EPA recently announced its plan to eliminate all employees benefits at the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) in Gulf Breeze, Florida. In a letter to the National Association of Independent Labor (NAIL), EPA wrote in a June 18 email: “Effective [August 17, 2018], all terms, conditions and practices established by [the union collective bargaining agreement] cease to exist or be enforceable unless required by the Statute and applicable law.”

Most employee protections and benefits including telework, flexible schedules, and protections during a reduction in force, to name but a few, were negotiated by the union; they are not statutorily-required rights. As a result, each of the benefits negotiated for employees at Gulf Breeze will “cease to exist or be enforceable” on August 17, 2018.

Ironically, the Labor and Employee Relations Official started the email: "I hope all is well."