Federal Employee Change of Supervisor: Why You Have No Control

Your Assigned Supervisor is Beyond Your Control

In the world of employee labor relations (ELR), organizational realignments are a frequent reality. When an agency component shifts, it often triggers changes in supervisory assignments, directly impacting bargaining unit employees. It's natural for employees, and even labor organizations, to voice concerns—sometimes even demanding specific supervisors not oversee certain personnel.

However, when it comes to the change of supervisor assignment, the message from ELR practitioners is crystal clear: It is beyond your control.

The Line in the Sand: A Management Prerogative

Simply put, the assignment of supervisors over any individual employee or group of employees is outside the scope of collective bargaining. You may have a right to a supervisor, but you have absolutely no right, or even influence, over who that supervisor is.

When an employee or a union approaches ELR specialists with concerns or demands about a supervisory assignment, the response is consistent: complete rejection. In fact, management personnel are often advised not to even discuss the change of supervisor.

🛑 This is a fundamental line in the sand that should never be crossed.Crossing it—by either labor or management—strikes at the very core of efficient government operationsand the ability to manage the federal workforce.

The Legal Foundation: FLRA Case Law

The agency’s authority stems from the Federal Services Labor Management Relations Statute. While complex due to years of case law, the Statute ultimately reserves the right of supervisory assignment, and most matters concerning the assignment of work, to the sole discretion of the agency.

This management right includes:

• The authority to determine the particular assigned duties of any employee (supervisory or non-supervisory).

• The timing of when work assignments occur.

• To whom or what positions the duties will be assigned.

Key Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) Rulings

Multiple FLRA decisions reinforce this principle:

Case	Year	Key Ruling
Social Security Administration, Baltimore	2012	Upheld the agency's right regarding supervisory and work assignments.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center	2005	Ruled that a proposal requiring specific duties for a management official interferes with the agency's right to assign work.
Military Sealift Command	2005	Determined a union proposal for civilian employees to be supervised by a civilian interfered with management's right to assign work.

The rulings in NASA and Military Sealift Command in 2005 strongly reinforced the right of an agency to assign a supervisor to any employee or group of employees without interference.

The Takeaway: Adjust Your Personality, Not the Workplace

As a federal employee, you can influence various aspects of your workplace environment, but you have zero ability to effect a federal employee change of supervisor. If you find yourself in a personality or professional conflict with your new supervisor, the advice is tough but necessary: you will need to get over it, unless the situation escalates to an actionable issue.

True professionals find a way to deal with these situations. As a federal employee, you must adjust your personality to the workplace; the workplace is not required to adjust to the unique personality of each federal employee.