U.S. Department of the Army, Army Reserve Personnel Center, St. Louis, Missouri and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 900 (Authority decision, December 29, 1989)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's exception for lack of jurisdiction because the award concerns an employee removal under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7121(f) and 7512. Review of such an arbitration award may be sought in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit under 5 U.S.C. § 7703. The Authority does not decide the requested backpay.

Plain-English summary

An arbitrator ordered an Army Reserve Personnel Center employee reinstated after finding that removal was too severe, but did not award backpay. The union asked the Authority to add backpay. The Authority held that it could not review an arbitration award concerning an employee removal, even though the exception challenged only the backpay remedy. It dismissed the union's exception without deciding whether backpay was due.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Removal award review limits under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7121(f), 7122(a), and 7512.
• Outcome: Union exception dismissed for lack of Authority jurisdiction.
• Key point: An award about removal falls outside FLRA exception review, including a challenge to its backpay remedy.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v34 p96 ]
34:0096(23)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

34 FLRA NO. 23

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
ARMY RESERVE PERSONNEL CENTER
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES LOCAL 900

0-AR-1684

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTION

December 29, 1989

Before Chairman McKee and Members Talkin and Armendariz.

I. Statement of the Case

This matter is before the Authority on an exception to the award of Arbitrator Thomas J. Erbs. The grievant filed a grievance contesting her removal from the Army Reserve Personnel Center (the Activity). The Arbitrator determined that discipline was warranted, but that removal was not appropriate. The Arbitrator ordered that the grievant be reinstated without backpay.

American Federation of Government Employees Local 900 (the Union) filed an exception to the award under section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor - Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. The Activity did not file an opposition to the exception.

For the reasons stated below, we conclude that we are without jurisdiction under section 7122(a) of the Statute to review the Union's exception.

II. Background and Arbitrator's Award

On December 23, 1987, the grievant, a nonprobationary competitive service employee, was removed from her] employment at the Activity. She filed a grievance contesting the removal, and the grievance was submitted to arbitration.

The Arbitrator determined that substantial discipline of the grievant was warranted. However, he concluded that removal of the grievant was not appropriate. The Arbitrator ordered that the grievant be reinstated without backpay, but with full seniority and rights.

III. Exception

The Union contends that the award is deficient because the Arbitrator erred in not awarding the grievant backpay. The Union claims that the grievant cannot be reinstated with full seniority and rights without an award of backpay.

IV. Discussion

We find that we are without jurisdiction under section 7122(a) of the Statute to review the Union's exception.

Section 7122(a) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

Either party to arbitration under this chapter may file with the Authority an exception to any arbitrator's award pursuant to the arbitration (other than an award relating to a matter described in section 7121(f) of this title).

The matters described in section 7121(f) include serious adverse actions covered under 5 U.S.C. 7512, such as removal. Review of arbitration awards relating to such matters, like review of decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board, may be obtained by filing an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 7703.

Because the Arbitrator's award relates to the grievant's removal, which is a matter covered under 5 U.S.C. 7512 and described in section 7121(f), exceptions to the award may not be filed with the Authority under section 7122(a) of the Statute. Consequently, we are without jurisdiction to review the Union's exception and we will dismiss it. See, for example, American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3627 and Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Region IV, 31 FLRA 1178 (1988).

V. Order

The Union's exception is dismissed.