Preliminary Agreement To Set Effective Date for Wage Rates

Clarification was requested of earlier decisions concerning the effective implementation date of certain negotiated wage schedules of the agency's employees. The union desired to agree in advance to the effective date of the new wage agreement while continuing to bargain over the rate, but the agency claimed that such a preliminary agreement must contain an independently ascertainable standard for the wage rate in order to avoid the ban on retroactive wage increases. It is permissable for the agency to agree in advance on an effective date to implement wages yet to be negotiated when the agreed-upon date is not earlier than the date of the preliminary agreement.