About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-289683 1 (2002-10-07)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaodq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A 0 Comptroller General Accountability * Integrity* Reliability of the United States United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 Decision Matter of: Purchase of Cold Weather Clothing, Rock Island District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. File: B-289683 Date: October 7, 2002 DIGEST Without specific statutory authority, cold weather clothing is an employee's personal responsibility, not the government's, and appropriated funds, therefore, are not available for that purpose. Our Office has identified three statutes including the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA), that permit the use of appropriated funds to purchase wearing apparel. In the circumstances presented here, two of these three statutes are not available to the Army Corps of Engineers for the purchase of cold weather clothing. Unless the Corps determines that providing suitable cold weather clothing is necessary to satisfy the OSHA standards promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, OSHA is also not available. General statements in the Corps' safety manual about clothing employees should wear to protect themselves from cold weather do not constitute a determination by the agency that it is necessary to provide the clothing in order to satisfy OSHA standards. DECISION The financial manager for the Rock Island District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested an advance decision on the availability of appropriated funds for the purchase of cold weather gear for union employees who work outside in cold weather. The American Federation of Government Employees filed a grievance alleging that the Corps violated its collective bargaining agreement by not providing suitable protective clothing for employees requested to work outdoors in cold weather. The Corps, relying upon the decisions of our Office and contending that such an expenditure was improper, agreed to arbitration by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). In August 2001, the arbitrator issued a decision directing the Corps to provide the cold weather gear. The Corps asks whether appropriated funds are available to purchase cold weather gear for district employees who work outdoors year round.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most