In American Federation of Government Employees v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, D.C. Cir., No. 20-1938 (1/28/22) the petitioner Union challenged a 2020 Policy Statement of the Federal Labor Relations Authority that announced for the first time that zipper clauses are mandatory bargaining subjects of collective bargaining. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Policy Statement, finding it to be arbitrary and capricious. The Court held “[t]he Authority failed to offer a reasoned explanation for its decision that the Statute does not require midterm bargaining. The Policy Statement simply deemed it ‘more appropriate’ to read the Statute to not require midterm bargaining. But it offered no non-arbitrary reason why.” The Court also stated: “The Authority next held that zipper clauses are mandatory bargaining subjects. Because the Authority rested this holding critically on the first, we must vacate it as well.”
D.C. Circuit Overrules FLRA Policy Statement on Zipper Clauses
