U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and AFGE (Authority decision, September 11, 1986)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's arbitration exceptions as untimely. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b), the award becomes final and binding when no timely exceptions are filed. The order concerns an arbitration award; ordinary judicial review of Authority arbitration orders is generally unavailable under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a)(1) unless the order involves an unfair labor practice under § 7116.

Plain-English summary

AFGE filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The award was mailed to the parties on July 7, 1986. Under the statute and the Authority's filing rules, the exceptions had to reach the Authority by August 11. The union's exceptions arrived on August 13. The Authority dismissed them as untimely without addressing the merits of the award.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Thirty-day exceptions period under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b) and filing rules in 5 C.F.R. §§ 2425.1, 2429.21, and 2429.22.
• Outcome: Union's exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Filing required receipt by August 11; exceptions received August 13 were late.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v23 p347 ]

23:0347(46)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

23 FLRA No. 46

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Agency

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
Union

Case No. 0-AR-1201

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Kenneth A Perea 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 reason stated below, it has been determined that the exceptions must be dismissed as untimely filed.

The Arbitrator's award is dated July 5, 1986, and it was served on the parties by mail on July 7, 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, that is, received in the national office of the Authority not later than the close of business on August 11, 1986. However, the Union's exceptions were not filed with the Authority until August 13, 1986, and are, therefore, untimely.

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

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., September 11, 1986.
/s/ 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).