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![handle is hein.gao/gaobadcvi0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
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DE-CISIDN
o '. THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL
. OF THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON, D.C.. 20548
1/ TO
FILE: B-180095
I LDATE:
OCT 2 1975
C LJW~i
7q91g5
MATTER OF: Availability of appropriations for employees' union dues
DIGEST:
Where union dues were not collected by Department of Labor
purcuant to withholdino agreement with union due to admain-
istrative error, Secretary must institute action to recover
resulting overpayment of salary unlcss he waives such col-
lection pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5 5554 (Supp 1II, 1.73). ither
the amounts collected or if waived, the equivalent sum should
then be paid to the union. The agency may not use its appro-
priated funds to pay the employeese debt to the union withouL
either collecting the amounts owed or vaiving such collection
This decision to the Secretary of Labor is in response to a rcquest
of the Assista-nt Secretary for Adminictration and Nanagecment, Departme nt
of Labor, by letter dated i'arch 21, 1975, for our decision regarding the
availability of appropriated funds to pay union.duos which the Dcpart-
ment erroneously failed to withhold from eaployeces' salaries.
The Department of Labor and Departm.ent of Labor Lodge 12 of the
AImerican Federation of Governent ELploycea, AL-CIO, entered into an
agreenant on September 1, 196C.4, providing that the Depart.eant would
withhold union dues from an employee's pay upon receipt of a voluntary
allotment authorization (DL Form 1-181, August 19(4) from the-employee.
The agrceement provides in part that:
Deductions will be made beginning with the first
pay period which begins after tae [authorization] form
is received in the appropriate payroll office and be made
in each subsequent pay period until terminated * * *
The Assistant Secretary states that although deductions are usually
made within the applicable period after receipt of the employee's volun-
tary authorization, occasionally they are inadvertently initiated one or
two pay periods late. In mid-December, l974, approxiately 200 volun-
tary authorization forms for the withholding of union dues were received
by the Department's payroll office. Because of the press of neccssary
end-of-year payroll office activities, the Department was unable to begin
deduction3 for union dues based on the new authorizations for as nany as
three pay periods after receipt. Labor Lodge 12 opposes retroactive
deductions of due from members' pay, and has filed a formal grievance
with the Department requesting that the Department reinburse it for
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