[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 15125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7741]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 60 / Tuesday, March 30, 1999 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 15125]]


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GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

4 CFR Parts 27 and 28


Personnel Appeals Board; Procedural Rules

agency: General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board.

action: Interim rule with request for comments.

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summary: The General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board (PAB) 
has authority with respect to employment practices within the General 
Accounting Office (GAO or agency), pursuant to the General Accounting 
Office Personnel Act of 1980. The PAB hereby amends its regulations, on 
an interim basis, to conform to Board policy recognizing that a quorum 
of three members of the Board may exercise all the powers of the Board, 
and that a majority of a quorum may act in any matter requiring 
consideration by the full Board. The Board invites public comment on 
this amendment before it becomes final.

dates: These interim regulations are effective March 30, 1999. Comments 
on these regulations must be received by the Board on or before June 1, 
1999, in order to be considered.

addresses: Comments may be mailed to: Clerk, General Accounting Office 
Personnel Appeals Board, Suite 560, Union Center Plaza II, 441 G Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20548. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile 
transmission to 202-512-7525.

for further information contact: Beth Don, Executive Director, 202-512-
6137.

supplementary information: The General Accounting Office Personnel 
Appeals Board is authorized by Congress, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 751-755, 
to hear and decide certain employment-related cases brought by GAO 
employees and to exercise oversight over equal employment opportunity 
at the agency. By statute, the Board is composed of five members who 
serve five-year nonrenewable terms. 31 U.S.C. 751(a) and (c)(1). The 
statute contains no provision expressly governing Board procedures in 
the case of a vacancy in Board membership. The statute states that the 
Board may delegate to a member or panel of members the authority to act 
under its power to consider and order corrective and disciplinary 
action. 31 U.S.C. 753(c). A decision of a member or panel is final 
unless the Board reconsiders the decision either on motion of a party 
or on its own initiative. 31 U.S.C. 753(c). Further, the statute 
authorizes the Board to prescribe regulations providing for appeals and 
providing for the operating procedures of the Board. 31 U.S.C. 753(e).
    The Board has followed the common law rule, set forth in Roberts 
Rules of Order and recognized by the Supreme Court in FTC v. Flotill 
Products, 389 U.S. 179 (1967), that a majority of a quorum constituted 
of a simple majority of a collective body may act for that body when 
the enabling statute is silent on the question. This principle was 
adopted by the Board as a policy statement on May 15, 1995. The 
amendment to the Board's regulations is intended to formalize the 
application of the common law rule to the Board's operating procedures. 
The Board is making this regulation effective immediately upon 
publication, on an interim basis, to conform the regulation to the 
Board's practice and to clarify who may act for the Board. The Board, 
however, welcomes public comment and will carefully consider all 
comments received before adopting this regulation in final form.

List of Subjects

4 CFR Part 27

    Government employees, Organization and functions (government 
agencies).

4 CFR Part 28

    Administrative practice and procedure, Equal employment 
opportunity, Government employees, Labor-management relations.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the General Accounting 
Office Personnel Appeals Board amends 4 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter B, as 
follows:

PART 27--GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD; 
ORGANIZATION

    1. The authority citation for part 27 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 31 U.S.C. 753.

    2. Section 27.1 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 27.1  The Board.

    The General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board, hereinafter 
the Board, is composed of five members appointed by the Comptroller 
General, in accordance with the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 751. For 
purposes of the regulations in this part and 4 CFR parts 28 and 29, a 
simple majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum and a majority 
of a quorum may act for the Board. The Board may designate a panel of 
its members or an individual Board member to take any action within the 
scope of the Board's authority, subject to later reconsideration by the 
Board.

PART 28--GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD; 
PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO CLAIMS CONCERNING EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AT 
THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

    1. The authority citation for Part 28 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 31 U.S.C. 753.

    2. Section 28.3 is amended by revising the definition of Board to 
read as follows:


Sec. 28.3  General definitions.

* * * * *
    Board means the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board 
as established by 31 U.S.C. 751 and explained in 4 CFR 27.1.
* * * * *
Michael Wolf,
Chair, Personnel Appeals Board, U.S. General Accounting Office.
[FR Doc 99-7741 Filed 3-29-99; 8:45 am]
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