Air Force Logistics Command, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 (Authority decision, May 8, 1987)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union’s arbitration exceptions as untimely without considering the award’s merits. 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

The union filed exceptions to a Tinker Air Force Base arbitration award. Applying the statutory filing period and its time-computation rules, the Authority determined that the exceptions had to be postmarked by April 27, 1987. They were postmarked April 28. It dismissed the filing as untimely without addressing the underlying arbitration dispute.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration filing period under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b) and 5 C.F.R. §§ 2429.21–2429.22.
• Outcome: Union’s exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The postmark fell one day after the filing deadline.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v27 p18 ]

27:0018(3)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

27 FLRA No. 3

AIR FORCE LOGISTICS COMMAND
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OKLAHOMA
Activity

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 916
Union

Case No. 0-AR-1359

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Edmund W. Schedler 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 March 20, 1987, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, 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/ section 2429.21 of the rules, as amended, /3/ and section 2429.22 of the rules, any exceptions to the Arbitrator's award had to be either mailed to the national office of the Authority in Washington, D.C. and postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service no later than close of business on April 27, 1987 or, if filed in person, received at the Authority's national office no later than that same date if the exceptions are to be timely filed. However, the instant exceptions were postmarked April 28, 1987 and, therefore, filed at the Authority's national office on that same date.

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

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., May 8, 1987.
/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). The amendments to section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the Authority on or after March 2, 1984.

(3) New subsection 2429.21(b) of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, which amendments are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the Authority on or after December 31, 1986, provides in pertinent part:

Section 2429.21 Computation of time for filing papers.

. . . . . . .

(b) Except when filing an unfair labor practice charge . . ., a representation petition . . ., and a request for an extension of time . . ., when this subchapter requires the filing of any paper with the Authority . . ., the date of filing shall be determined by the date of mailing indicated by the postmark date. If no postmark date is evident on the mailing, it shall be presumed to have been mailed 5 days prior to receipt. If the filing is by personal delivery, it shall be considered filed on the date it is received by the Authority . . .

. 51 Fed. Reg. 45751 (1986)