[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67117-67118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21447]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 188 / Friday, September 29, 2023 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 67117]]



FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

5 CFR Part 2429


Miscellaneous and General Requirements

AGENCY: Federal Labor Relations Authority.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is proposing to 
amend its regulations to specify that, if parties wish to file 
documents with the FLRA's Office of Case Intake and Publication (CIP) 
in person, then they must schedule an appointment at least one business 
day in advance. The proposed amendments also specify that 
electronically filed (eFiled) documents must be filed by ``11:59 
p.m.,'' rather than ``midnight,'' on the due date, and make other minor 
technical and formatting changes.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, which must include the caption 
``Miscellaneous and General Requirements,'' by one of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Miscellaneous 
and General Requirements'' in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Erica Balkum, Chief, Office of Case Intake and 
Publication, Federal Labor Relations Authority, Docket Room, Suite 200, 
1400 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20424-0001.
    Instructions: Do not mail written comments if they have been 
submitted via email. Interested persons who mail written comments must 
submit an original and 4 copies of each written comment, with any 
enclosures, on 8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper. Do not deliver comments by hand.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica Balkum, Chief, Office of Case 
Intake and Publication at [email protected] or at: (771) 444-5805.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, 5 CFR 2429.24(a) states that--
except for documents that are filed electronically through the FLRA's 
electronic-filing (eFiling) system--parties that file documents with 
the FLRA's three-Member, decisional component (the Authority) must file 
those documents with CIP between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday through 
Friday, except federal holidays. 5 CFR 2429.24(a). That regulation also 
provides that, if parties file those documents by hand delivery, then 
they must file them no later than 5 p.m. E.T. if the parties want the 
Authority to accept those documents for filing on that day.
    Even before the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, parties rarely filed 
documents with CIP in person, and then in-person filing was suspended 
during the pandemic. Since the FLRA reinstated in-person filing 
effective May 30, 2023, no parties have filed documents with CIP in 
person.
    Further, parties have multiple other methods for filing documents 
with CIP: most may be eFiled, see 5 CFR 2429.24(f) (listing types of 
documents that may be filed by eFiling); all may be filed by commercial 
delivery, first-class mail, or certified mail, see 5 CFR 2429.24(e); 
and some may be filed by facsimile transmission (fax), see 5 CFR 
2429.24(g) (listing types of documents that may be filed by fax). All 
of those filing methods actually provide more flexibility than in-
person filing, because they do not restrict parties to filing their 
documents during a particular window of time during the day. See 5 CFR 
2429.24(a) (under current wording, eFiled documents must be filed by 
midnight); 5 CFR 2429.21(b)(1)(i) (documents filed by first-class mail 
are considered filed on the date of postmark, if a postmark is legible, 
or presumed filed five days before the date the Authority receives 
them, if the postmark is illegible); 5 CFR 2429.21(b)(1)(ii) (documents 
filed by fax are considered filed on the date of transmission if that 
date is clear on the fax, or otherwise considered filed on the date on 
which the Authority receives the fax); 5 CFR 2429.21(b)(1)(iv) 
(documents filed by a commercial-delivery service that provides a 
record showing the date of deposit are considered filed on the date of 
deposit with the commercial-delivery service).
    For these reasons, it is unclear that there is any need for CIP to 
be open to the public for in-person filing on an inflexible schedule of 
8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
    Additionally, as the FLRA continues to move towards fully 
electronic case files, it wishes to strongly encourage parties to file 
any permissible documents through the eFiling system. To the extent 
that moving to an ``appointment-only'' in-person filing system has any 
effect at all on parties' filing practices, it should promote eFiling. 
Further, it would assist CIP--which has decreased in size, over the 
years, to only four full-time-equivalent employees--in more easily 
managing staff-coverage issues, especially if budget constraints or 
other considerations prevent it from filling vacancies as they arise.
    Given these considerations, the Authority is proposing to revise 5 
CFR 2429.24(a) to eliminate the references to parties being: (1) able 
to file documents with CIP between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday 
through Friday (except federal holidays), and (2) required to file any 
hand-delivered documents by 5 p.m. E.T. Instead, the proposed revisions 
would specify that: (1) to file documents with CIP by personal 
delivery, parties must schedule an appointment at least one business 
day in advance by calling CIP; and (2) personal delivery will be 
accepted by appointment Monday through Friday (except federal 
holidays).
    In addition, the proposed revisions would: (1) update CIP's phone 
number to (771) 444-5805; (2) delete the period after ``NW'' in CIP's 
mailing address; (3) change the term ``hand delivery'' to ``personal 
delivery,'' consistent with other Authority regulations, see 5 CFR 
2429.21(b)(1)(iii) (discussing how the Authority determines the due 
dates for ``[d]ocuments filed with the FLRA by personal delivery''); 
(4) change the eFiling deadline from ``midnight E.T.'' on the due date 
to ``11:59 p.m.'' on the due date, because midnight technically starts 
a new day; and (5) correct a typographical error in the second-to-last 
sentence of the regulation, changing ``federal legal documents'' to 
``federal legal holidays.''

