Department of the Air Force, Hill Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2510 (Authority decision, October 29, 1987)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's exceptions to an arbitration award because they were not timely filed at its national office. 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

AFGE Local 2510 challenged an arbitration award involving Hill Air Force Base. Its exceptions had to reach the Federal Labor Relations Authority's national office by September 15, 1987, or be mailed there by that date. The union instead sent them to a regional office at an outdated address. The Authority found that filing at the regional office did not satisfy the deadline and dismissed the exceptions as untimely. It did not reach the merits of the arbitration award.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception filing deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b).
• Outcome: Union's exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Mailing exceptions to an Authority regional office did not count as filing them at the national office.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v29 p1223]
29:1223(92)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

29 FLRA NO. 92

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
HQS 2849TH AIR BASE GROUP (AFLC)
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UTAH

Activity

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 2510

Union

Case No. 0-AR-1434

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Gerald Cohen 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. The Activity filed an opposition to the Union's exceptions. For the reason stated below, it has been determined that the exceptions must be dismissed as untimely filed.

The Arbitrator's award and a statement of fees and expenses are dated August 12, 1987, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, appear 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 and Regulations, 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 September 15, 1987, or if filed in person, received at the Authority's national office no later than the close of business on the same date.

However, the record indicates that the Union mailed its exceptions dated September 11, 1987 (in an envelope postmarked September 13) to Region VII of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in Denver, Colorado. 4 The envelope containing the Union's exceptions was addressed to Region VII's former address and stamped by the U.S. Postal Service with, "Returned to Sender

• Forwarding Order Expired." On September 25 the Region received the exceptions
  in an envelope with the Region's correct address (the postmark on the envelope is illegible). The Regional Director by letter dated September 25 forwarded the exceptions to the Authority's national office in Washington, D.C.

Because the Union's exceptions were not filed with the Authority at its national office by September 15, 1987, they are untimely. Accordingly, as the Union's exceptions were untimely filed, they are hereby dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., October 29, 1987.

Harold D. Kessler
Director of Case Management

FOOTNOTES

Footnote 1 Section 7122(b) of the Statute was
amended by the Civil Service Miscellaneous Amendments Act of 1983 (Pub. L. No. 98-224, 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.

Footnote 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.

Footnote 3 51 Fed. Reg. 45751 (1986). The
amendments to section 2429.21 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the Authority on or after December 31, 1986.

Footnote 4 It is well established that
exceptions to an Arbitrator's award cannot be filed at a Regional Office, but must be filed with the Authority at its national office in Washington, D.C. See The Panama Canal Commission and Maritime Metal Trades Council, AFL-CIO, 21 FLRA No. 38, n. 5 (1986).