Veterans Administration and American Federation of Government Employees (Authority decision, December 30, 1987)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies the union's exception to an arbitration award concerning a 10-day suspension. 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 decision does not decide an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

A Veterans Administration employee was suspended for 10 days for unacceptable conduct. The union argued that the employee had been denied an opportunity to respond orally to the proposed suspension, as required by 5 U.S.C. § 7503(b). The arbitrator found the employee's written response ambiguous and concluded that the employee had not clearly requested an oral meeting. The Authority found no basis to set aside the arbitrator's decision, because the union's exception disagreed with the arbitrator's assessment of the evidence. It denied the exception, leaving the grievance denied.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exceptions under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a); oral response to a proposed suspension under 5 U.S.C. § 7503(b).
• Outcome: Union's exception denied; arbitrator's denial of the grievance stands.
• Key point: Disagreement with the arbitrator's reading of an ambiguous written response did not establish a defect in the award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v30 p648 ]

30:0648(79)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

30 FLRA NO. 79
30 FLRA 648

30 DEC 1987

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

Agency

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

Union

Case No. 0-AR-1411

DECISION

I. Statement of the Case

This matter is before the Authority on an exception to the award of Arbitrator Renee E. Kamm. The Arbitrator found that the Activity did not violate law in suspending the grievant. The exception was filed by the Union under section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor - Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. We conclude that the Union has not established that the Arbitrator's award is contrary to law or the evidence presented. Accordingly, we deny the Union's exception.

II. Background and Arbitrator's Award

The grievant was suspended for 10 days for unacceptable conduct. The parties submitted to arbitration the question of whether the Activity had failed to afford the grievant an opportunity to respond orally to the notice of proposed suspension, in violation of 5 U.S.C. 7503(b). The Arbitrator determined that the grievant's written response to the proposed suspension was ambiguous and that as a result, the grievant's supervisor had been led to believe that the grievant did not wish to respond orally. The Arbitrator found that the grievant had failed to request clearly an oral reply meeting. The Arbitrator concluded that the Activity did not violate 5 U.S.C. 7503(b) as alleged. He denied the grievance.

III. Discussion

The Union maintains that the Agency violated 5 U.S.C. 7503(b), and that any "reasonable man" would have understood the grievant's letter as requesting an opportunity to respond orally to the proposed suspension.

We have determined that the Union has not established that the Arbitrator's award is deficient on any of the grounds set forth in section 7122(a) of the Statute. Specifically, the Union has failed to establish that the award is contrary to any law, rule or regulation, or that it is deficient on grounds similar to those applied by the Federal courts in private sector labor relations cases. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916, AFL - CIO, 30 FLRA No. 61 (1987) (exceptions which attempt to relitigate the merits of a grievance before the Authority and which constitute nothing more than disagreement with the arbitrator's evaluation of the evidence and testimony presented and the arbitrator's reasoning and conclusions provide no basis for finding an award deficient).

IV. Decision

The Union's exception is denied.

Issued, Washington, D.C., December 30, 1987.

Jerry L. Calhoun, Chairman

Jean McKee, Member

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY