In any matter arising pursuant to parts 2422 and 2423 of this subchapter, whenever it appears necessary in order to effectuate the purposes of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute or to avoid unnecessary costs or delay, Regional Directors may consolidate cases within their own region or may transfer such cases to any other region, for the purpose of investigation or consolidation with any proceedings which may have been instituted in, or transferred to, such region.

In any case under part 2425 of this subchapter, upon request by the Authority, the parties jointly shall transfer the record in the case, including a copy of the transcript, if any, exhibits, briefs and other documents filed with the arbitrator, to the Authority.

Notwithstanding the procedures set forth in this subchapter, the General Counsel, the Assistant Secretary, or the Panel may refer for review and decision or general ruling by the Authority any case involving a major policy issue that arises in a proceeding before any of them. Any such referral shall be in writing and a copy of such referral shall be served on all parties to the proceeding. Before decision or general ruling, the Authority shall obtain the views of the parties and other interested persons, orally or in writing, as it deems necessary and appropriate.

The Authority will not consider any evidence, factual assertions, arguments (including affirmative defenses), requested remedies, or challenges to an awarded remedy that could have been, but were not, presented in the proceedings before the Regional Director, Hearing Officer, Administrative Law Judge, or arbitrator. The Authority may, however, take official notice of such matters as would be proper.

The Authority or the General Counsel, in their discretion, may request or permit oral argument in any matter arising under this subchapter under such circumstances and conditions as they deem appropriate.

(a) Any member of the Authority, the General Counsel, any Administrative Law Judge appointed by the Authority under 5 U.S.C. 3105,and,Hearing,or. However, no subpoena shall be issued under this section which requires the disclosure of intramanagement guidance, advice, counsel, or training within an agency or between an agency and the Office of Personnel Management.

(b) Where the parties are in agreement that the appearance of witnesses or the production of documents is necessary, and such witnesses agree to appear, no such subpoena need be sought.

(c) A request for a subpoena by any person, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 7103(a)(1), shall be in writing and filed with the Regional Director, in proceedings arising under part 2422 of this subchapter, or with the Authority, in proceedings arising under parts 2424 and 2425 of this subchapter, not less than 10 days prior to the hearing, or with the appropriate presiding official(s) during the hearing. Requests for subpoenas made less than 10 days prior to the opening of the hearing shall be granted on sufficient explanation of why the request was not timely filed.

(d) The Authority, General Counsel, Regional Director, Hearing Officer, or any other employee of the Authority designated by the Authority, as appropriate, shall furnish the requester the subpoenas sought, provided the request is timely made. Requests for subpoenas may be made ex parte. Completion of the specific information in the subpoena and the service of the subpoena are the responsibility of the party on whose behalf the subpoena was issued. A subpoena may be served by any person who is at least 18 years old and who is not a party to the proceeding. The person who served the subpoena must certify that he or she did so:

(1) By delivering it to the witness in person,

(2) By registered or certified mail, or

(3) By delivering the subpoena to a responsible person (named in the document certifying the delivery) at the residence or place of business (as appropriate) of the person for whom the subpoena was intended. The subpoena shall show on its face the name and address of the party on whose behalf the subpoena was issued.

(e)(1) Any person served with a subpoena who does not intend to comply, shall, within 5 days after the date of service of the subpoena upon such person, petition in writing to revoke the subpoena. A copy of any petition to revoke a subpoena shall be served on the party on whose behalf the subpoena was issued. Such petition to revoke, if made prior to the hearing, and a written statement of service, shall be filed with the Regional Director in proceedings arising under part 2422 of this subchapter, and with the Authority, in proceedings arising under parts 2424 and 2425 of this subchapter for ruling. A petition to revoke a subpoena filed during the hearing, and a written statement of service, shall be filed with the appropriate presiding official(s).

(2) The Authority, General Counsel, Regional Director, Hearing Officer, or any other employee of the Authority designated by the Authority, as appropriate, shall revoke the subpoena if the person or evidence, the production of which is required, is not material and relevant to the matters under investigation or in question in the proceedings, or the subpoena does not describe with sufficient particularity the evidence the production of which is required, or if for any other reason sufficient in law the subpoena is invalid. The Authority, General Counsel, Regional Director, Hearing Officer, or any other employee of the Authority designated by the Authority, as appropriate, shall state the procedural or other ground for the ruling on the petition to revoke. The petition to revoke, any answer thereto, and any ruling thereon shall not become part of the official record except upon the request of the party aggrieved by the ruling.

(f) Upon the failure of any person to comply with a subpoena issued and upon the request of the party on whose behalf the subpoena was issued, the Solicitor of the Authority shall institute proceedings on behalf of such party in the appropriate district court for the enforcement thereof, unless to do so would be inconsistent with law and the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.

