American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1415 (Union) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Public Works Department, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana (Agency) (Authority decision, April 6, 2016)

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 an order involving an arbitral award unless the order involves an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This abbreviated decision does not state that the award involves an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 1415 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Public Works Department at Crane, Indiana. The union raised legal, public-policy, factual, and other challenges to the award. After reviewing the record and governing precedent, the Authority found that the union had not shown a conflict with controlling law, an explicit and dominant public policy, or a clearly erroneous central fact. It denied all exceptions and left the arbitration award in place. The expedited public release does not describe the underlying grievance or the award's terms.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. §§ 7122(a) and 7123(a)(1); 5 C.F.R. part 2425 and § 2425.7
• Outcome: The Authority denied the union's exceptions and left the arbitration award in place.
• Key point: Legal, public-policy, and nonfact challenges require a specific controlling conflict or central error, not general disagreement with an award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

69 FLRA No. 41

American Federation

of Government Employees

Local 1415

(Union)

and

United States

Department of the Navy

Naval Facilities Engineering Command

Public Works Department

Crane Division

Crane, Indiana

(Agency)

0‑AR‑5148

_____

DECISION

April 6, 2016

_____

Before the Authority: Carol Waller Pope, Chairman, and Ernest DuBester and Patrick Pizzella, Members

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to an award of Arbitrator David S. Paull filed by the Union under § 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor‑Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority’s Regulations. The Agency filed an opposition to the Union’s exceptions.

We have determined that this case is appropriate for issuance as an expedited, abbreviated decision under § 2425.7 of the Authority’s Regulations.

Under § 7122(a) of the Statute, an award is deficient if it is contrary to any law, rule, or regulation, or it 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 and Authority precedent, we conclude that the award is not deficient on the grounds raised in the exceptions and set forth in § 7122(a).

Accordingly, we deny the Union’s exceptions.

5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).

5 C.F.R. pt. 2425.

Id. § 2425.7 (“Even absent a [party’s] request, the Authority may issue expedited, abbreviated decisions in appropriate cases.”).

5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).

Prof’l Airways Sys. Specialists, Dist. No. 1, MEBA/NMU (AFL-CIO), 48 FLRA 764, 768-69 (1993) (award not deficient as contrary to law, rule, or regulation where excepting party fails to establish that the award is contrary to the law, rule, or regulation on which the party relies); U.S. Dep’t of the Navy, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, Cal., 48 FLRA 612, 618-19 (1993) (award not deficient as contrary to public policy where excepting party fails to establish that the award violates an explicit public policy based on well-defined and dominant laws and legal precedents); U.S. Dep’t of the Air Force, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colo., 48 FLRA 589, 593-94 (1993) (award not deficient as based on a nonfact where excepting party either challenges a factual matter that the parties disputed at arbitration or fails to demonstrate that a central fact underlying the award is clearly erroneous, but for which the arbitrator would have reached a different result).