UC Law Journal
Abstract
An important achievement of the Carter Administration was the enactment of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Title VII of that act, headed "Federal Service Labor-Management Relations" (Statute), governs collective bargaining in the federal sector, which includes more than two million employees. Section 7118(a)(7) of the Statute requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority (Authority) to impose certain effective remedies that will achieve the purpose of the Act. This Note focuses on the Authority's use of status quo ante remedies for violations of section 7116(a)(5), which makes it an unfair labor practice for a government agency "to refuse to consult or negotiate in good faith with a labor organization" as required by the Statute. A status quo ante remedy takes the form of an order requiring a return to the situation that existed before the commission of the unfair labor practice. Following a brief discussion of cases involving status quo ante remedies prior to the Statute, the Note discusses the impact of the Statute on the duty to bargain and the availability of status quo ante remedies. The decisions of the Authority regarding the appropriateness of these remedies are then examined. The Note concludes that the Authority has failed to exercise its status quo ante power to the extent envisioned by Congress when agency managers fail to bargain in good faith, thereby encouraging the very unilateral agency decisionmaking that the Statute was designed to prevent.
Recommended Citation
Joseph William Bell,
Status Quo Ante Remedies under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute,
35 Hastings L.J. 353
(1983).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol35/iss2/3