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Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
Practical Law Glossary Item 3-576-3025 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
The US agency that enforces the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which governs labor-management relations in the federal workforce. The FLRA is the federal public sector counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which governs labor relations between private sector employees and employers.
The primary responsibilities of the FLRA are to:
- Resolve complaints of unfair labor practices (ULPs).
- Determine appropriate bargaining units for labor organization representation and conduct elections for union representation.
- Decide appeals (exceptions) to labor arbitrators' awards.
- Decide legal issues about the duty to bargain.
- Resolve impasses in collective bargaining negotiations.
- Conduct outreach and training for federal agencies and unions.
The FLRA has three distinct components:
- The Authority. A quasi-judicial body with three full-time members who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
- The Office of the General Counsel of the Authority (OGC). The General Counsel is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The OGC investigates and prosecutes unfair labor practices before the Authority and conducts union elections.
- The Federal Service Impasses Panel. A panel comprised of seven part-time members who are appointed by the President. The Impasses Panel resolves impasses between unions and agencies.
The FLRA also provides staff support to two organizations created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. §§ 4106 and 4110):
- The Foreign Service Impasse Disputes Panel.
- The Foreign Service Labor Relations Board.
The FLRA is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has seven regional offices and one satellite office. For more information, see Practice Note, Federal Labor Relations Authority.