American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1546 and Sharpe Army Depot (Authority decision, August 23, 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 1546 filed exceptions to an arbitrator's award involving Sharpe Army Depot. The award was dated and apparently mailed on May 21, 1984. Under the applicable filing rules, the exceptions were due by the close of business on June 25. The union filed them on June 27. The Authority dismissed the exceptions as untimely without reviewing the award's merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Deadline for arbitration exceptions under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b).
• Outcome: Exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Exceptions filed two days after the applicable deadline received no merits review.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v15 p572 ]

15:0572(122)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

15 FLRA No. 122

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1546
Union

and

SHARPE ARMY DEPOT
Activity

Case No. O-AR-805

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Eamonn Barrett 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 award is dated May 21, 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 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 June 25, 1984. However, the exceptions were not filed until June 27, 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., August 23, 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).