Date From. Subj: To Department of Veterans Affairs Memorandum November 7, 2018 Acting Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration Notice of Repudiation: Official Time for Title 38 Employees in the 2011 Master Agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Alma L. Lee, President ?AFGE/National Veterans Affairs Council NOTICE OF REPUDIATION This notice is to alert you that, pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 7422, employees described in 38 U.S.C. 7421 (?Title 38 employees?) may no longer utilize official time because the use of official time by Title 38 employees negatively impacts direct patient care. The following list of articles from the 2011 Master Agreement between VA and AFGE Master Agreement") includes multiple contract provisions that reference official time. The list, however, is not all inclusive. The official time exclusion applies to all Title 38 employee official time provisions found in the Master Agreement, as well as any Memorandum of Understanding past practices, supplemental agreements, and collectively bargained agreements with AFGE that are currently in effect. The impacted Master Agreement articles include: 1. Article 3: Labor Management Cooperation . Section 7 Use of Time 2. Article 4: Labor Management Training . Section 3 Joint Management Training 3. Article 5: Labor Management Committee 4. Article 7: Quality Programs 0 Section 2 General Section 3 Quality Programs Council Charter Section 4 Official Time Usage Section 5 Labor Management Forums and Official Time Section 6 Performance Evaluation Section 7 Return to Duty of 100% Union Representative 5. Article 8: Child Care . Section 3 Local Child Care Committees 6. Article 18: Equal Employment Opportunity . Section 7 VA Diversity Council/EEO Committees Page 2. Subject: Notice of Repudiation: Official Time for Title 38 Employees in the 2011 Master Agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 7. Article 27: Performance Appraisal - Section 3 Policy 8. Article 29: Safety, Health and Environment 0 Section 2 National Safety and Health Committee . Section 3 Union Participation 9. Article 45: Dues Withholding . Section 8 Revocation for Bargaining Unit Employees 10.Artic e 48: Local Supplement 0 Section 3 Ground Rules for Negotiating Local Supplemental Agreements 11.Article 47: Mid-Term Bargaining - Section 2 National . Section 4 Local 12.Article 48: Official Time . Section 1 Purpose Section 2 Designated Union Officials/Representatives Section 3 Accumulated Official Time Section 4 Additional Time Allotted Section 5 Travel to Other Locations Section 6 Other Activities Section 7 Performance Evaluation Section 10 Local 13.Article 49: Rights and ReSponsibilities 0 Section 9 New Employee Orientation FLRA Precedent Allows for Lawful Repudiation of Nonnegotiable Provisions FLRA precedent allows Federal agencies to lawfully repudiate a collective bargaining agreement provision that conflicts with Federal law. Specifically, the Master Agreement, by allowing Title 38 employees to utilize official time, is in direct conflict with the collective bargaining exclusions found in 38 U.S.C. 7422. 38 U.S.C. 7422 states that collective bargaining on behalf of Title 38 employees ?may not cover, or have any applicability to,? any matter that concerns: direct patient care; clinical competence; peer review; or the establishment, determination, or adjustment of employee compensation. Page 3. Subject: Notice of Repudiation: Official Time for Title 38 Employees in the 2011 Master Agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Beginning on November 15, 2018, the Department will no longer comply with the official time provisions for Title 38 employees contained in the Master Agreement, any MOUs, past practices, supplemental agreements, and any other collectively bargained agreements currently in effect. ct lJ?Asnsis'taynt Secretary for Human Resources and Administration