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    Pursuant to section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 
U.S.C. 605(b), the Chairman of the FLRA has

[[Page 67118]]

determined that this proposed rule would not have a significant impact 
on a substantial number of small entities, because this proposed rule 
would apply only to Federal agencies, Federal employees, and labor 
organizations representing those employees.

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Review

    The FLRA is an independent regulatory agency and thus is not 
subject to the requirements of E.O. 12866 (58 FR 51735, Sept. 30, 
1993).

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    The FLRA is an independent regulatory agency and thus is not 
subject to the requirements of E.O. 13132 (64 FR 43255, Aug. 4, 1999).

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This proposed rule would not result in the expenditure by state, 
local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private 
sector, of $100,000,000 or more in any one year, and it would not 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no 
actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

    This action is not a major rule as defined by section 804 of the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This 
proposed rule would not result in an annual effect on the economy of 
$100,000,000 or more; a major increase in costs or prices; or 
significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, 
productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based 
companies to compete with foreign-based companies in domestic and 
export markets.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    The proposed rule contains no additional information collection or 
record-keeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 2429

    Administrative practice and procedure, Government employees, Labor 
management relations.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the FLRA proposes to amend 
5 CFR part 2429 as follows:

PART 2429--MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 2429 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 7134; Sec.  2429.18 also issued under 28 
U.S.C. 2112(a).

0
2. Amend Sec.  2429.24 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  2429.24  Place and method of filing; acknowledgment.

    (a) Except for documents that are filed electronically through use 
of the eFiling system on the FLRA's website at www.flra.gov, anyone who 
files a document with the Authority (as distinguished from the General 
Counsel, a Regional Director, or an Administrative Law Judge) must file 
that document with the Chief, Case Intake and Publication, Federal 
Labor Relations Authority, Docket Room, Suite 200, 1400 K Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20424-0001 (telephone: (771) 444-5805). To file 
documents by personal delivery, you must schedule an appointment at 
least one business day in advance by calling the telephone number in 
the previous sentence. Personal delivery is accepted by appointment 
Monday through Friday (except federal holidays). If you file documents 
electronically through use of the FLRA's eFiling system, then you may 
file those documents on any calendar day--including Saturdays, Sundays, 
and federal legal holidays--and the Authority will consider those 
documents filed on a particular day if you file them no later than 
11:59 p.m. on that day. Note, however, that although you may eFile 
documents on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal legal holidays, you are 
not required to do so. Also note that you may not file documents with 
the Authority by electronic mail (``email'').
* * * * *

    Approved: September 26, 2023.
Rebecca J. Osborne,
Director of Legislative Affairs and Program Planning, Federal Labor 
Relations Authority.
[FR Doc. 2023-21447 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6727-01-P