National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15 and Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Armament Munitions and Chemical Command (Authority decision, May 31, 1988)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's negotiability petition as untimely. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review by filing a petition in an appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after issuance under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a).

Plain-English summary

NFFE Local 15 petitioned the Authority to review the Army's allegation that a proposal was outside the duty to bargain. The union disputed when it received the Army's allegation. The Authority found that the petition was late even using the union's later receipt date: it should have been mailed by March 29, 1988, but was mailed on April 12. It dismissed the petition without deciding the proposal's negotiability.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Petition deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7117(c)(2) and 5 C.F.R. § 2424.3.
• Outcome: Petition dismissed as untimely; negotiability question not reached.
• Key point: The petition missed the filing deadline under either possible service date.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v32 p180 ]
32:0180(30)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

32 FLRA No. 30

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BEFORE THE

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL

EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 15

Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

HEADQUARTERS, U.S. ARMY

ARMAMENT MUNITIONS AND

CHEMICAL COMMAND

Agency

Case No. 0-NG-1540

ORDER

The Union's petition for review of a negotiability issue under 5 U.S.C. 7105(a)(2)(E) and 5 C.F.R. 2424.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations is dismissed.

The time limit for filing a petition for review of negotiability issues is 15 days after service on the Union of the Agency's allegation that the duty to bargain in good faith does not extend to the matter proposed to be bargained. 5 U.S.C. 7117(c)(2) and 5 C.F.R. 2424.3

The documents the Union submitted in accordance with our Order dated April 29, 1988, indicate that the Agency's allegation of nonnegotiability is dated March 1, 1988. The Union contends that it did not receive the Agency's allegation until March 14, 1988, as shown on the allegation. We need not decide on which date the Union was served. Using either date, the Union's petition is untimely.

To be timely, the petition for review had to be either mailed to the national office of the Authority in Washington, D.C., and postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service no later than March 29, 1988 (assuming March 14, 1988 was the date of service), or if filed in person, received at the Authority's national office no later than the close of business on the same date. Since the petition for review was not mailed to the Authority's national office until April 12, 1988,it was untimely filed.

Accordingly, the Union's petition for review is
dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C.,

__________
Jacqueline R. Bradley

Executive Director

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