| Word | Description |
| O*Net (Occupational Information Network) | Administered and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, the Occupational Information Network--O*NE--is a database that replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) as the nation's primary source of occupational information. |
| Objections to elections | Charges filed with the FLRA contesting election results because of alleged irregularities in the conduct of a representational election. |
| Objective | A specification of what is to be accomplished, the timeframe in which it is to be accomplished and by whom. |
| Objective Criteria/Procedures | A criterion is objective if it is fixed and measurable. The central characteristic of an objective criterion is that it can be independently verified; i.e., different people measuring objective criteria will reach the same results. Compare with "Subjective Criteria/ Procedures." |
| Observation interview | The process of observing employees while performing their respective jobs or tasks, used to collect data regarding specific jobs or tasks. |
| Occupational groups | Used to classify specific occupations into a specific category, such as professionals, technical/hi-tech, administrative/clerical, sales, service, retail, etc. |
| Occupational illness/disease | Defined by OSHA as "any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to factors associated with employment." |
| Occupational injury | An injury sustained during the course of employment, which results in the employee requiring medical treatment other then minor first aid and which results in the employee being absent from work as a result of such injury for one or more work days or results in work restrictions. |
| Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 | A law setting forth standards that employers must comply with in order to provide working conditions that are safe and free from any health hazards for all employees. Additionally, the law also requires employers to provide employees with protection against workplace hazards that could result in illness, injury or death to an individual, as well as to communicate to employees the information on hazardous materials or chemicals they may be required to handle. |
| Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) | A law setting forth standards that employers must comply with in order to provide working conditions that are safe and free from any health hazards for all employees. Additionally, the law also requires employers to provide employees with protection against workplace hazards that could result in illness, injury or death to an individual, as well as to communicate to employees the information on hazardous materials or chemicals they may be required to handle. |
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration | A Department of Labor office responsible for overseeing and assuring the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. |
| OFCCP | Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) OFCCP administers and enforces three legal authorities that require equal employment opportunity: Executive Order 11246, as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212. Taken together, these laws ban discrimination and require Federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran. |
| Off-duty hours | Used to define the periods of time during which an employee is totally and completely relieved of any and all job duties and is free to attend to his or her own personal activities. |
| Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) | Division of the Employment Standards Administration in the Department of Labor responsible for enforcing three statutes for federal contractors and subcontractors: Executive Order No. 11246, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act. OFCCP enforces the three laws through the use of compliance reviews, complaint investigations, administrative procedures and judicial procedures. |
| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers and enforces three legal authorities that require equal employment opportunity: Executive Order 11246, as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212. Taken together, these laws ban discrimination and require Federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran. |
| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs(OFCCP) | Division of the Employment Standards Administration in the Department of Labor responsible for enforcing three statutes for federal contractors and subcontractors: Executive Order No. 11246, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act. OFCCP enforces the three laws through the use of compliance reviews, complaint investigations, administrative procedures and judicial procedures. |
| Office of Personnel Management (OPM) | An agency that issues government-wide regulations on personnel matters that may have a substantial impact on the scope of bargaining; consults with labor unions on those regulations; provides technical advice and assistance on labor-management relations matters to Federal agencies. |
| Offshoring | The practice of relocating business processes, such as production/manufacturing, to a lower cost international location. |
| Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) of 1990 | OWBPA amended the ADEA prohibiting all employers from age discrimination in employee benefits programs by either providing equal benefits for older and younger workers or by spending an equal amount on benefits for both groups. It also provides specifications on the requirements for ADEA waivers. |
| On-call pay | Additional compensation awarded to employees who are required to remain on call during off-duty hours. |
| On-call time | Used to define periods of time when an employee is off duty but is required to remain on or close to the company premises or to respond to a call or page within a specified period of time, resulting in the employee being unable to effectively use such time to attend to his or her own personal activities. |
| On-the-job training | Training provided to employees by managers and supervisors; conducted at the actual worksite utilizing demonstration and actual performance of job tasks to be accomplished. |
| Open enrollment period | The period of time designated by the employer’s health or other benefit plan when employees may enroll in new benefit plans or make changes to existing benefit plans. |
| Open period | Refers to the specific period prior to the expiration of contract where petitions for exclusive representative status are considered timely. |
