Guidance on Collective Bargaining Obligations in Connection with Deferred Resignation Offer

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued this memorandum to advise agencies that the duty to negotiate with unions over the administration's deferred resignation offer was limited but may vary from agency to agency depending on their collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). In the memorandum, OPM took the positions that an "agency may not be obligated to bargain" on any matter already covered in a CBA, and that any CBA provisions inconsistent with 5 C.F.R. § 715.202 "or management rights" as defined in 5 U.S.C. § 7106(a) "are unenforceable." The memo advised that there "may be some limited collective bargaining obligations" and provided a list of examples of negotiable proposals.