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Washington — The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has asked a federal court to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report to the court no later than Jan. 24, 2009, on plans it may have for revising or abandoning its efforts to create a new labor relations system.

The NTEU filing with U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia came yesterday after DHS submitted a status report on its intentions, telling the court that it has not yet decided what it wants to do regarding the labor relations portion of its personnel rules—nor setting any timetable for making a decision.

DHS has been prohibited from implementing the labor relations segment by a federal court injunction won by NTEU in a suit challenging the legality of the rules promulgated by DHS under the Homeland Security Act (HSA).

In filing the union’s request with the court, NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley noted that Jan. 24, 2009, is the date on which DHS’s authority to implement a new personnel system expires. Moreover, she said, and as DHS pointed out in its status report, language secured by NTEU in the fiscal 2008 omnibus appropriations bill limits funds for the system and any subsequent system in this fiscal year, at least while the NTEU lawsuit remains pending.

“For the past five years, NTEU has been using every tool at its disposal to prevent DHS from adopting a new labor relations system that would eviscerate collective bargaining rights for employees,” Kelley said. At NTEU’s request, the district court has retained jurisdiction in the suit to consider any new labor relations regulations DHS might devise.

NTEU suggested the January date to the court for two reasons, Kelley said. First, the provision limiting DHS from spending appropriated funds to revise personnel rules will be in effect at least until Sept. 30 of this year, and possibly later if a congressional continuing resolution is put into place. Accordingly, there will be nothing new to report concerning the labor relations regulations for as long as that appropriations law remains in effect.

Second, since Jan. 24, 2009, marks the end of the agency’s authority to act on this issue, the agency would be in a position to advise the court at that time that no new regulations will be forthcoming, and that the long-running case should thus be dismissed.

The January 24, 2009, date derives from passage and implementation of HSA. The legislation creating DHS was enacted on Nov. 25, 2002, and became effective 60 days later, on Jan. 24, 2003. The next 12 months were a transition period under the law, with the five-year period for the issuance of new regulations starting to run on Jan. 24, 2004.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including some 21,000 in DHS’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.