Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic/Topographic Center and AFGE Local 3407 (Authority decision, September 26, 1986)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's exceptions to an arbitration award because they were filed after the deadline. 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 under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This decision does not state that it involves one.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 3407 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Defense Mapping Agency's Hydrographic/Topographic Center. The award was served by mail on July 3, 1986. The Authority calculated that the exceptions had to be filed by August 6, but they were filed on August 7. It dismissed them as untimely without reviewing the arbitration dispute.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b) and 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1.
• Outcome: Union exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The exceptions arrived one day after the calculated filing deadline.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v23 p458 ]

23:0458(64)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

23 FLRA No. 64

DEFENSE MAPPING AGENCY
HYDROGRAPHIC/TOPOGRAPHIC CENTER
Agency

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 3407
Union

Case No. 0-AR-1196

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator James M. Harkless filed by the Union pursuant to section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. For the reasons stated below, it has been determined that the exceptions must be dismissed as untimely filed.

The Arbitrator's award is dated June 5, 1986, and appears to have been served on the parties by mail on July 3, 1986.

Under section 7122(b) of the Statute, as amended, /1/ and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, as amended, /2/ which amendments are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the Authority on or after March 2, 1984, and under sections 2429.21 and 2429.22 of the Rules and Regulations, which are also applicable to computation of the time limit here involved, any exceptions to the Arbitrator's award in this case had to be filed with the Authority no later than the close of business on August 6, 1986. However, the exceptions were not filed until August 7, 1986. Therefore, the exceptions were untimely filed.

Accordingly, as the Union's exceptions were untimely filed, they are hereby dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., September 26, 1986.
/s/ Harold D. Kessler
Harold D. Kessler
Director of Case Management

--------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------

(1) Section 7122(b) of the Statute was amended by the Civil Service Miscellaneous Amendments Act of 1983 (Pub. L. No. 98-224, Section 4, 98 Stat. 47, 48 (1984)) to provide that the 30-day period for filing exceptions to an arbitrator's award begins on the date the award is served on the filing party.

(2) 49 Fed. Reg. 22623 (1984).