U.S. Department of the Army, New Cumberland Army Depot, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2004 (Authority decision, May 24, 1991)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies reconsideration of an arbitration ruling. This order concerns an arbitral award under 5 U.S.C. § 7122. The judicial review provision in 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a) excludes such orders unless they involve an unfair labor practice; this decision does not state that it involves one.

Plain-English summary

The union sought reconsideration of an Authority ruling that left environmental differential pay retroactive only to the grievance filing date. It argued that employees should receive pay for earlier hazardous work. The Authority found that the union was repeating arguments already considered and had not shown the extraordinary circumstances required for reconsideration. It denied the request, leaving the earlier ruling in place.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 5343(c)(4); 5 U.S.C. § 5596.
• Outcome: Reconsideration denied; earlier environmental differential pay ruling remains in place.
• Key point: Disagreement with a prior ruling did not meet the extraordinary circumstances standard.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v40 p1032 ]

40:1032(91)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

40 FLRA No. 91

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

NEW CUMBERLAND ARMY DEPOT

NEW CUMBERLAND, PENNSYLVANIA

(Agency)

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 2004

(Union)

0-AR-1992

(40 FLRA 186 (1991))

ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION

May 24, 1991

Before Chairman McKee and Members Talkin and Armendariz.

I. Statement of the Case

This case is before us on a request for reconsideration of 40 FLRA 186 (1991) filed by the Union under section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. The Agency filed an opposition to the request. Because the Union fails to establish that extraordinary circumstances exist which warrant reconsideration of our decision, we will deny the Union's request.

II. The Authority's Decision in 40 FLRA 186

In 40 FLRA 186, we rejected the Union's contention that the Arbitrator's award of Environmental Differential Pay (EDP) retroactive to April 7, 1988, rather than October 5, 1978, violated 5 U.S.C. § 5343(c)(4), 5 C.F.R. § 532.511(a)(1), and the Back Pay Act, 5 U.S.C. § 5596. We decided as follows:

Nothing in the Back Pay Act, 5 U.S.C. § 5343(c)(4), 5 C.F.R. § 532.511(a)(1), or appendix J of FPM Supplement 532-1 specifies the appropriate period of time for which an EDP payment is due. Moreover, the Union has not demonstrated that any other statute or regulation required that EDP be made retroactive to October 5, 1978. Consequently, the Union has not demonstrated that the grievants were entitled by law or regulation to EDP retroactive to October 5, 1978.

40 FLRA at 193.

III. The Union's Request for Reconsideration

The Union contends that the Arbitrator "improperly conclude[d]" that the grievants' entitlement to retroactive EDP before April 7, 1988, the date on which the grievance was filed, "was forfeited" by not filing a grievance before such time. Request for Reconsideration at 8. The Union asserts that, because the Arbitrator determined "that the grievants' work involved unusually severe hazards," the Back Pay Act and 5 U.S.C. § 5343(c)(4) require that EDP be paid for the time that the grievants' work involved such hazards. Id.

IV. The Agency's Opposition

The Agency argues that "[t]he arguments raised by the
[U]nion in its motion for reconsideration were previously raised in its initial exception to the arbitrator's award . . .
[and] considered and rejected by the Authority in [40 FLRA 186]." Opposition at 1-2. Thus, according to the Agency, as the Union's "motion is simply an attempt to relitigate its initial exception[,]" the Union has not established extraordinary circumstances warranting reconsideration of 40 FLRA 186. Id. at 3.

V. Analysis and Conclusions

Section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations permits a party that can establish "extraordinary circumstances" to move for reconsideration of a decision of the Authority. The Union fails to establish "extraordinary circumstances" within the meaning of section 2429.17.

The arguments presented by the Union in support of its request for reconsideration constitute nothing more than disagreement with the Authority's decision in 40 FLRA 186 and an attempt to relitigate the merits of the case. As such, these arguments do not constitute extraordinary circumstances warranting reconsideration of our decision, and we will deny the request.

VI. Order

The Union's request for reconsideration is denied.

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