National Association of Government Employees, Local R14-23 and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico (Authority decision, January 30, 1998)

Final FLRA decision. This is a final order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority involving an arbitral award under 5 U.S.C. § 7122. Judicial review under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a) generally does not extend to such an order unless the order involves an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This decision resolves exceptions to an arbitration award and does not state that it involves an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

NAGE Local R14-23 challenged an arbitration award involving the Defense Commissary Agency at White Sands Missile Range. The agency did not oppose the union's exceptions. The Authority found no ground under section 7122(a) for setting aside the award and denied the exceptions. It also refused to send the case back to the arbitrator to consider attorney fees: the arbitrator had awarded no backpay, a threshold requirement for such fees under the Back Pay Act. The decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the award's other terms.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a); Back Pay Act fee threshold discussed in the decision.
• Outcome: Union's exceptions denied; request for a fee remand denied.
• Key point: No deficient-award ground was shown, and the absence of a backpay award defeated the requested attorney-fee remand.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v53 p1264 ]
53:1264(107)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

53 FLRA No. 107

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

LOCAL R14-23

(Union)

and

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NEW
MEXICO

(Agency)

0-AR-3015

_____

DECISION

January 30, 1998

_____

Before the Authority: Phyllis N. Segal, Chair; Donald S. Wasserman and Dale Cabaniss, Members.

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to an award of Arbitrator Howard V. Finston 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 Regulations. The Agency did not file an opposition to the Union's exceptions.

Under section 7122(a) of the Statute, an award is deficient if it is contrary to any law, rule, or regulation; or is deficient on other grounds similar to those applied by Federal courts in private sector labor-management relations. Upon careful consideration of the entire record in this case, the Authority concludes that the award is not deficient on any of the grounds raised in the exceptions and set forth in section 7122(a).

The Union's exceptions are denied.(*)

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

*. In view of our decision, and as the
Arbitrator did not award backpay, we deny the Union's request that the award be remanded to the Arbitrator for consideration of attorney fees. See American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4015 and U.S. Department of the Navy, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 52 FLRA 82, 83 (1996) (one of the threshold requirements for an award of attorney fees under the Back Pay Act is a grant of backpay).