U.S. Department of the Army, Army Finance and Accounting Center, Indianapolis, Indiana and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1411 (Authority decision, August 31, 1989)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's arbitration exceptions as untimely, leaving the award in place. Judicial review under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a) generally does not extend to an order involving an arbitral award unless the order involves an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 1411 filed exceptions to a June 8 arbitration award. With the five-day mail allowance, the deadline was July 12, 1989; the exceptions were postmarked July 13. The union argued that weekends should be excluded from the five-day allowance. The Authority held that the weekend exclusion applied to short filing periods, not the mail allowance, and dismissed the exceptions as late.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception deadline under former 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1(b), mail allowance under § 2429.22, and weekend rule under § 2429.21(a).
• Outcome: Union's exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The five days for mail service were calendar days, not a separate filing period that excluded weekends.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v33 p889 ]
33:0889(128)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

33 FLRA No. 128

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS
AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE
ARMY

ARMY FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
CENTER

INDIANAPOLIS,
INDIANA

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 1411

0-AR-1766

ORDER DISMISSING
EXCEPTIONS

August 31, 1989

The American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1411 (Union) has filed exceptions to the award of Arbitrator William H. Leahy in the above-referenced case. On July 24, 1989, the Authority directed the Union to show cause why its exceptions should not be dismissed as untimely filed. The Union has filed a timely response to the Authority's Order. For the reasons set out below, the Union's exceptions are untimely and must be dismissed.

The time limit for filing exceptions to an arbitration award is 30 days beginning on the date the award is served on the filing party. 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1(b). The date of service is the date the arbitration award is deposited in the U.S. mail or is delivered in person. 5 C.F.R. § 2429.27(d). Absent evidence to the contrary, the date of the arbitration award is presumed to be the date of service of the award. See Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local No. 916, 32 FLRA 165, 167 (1988). If the award is served by mail, 5 days are added to the period for filing exceptions to the award. 5 C.F.R. § 2429.22. The time limit may not be extended or waived by the Authority. 5 C.F.R. § 2429.23(d).

The Arbitrator's award is dated June 8, 1989. Presuming that the award was deposited in the U.S. mail on that date, an exception to the award had to be either postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service or received in person at the Authority no later than July 12, 1989, in order to be considered timely. 5 C.F.R. §§ 2425.1(b), 2429.21(b) and 2429.22. The Union's exceptions were filed (postmarked) on July 13, 1989.

The Union maintains that Saturdays and Sundays should be excluded from computation based on section 2429.21 which excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays "[w]hen the period of time prescribed or allowed is 7 days or less . . . ." The Union's argument cannot be sustained. The exclusion of Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays provided in section 2429.21(a) pertains to "prescribed" periods for filing documents with the Authority. The 5-day allowance for service by mail in section 2429.22 of our Regulations is not a prescribed period for filing documents; it is an allowance for mail service. Accordingly, section 2429.21 of our Regulations does not apply to the allowance in section 2429.22.

The Union's exceptions was not timely filed. Accordingly, the Union's exceptions are dismissed.

For the Authority.

__________
Clyde B. Blandford, Jr.

Acting Executive Director

FOOTNOTES:
(If blank, the decision does not
have footnotes.)