Federal Grain Inspection Service and American Federation of Government Employees, National Council of Grain Inspection Locals (Authority decision, September 19, 1983)

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

The Department of Agriculture filed exceptions to a Federal Grain Inspection Service arbitration award dated August 8, 1983. The Authority calculated a September 6 deadline for receipt but received the filing September 7. It held that the deadline could not be extended or waived. The exceptions were dismissed without a ruling on the award’s merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).
• Outcome: Agency exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: A filing received one day after the arbitration exception deadline was dismissed.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v13 p55 ]

13:0055(11)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

13 FLRA No. 11

FEDERAL GRAIN INSPECTION SERVICE,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
PASADENA, TEXAS
(Activity)

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, NATIONAL COUNCIL
OF GRAIN INSPECTION LOCALS
(Union)

Case No. O-AR-634

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Bernard Marcus filed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the Agency) pursuant to section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. For the reasons stated below, it has been determined that the Agency's exceptions must be dismissed as untimely filed.

Under section 7122(b) of the Statute and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, the time limit for filing an exception to an arbitration award is 30 days beginning on and including the date of the award. Additionally, under section 2429.21 of the Rules and Regulations, any such exception must be received by the Authority before the close of business on the last day of the prescribed time limit.

The Arbitrator's award in this case, as included in the Agency's submission, is dated August 8, 1983. Therefore, under the Statute and the Authority's Rules and Regulations, the Agency's exceptions had to be filed, i.e., received in the national office of the Authority, no later than the close of business on September 6, 1983. However, the exceptions were not filed until September 7, 1983. In that regard, and as provided in section 2429.23(d) of the Rules and Regulations, the time limit for filing exceptions to an arbitration award may not be extended or waived by the Authority.

Accordingly, as the Agency's exceptions were untimely filed, they are hereby dismissed. For the Authority. Issued, Washington, D.C., September 19, 1983 James J. Shepard, Executive Director