U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and National Federation of Federal Employees, Council of Consolidated Social Security Administration Locals (Authority decision, June 29, 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

The Social Security Administration filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award in a dispute with an NFFE council. The Authority found that the award was served by mail on April 9, 1984. Applying the relevant filing rules, it calculated a May 14 deadline. The agency filed on May 17. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely without addressing the award's merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b).
• Outcome: Agency exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The filing came three days after the Authority's stated deadline.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v15 p194 ]

15:0194(33)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

15 FLRA No. 33

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Agency

and

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES, COUNCIL OF CONSOLIDATED
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION LOCALS
Union

Case No. O-AR-777

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator John S. Herrick filed by 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.

The Arbitrator's award in this case is dated April 9, 1984, and appears to have been served on the parties by mail on the same day.

Under section 7122(b) of the Statute, as amended, /1/ and section 2425.1(b) 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 sections 2429.21 and 2429.22 of the Rules and Regulations, which are 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 14, 1984. However, the Agency's exceptions were not filed until May 17, 1984.

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

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., June 29, 1984
Harold D. Kessler, Director, Case
Management

--------------- 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).