American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3787 and Social Security Administration, Harlington, Texas (Authority decision, July 18, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed exceptions to an arbitration award as untimely under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b). 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.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 3787 filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award involving a Social Security Administration office in Texas. The Authority found that the award had been served by mail in March 1984 and received on April 2. Under the applicable deadline, exceptions were due by May 1, but the union filed them on May 10. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely without addressing the award's merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Deadline for arbitration exceptions under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b).
• Outcome: Union exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Exceptions filed nine days after the stated deadline were not considered on their merits.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v15 p326 ]

15:0326(68)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

15 FLRA No. 68

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 3787
Union

and

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,
HARLINGTON, TEXAS
Activity

Case No. O-AR-773

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Bernard Marcus filed by the Union 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 exceptions must be dismissed as untimely filed.

The Arbitrator's undated award appears to have been served on the parties by mail in March 1984, and received on April 2, 1984.

Under section 7122(b) of the Statute, as amended, /1/ and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, as amended, /2/ which amendments are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the Authority on or after March 2, 1984, and under section 2429.21 of the Rules and Regulations, which is also applicable to computation of the time limit here involved, any exceptions to the Arbitrator's award in this case had to be filed with the Authority no later than the close of business on May 1, 1984. However the exceptions were not filed until May 10, 1984. Therefore, the exceptions were untimely filed.

Accordingly, as the Union's exceptions were untimely filed, they are hereby dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., July 18, 1984
Jan K. Bohren
Executive Director/Administrator

--------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------

/1/ Section 7122(b) of the Statute was amended by the Civil Service Miscellaneous Amendments Act of 1983 (Pub. L. No. 98-224, Sec. 4, 98 Stat. 47, 48 (1984)) to provide that the 30-day period for filing exceptions to an arbitrator's award begins on the date the award is served on the filing party.

/2/ 49 Fed.Reg. 22623 (1984).