| Open shop | An organization that hires workers without regard to their membership in a labor union. |
| Open-book management | A management strategy emphasizing employee empowerment by making the organization’s financial data available to all employees. The goal of this type of management program is to make employees view themselves as more of a business partner and increase their awareness of how their actions and decisions affect the organization’s bottom line. |
| Operating budget | A detailed projection of all projected income and expenses during a specified future period. |
| Opinion letter | A written document issued by government agencies used to provide a ruling on a particular issue. |
| Opinion survey | A tool used to solicit and assess employee opinions, feelings, perceptions and expectations regarding a variety of managerial and organizational issues. |
| Opposition to exception to arbitration award | If a party files an exception to an arbitrator’s award, the other party may oppose the exception to the Authority in accordance with 5 CFR 2425.1. 23. |
| Opt-out provision | An employer benefit plan provision that offers cash, extra benefits or additional credits in return for an employee reducing the level of benefits he or she selects under a flexible benefit/cafeteria-style program or providing extra cash compensation to those employees who choose not to elect any benefit coverage. |
| Oral reprimand | A verbal warning given to an employee by a manager or supervisor as a means of correcting inappropriate behavior or conduct. |
| Organization | A right reserved to management. According to the FLRA, this right encompasses an agency's authority to determine its administrative and functional structure, including the relationship of personnel through lines of control and the distribution of responsibilities for delegated and assigned duties. |
| Organization chart | A graphic representation outlining how authority and responsibility are distributed within an organization. |
| Organization culture | An organization’s attitude and values regarding itself, employees, customers and the general public. It encompasses the manner things are done within the organization based on defined policies and practices. |
| Organization development | A planned organization-wide effort to improve and increase the organization’s effectiveness, productivity, return on investment and overall employee job satisfaction through planned interventions in the organization's processes. |
| Organization planning | The process of transforming an organization’s goals, objectives, philosophy and mission into practices and policies. |
| Organizational behavior modification theory | A motivational theory suggesting that an individual will behave in a manner that helps him or her avoid potential negative outcomes and achieve agreeable outcomes. |
| Organizational design | The process of establishing and arranging the elements of an organization’s structure. |
| Organizational display | An organizational display is a detailed graphical or tabular chart, text, spreadsheet or similar presentation of the contractor's organizational structure. It must identify each organizational unit in the establishment and show the relationship of each organizational unit to the other organizational units in the establishment. |
| Organizational profile | An organizational profile is a depiction of the staffing pattern within an establishment. It is one method contractors use to determine whether barriers to equal employment opportunity exist in their organizations. It provides an overview of the workforce at the establishment that may assist in identifying organizational units where women or minorities are underrepresented or concentrated. |
| Organizational structure | The design of an organization that identifies the organization’s hierarchal reporting and authority relationships. |
| Organizational survey | The process of evaluating and analyzing an organization’s structure and other major components to determine whether they are suitably meeting the organization’s current and future needs. |
| Organizational transformation | Refers to organization-wide changes, such as restructuring operations, introducing new technologies, processes, services or products, implementing new programs, re-engineering, etc. |
| Organizational Unit | A department, division, branch, section or other organ-izational entity of a contractor that operates as a single unit under a common head. |
| Organizing committee | The employees in a non-union shop who are designated to represent their co-workers during the representation campaign. |
| Organizing model of unions | The concept that the primary function of a union's officers and staff is to organize members to exert collective power to solve problems. |
| Orientation | The introduction of employees to their jobs, co-workers and the organization by providing them with information regarding such items as policies, procedures, company history, goals, culture and work rules. |
| Other eligible Veteran | Other eligible veterans are those individuals who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. |
| Outcomes assessment | A strategy used to evaluate and measure the results of an instructional method or program. |
| Outlaw strike | Also know as a wildcat strike, it is an unauthorized work stoppage while a labor contract is still in effect. |
| Outplacement | A benefit offered by the employer to displaced employees that may consist of such services as job counseling, training and job-finding assistance. |
| Outreach programs | A method of keeping employees informed of company programs and services available to them by utilizing such things as postings, newsletters, memos or meetings. |
| Outsourcing | A contractual agreement between an employer and an external third-party provider whereby the employer transfers responsibility and management for certain HR, benefit or training-related functions or services to the external provider. |
| Overtime | In accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), it is the term used to define work that is performed in excess of 40 hours per week. |
| OWBPA amended the ADEA prohibiting all employers from age discrimination in employee benefits progra | A neutral third party that helps individuals or groups in conflict resolve disputes by mediating, coaching and facilitating communication between the parties and recommending an appropriate resolution. |