370.550.4 - Allotments and Assignments of Pay - Voluntary Allotment for Payment of Dues

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OPR: Admin/Office of Personnel

1. Policy. It is USGS policy to permit employees to make voluntary allotments for payment of dues to a labor organization, an association of management officials or supervisors, or to professional or other associations when the basic requirements are met.

2. Definition of Dues. The regular periodic amount required to maintain the employee as a member in good standing in the labor organization, association of management officials or supervisors, or professional or other association. Excluded are initiation fees, special assessments, back dues, fines, and similar nonrecurring items.

3. Basic Requirements for Participation in Dues Withholding Program.

A. Labor Organization. The labor organization and the Survey must have entered into a written agreement to deduct allotments for the payment of dues and if appropriate, to recover the cost of making the deduction. See 370.550.4.3D.

B. Association of Management Officials or Supervisors, or Professional or Other Associations. These types of associations that have established official relationships with the Survey may be granted the dues withholding privilege. The association and the Survey must enter into a written agreement to deduct allotments for the payment of dues and if appropriate, to recover the costs of making the deduction. The association must meet the following criteria which must be included in the agreement:

(1) It must provide some worthwhile function or service that would contribute to the Survey's mission and program or to the morale and welfare of Survey employees.

(2) It must have a sufficient number of members who request dues withholding to justify the administrative arrangements required of the Survey.

(3) It must not be eligible for recognition under 5 USC 71, the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute, must not have the characteristics or purpose of a labor organization, or be affiliated with a labor organization or federation of labor organizations.

(4) It must be a lawful nonprofit organization and its constitution and bylaws must indicate that it subscribes to certain minimum standards of fiscal responsibility and employee democratic principles in the nomination and election of officers.

(5) It must not discriminate in regard to the terms or conditions of membership because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, or handicap.

(6) It must not assist or participate in a strike, work stoppage, or slowdown against the Government of the United States or any agency thereof nor impose a duty or obligation to conduct, assist, or participate in such a strike.

(7) It must not advocate the overthrow of the constitutional form of government in the United States.

An association wishing to qualify for dues withholding must submit a request to the Bureau Labor Relations Officer. The request shall include the following: a copy of the association's constitution and bylaws; a list of members who are employees of the Survey and who request dues withholding; the association's prerequisites for membership; the professional, technical, or managerial field of work of its members and of its programs; its purposes and goals; and the other associations or organizations, if any, with which it is affiliated. This request will be reviewed to ensure that it is appropriate and feasible. If it is satisfactory, the association and the Survey will enter into a written agreement establishing the eligibility for its members to make allotments for payment of dues. The agreement will allow the Survey the flexibility to terminate unilaterally the agreement with 30 days' notice for noncompliance by the association with any of the above-mentioned criteria.

C. Employee. Requesting dues withholding must meet the following criteria:

(1) Employee must be a member in good standing as determined by the labor organization, association of management officials or supervisors, or professional or other association.

(2) Employee's earnings must be regularly sufficient to cover the amount of the allotment and the net salary for any pay period must be sufficient to cover the dues deduction after all other deductions are made.

D. Fee for Service. The amount of the fee for dues withholding is a matter of negotiation with labor organizations that do not have exclusive recognition with the Survey. Labor organizations that have exclusive recognition with the Survey (those where 10 or more of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit have membership) will not be assessed any fees for dues withholding. With respect to associations of management officials or supervisors, or professional or other associations, the Survey has the authority to establish a standard fee, or not to charge a fee; however, the amount, if any, of a fee charged these associations will be determined at the time of entering into a written agreement. The fee cannot exceed the actual cost of the service.

4. Responsibilities of Labor Organizations, Association of Management Officials or Supervisors, or Professional or Other Associations.

A. To inform each member of the voluntary nature of authorization for allotment to pay dues; the prescribed procedure for authorizing the allotment; the procedure for revoking an authorization and the conditions governing the revocation.

B. To acquire and distribute to its interested members SF 1187 (Request for Authorization for Voluntary Allotment of Compensation for Payment of Employee Organization Dues); to receive SF 1187's completed by members; to certify amount of dues by completing Section A of the form; and to send properly completed SF 1187's to the Bureau Labor Relations Office, MS 215, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 20192.

C. To notify the Bureau Labor Relations Officer in writing when an employee is no longer a member in good standing.

D. To notify the Bureau Labor Relations Officer in writing of any change in the amount of regular dues. The dues withholding agreement shall specify how often a change may be made in the amount of dues allotment.

E. To bear the cost of making deductions as provided in the dues withholding agreement. This applies only to those organizations not having exclusive recognition with the Survey.