Naval Air Rework Facility, Norfolk, Virginia and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 39 (Authority decision, January 30, 1987)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses exceptions to an arbitration award as untimely. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a)(1), an order involving an arbitral award is generally excluded from judicial review unless it involves an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This order does not decide an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

The machinists union challenged an arbitration award involving the Naval Air Rework Facility in Norfolk. It mailed its exceptions to an old address for the Authority's Atlanta regional office. That office forwarded the papers, but the national office did not receive them until December 29, 1986, after the December 22 filing deadline calculated in the order. Because arbitration exceptions had to be filed at the national office, the Authority dismissed them as untimely.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception filing deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b) and 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1.
• Outcome: Exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Delivery to a regional office did not count as filing arbitration exceptions with the national office.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v25 p382 ]

25:0382(28)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

25 FLRA No. 28

NAVAL AIR REWORK FACILITY
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
Activity

and

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS,
LOCAL LODGE 39
Union

Case No. 0-AR-1285

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Ira F. Jaffe 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 November 15, 1986, and appears to have been served on the parties by mail on the same day.

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 2429.2l 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 December 22, 1986. However, the exceptions were not filed with the Authority at its national office until December 29, 1986. In this regard, the record established that the Union mailed the exceptions to the Authority's Atlanta Regional Office at its former address on December 11, 1986. The Atlanta Regional Office received them on December 18, 1986, and forwarded the exceptions on December 23, 1986. However, they were not received by the Authority's national office until December 29, 1986. Therefore, the exceptions were untimely filed. /3/

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

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., January 30, 1987.
/s/ Harold D. Kessler
Director of Case Management

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

(1) Section 7112(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 servied on the filing party.

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

(3) While the Union did mail the exceptions on December 11, 1986, presumably in sufficient time to be timely received, however, exceptions to an arbitrator's award cannot be filed at a Regional Office. Since the inception of the Authority in 1979, applicable regulations have required that exceptions to arbitration awards filed with the Authority be filed at the National Office. See The Panama Canal Commission and Maritime Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO, 21 FLRA No. 38, n.5 (1986); request for reconsideration denied April 16 1986.