Administrative Leave for Union Sponsored Training

An official of the Department of the Interior requested an opinion on how the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) could interpret Comptroller General decisions relating to training of personnel. The FLRA held that a union proposal to allow each employee in a bargaining unit 8 hours per year as official time for union sponsored training was negotiable. The official from Interior asserts that this is in direct conflict with GAO decisions. These prior decisions were based on various Executive orders promulgated in the Federal labor relations area. A section of one of the Executive orders states that any employee can be eligible for training. This section would therefore allow the parties to negotiate official time for training unit employees who are not labor organization representatives.