Director, William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, South Carolina, and shall be posted and maintained for sixty (60) consecutive days thereafter, in conspicuous places, including all bulletin boards and other places where notices to employees are customarily posted. Reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that such Notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
(c) In addition to physical posting of paper notices, Notices shall be distributed electronically, on the same day as physical posting, such as by email, posting on an intranet or internet site, or other electronic means, if such are customarily used to communicate with employees.
(d) Pursuant to § 2423.41(e) of the Authority’s Rules and Regulations, notify the Regional Director, Atlanta Region, Federal Labor Relations Authority, in writing, within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order, as to what steps have been taken to comply.
Issued, Washington, D.C., December 2, 2015
_________________________________
CHARLES R. CENTER
Chief Administrative Law Judge
NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
The Federal Labor Relations Authority has found that the Department of Veterans Affairs, William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Columbia, South Carolina, violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (Statute), and has ordered us to post and abide by this Notice.
WE HEREBY NOTIFY OUR EMPLOYEES THAT:
WE WILL NOT fail and refuse to respond to the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1915 (Union), request to negotiate over a change to the extension of a detail of bargaining unit employee Richard Verry for 120 days, as required by the Statute.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner, interfere with, restrain, or coerce bargaining unit employees in the exercise of the rights assured them by the Statute.
WE WILL negotiate, upon request, with the Union over the extension of the detail of Richard Verry for 120 days, as required by the Statute.
_______________________________________________
(Agency/Respondent)
Dated: ___________________ By:_______________________________________________
(Signature) (Title)
This Notice must remain posted for sixty (60) consecutive days from the date of posting and must not be altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.
If employees have any questions concerning this Notice or compliance with its provisions, they may communicate directly with the Regional Director, Atlanta Region, Federal Labor Relations Authority, whose address is: 225 Peachtree Street, Suite 1950, Atlanta, GA 30303, and whose telephone number is: (404) 331-5300.