In the case of Federal Labor Relations Authority v. Aberdeen Proving Ground, Department of the Army (1987), the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). The issue at hand was whether or not certain employees were entitled to union representation during an examination by an agency inspector general under Section 7114(a)(2)(B) of Title VII. This section provides that a federal employee has a right to union representation at any examination conducted by representatives if he reasonably fears disciplinary action may result from it. The court held that this provision applies even when such examinations are carried out by an Inspector General who is independent and separate from management officials responsible for labor relations matters within their agencies. Therefore, these employees had been denied their statutory rights when they were interviewed without being offered union representation.

The dissenting opinion in the Federal Labor Relations Authority v. Aberdeen Proving Ground, Department of the Army case argued that federal labor law does not grant a union the right to negotiate over management decisions concerning contracting out work previously performed by bargaining unit employees. The dissenters believed that such matters are part of an agency's reserved rights under section 7106(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and thus, cannot be subject to collective bargaining agreements. They contended that this interpretation is consistent with both legislative history and precedent cases which have consistently held that agencies retain discretion over their internal operations including decisions about whether to contract out services or perform them internally. Furthermore, they disagreed with majority’s view on negotiability issue stating it undermines managerial prerogatives granted by Congress and could potentially disrupt efficient functioning of government agencies.