Upon petition of an interested person, a copy of which petition shall be served on the parties, and as the Authority deems appropriate, the Authority may grant permission for the presentation of written and/or oral argument at any stage of the proceedings by an amicus curiae and the parties shall be notified of such action by the Authority.

The Authority and the General Counsel will not issue advisory opinions.

Except as set forth in part 2423, the Authority and the General Counsel ordinarily will not consider interlocutory appeals.

(a) Methods of service. Notices of hearings, decisions and orders of Regional Directors, decisions and recommended orders of Administrative Law Judges, decisions of the Authority, complaints, amended complaints, withdrawals of complaints, written rulings on motions, and all other papers required by this subchapter to be issued by the Authority, the General Counsel, Regional Directors, Hearing Officers, Administrative Law Judges, and Regional Directors when not acting as a party under part 2423 of this subchapter, shall be served personally, by first-class mail, by facsimile transmission, by certified mail, or, as described below with respect to documents issued by the Authority, by electronic mail (hereinafter, “email”). Where facsimile equipment is available, rulings on motions; information pertaining to prehearing disclosure, conferences, orders, or hearing dates, and locations; information pertaining to subpoenas; and other similar or time sensitive matters may be served by facsimile transmission. Where a party using the FLRA's eFiling system has consented to electronic service of documents issued by the Authority in a particular case, the Authority shall serve documents on that party exclusively by email to the email address provided by the party.

(b) Upon whom served. All papers required to be served under paragraph (a) of this section shall be served upon all counsel of record or other designated representative(s) of parties, and upon parties not so represented. Service upon such counsel or representative shall constitute service upon the party, but a copy also shall be transmitted to the party.

(c) Proof of service. Proof of service shall be verified by certificate of the individual serving the papers describing the manner of such service. When service is by mail, the date of service shall be the day when the matter served is deposited in the United States mail. When service is by facsimile, the date of service shall be the date the facsimile transmission is transmitted and, when necessary, verified by a dated facsimile record of transmission. When parties are served documents by the Authority by email, the date of service shall be the date the email is sent.

If the participation of any employee in any phase of any proceeding before the Authority, including the investigation of unfair labor practice charges and representation petitions and the participation in hearings and representation elections, is deemed necessary by the Authority, the General Counsel, any Administrative Law Judge, Regional Director, Hearing Officer, or other agent of the Authority designated by the Authority, the employee shall be granted official time for such participation, including necessary travel time, as occurs during the employee's regular work hours and when the employee would otherwise be in a work or paid leave status.

(a) Witnesses, whether appearing voluntarily or pursuant to a subpoena, shall be paid the fee and mileage allowances which are paid subpoenaed witnesses in the courts of the United States. However, any witness who is employed by the Federal Government shall not be entitled to receive witness fees.

(b) Witness fees, as appropriate, as well as transportation and per diem expenses for a witness shall be paid by the party that calls the witness to testify.

(a) Whenever the Authority, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 7105(i) requests an advisory opinion from the Director of the Office of Personnel Management concerning the proper interpretation of rules, regulations, or policy directives issued by that Office in connection with any matter before the Authority, a copy of such request, and any response thereto, shall be served upon the parties in the matter.

(b) The parties shall have fifteen (15) days from the date of service of a copy of the response of the Office of Personnel Management to file with the Authority comments on that response which the parties wish the Authority to consider before reaching a decision in the matter. Such comments shall be in writing and copies shall be served upon the other parties in the matter and upon the Office of Personnel Management.

The Authority shall take any actions which are necessary and appropriate to administer effectively the provisions of chapter 71 of title 5 of the United States Code.

After a final decision or order of the Authority has been issued, a party to the proceeding before the Authority who can establish in its moving papers extraordinary circumstances for so doing, may move for reconsideration of such final decision or order. The motion shall be filed within ten (10) days after service of the Authority's decision or order. A motion for reconsideration shall state with particularity the extraordinary circumstances claimed and shall be supported by appropriate citations. The filing and pendency of a motion under this provision shall not operate to stay the effectiveness of the action of the Authority, unless so ordered by the Authority. A motion for reconsideration need not be filed in order to exhaust administrative remedies.

Any aggrieved person filing pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 7123(a) a petition for review of a final Authority order in an appropriate Federal circuit court of appeals within 10 days of issuance of the Authority's final order must ensure that a court-stamped copy of the petition for review is received by the Solicitor of the Authority within that 10-day period in order to qualify for participation in the random selection process established in Public Law No. 100-236 for determining the appropriate court of appeals to review an agency final order when petitions for review of that order are filed in more than one court of appeals.

Consistent with the exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 7115(b), after the expiration of the one-year period during which an assignment may not be revoked under 5 U.S.C. 7115(a), an employee may initiate the revocation of a previously authorized assignment at any time that the employee chooses. After the expiration of the one-year period of irrevocability under 5 U.S.C. 7115(a), upon receiving an employee's request to revoke a previously authorized dues assignment, an agency must process the revocation request as soon as administratively feasible.