General Services Administration, Region 10 and AFGE Council 236 (Authority decision, October 31, 1986)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority amends its earlier decision after discovering a missing page of the arbitrator's award. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a)(1), orders involving arbitral awards are generally excluded from judicial review unless they involve an unfair labor practice. This decision does not state that it involves one.

Plain-English summary

The Authority had previously replaced an arbitrator's order giving a GSA employee outstanding performance ratings with an order to reevaluate her performance. The parties then showed that the record before the Authority had omitted the final page of the arbitration award, which contained two numbered award paragraphs. The Authority found extraordinary circumstances for reconsideration and amended its earlier decision to strike those two paragraphs and replace them with the reevaluation language already ordered. The earlier reevaluation remedy remained the operative one.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Reconsideration for extraordinary circumstances under 5 C.F.R. § 2429.17.
• Outcome: Earlier decision amended to replace the missing page's award paragraphs with reevaluation language.
• Key point: A missing final page justified clarification of exactly which award language the Authority had replaced.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v23 p765 ]

23:0765(98)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

23 FLRA No. 98

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
REGION 10
Activity

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, COUNCIL 236
Union

Case No. 0-AR-1051
(22 FLRA NO. 8)

ORDER AMENDING DECISION

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This matter is before the Authority on a motion filed by the Agency requesting the Authority to amend and clarify its decision in 22 FLRA No. 8. The Union filed a response to the Agency's motion and filed a cross motion also seeking clarification of the Authority's decision.

II. BACKGROUND

In its decision the Authority modified the Arbitrator's award that the grievant be given a rating of "outstanding" by directing that the followiing language be substituted for that in the award:

Management shall reevaluate in accordance with the general performance appraisal system and Article 19 of the parties' National Agreement the grievant's performance for the period stipulated to and designated by the parties and shall apply that rating to the appraisal periods in question.

In its decision the Authority construed the last sentence of page 12 of the Arbitrator's opinion and award as being the entire award. That sentence reads: "Accordingly, I shall order the Grievant be given a rating of outstanding for the two appraisal periods in question." Page 12 was the final page of the award in the record before the Authority. However, according to the parties' motions, the award contained a page 13 which reads as follows:

AWARD

I. It is the Award of your Arbitrator that Grievant Margaret Lien performed in an outstanding fashion during the appraisal periods June 1983 through May 1984 and June 1, 1984, through May 31, 1985.

II. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that she be given an overall rating of outstanding with respect to her performance in both periods.

For reasons unknown, page 13 of the award was not contained in the record submitted to the Authority.

III. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

Section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations provides in pertinent part:

2429.17 Reconsideration.

After a final decision or order of the Authority has been issued, a party to the proceeding before the Authority who can establish in its moving papers extraordinary circumstances for so doing, may move for reconsideration of such final decision or order. The motion shall be filed within 10 days after service of the Authority's decision or order . . . .

We find that in the situation described in the parties' motions, an extraordinary circumstance exists within the meaning of section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. Therefore, the Authority has reconsidered its decision in 22 FLRA No. 8 in light of page 13 of the award. Upon review of page 13 of the award, the parties' motions, and our original decision, we conclude that our decision must be amended as set forth below.

IV. Decision

The Authority modifies its decision in 22 FLRA No. 8, June 6, 1986, by ordering that paragraphs I and II found on page 13 of the Arbitrator's award be struck and replaced by the substitute language ordered in the Authority's original decision.

Issued, Washington, D.C. October 31, 1986.
/s/ Jerry L. Calhoun, Chairman
/s/ Henry B. Frazier III, Member
/s/ Jean McKee, Member
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY