Social Security Administration and AFGE (Authority decision, September 14, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses exceptions to an arbitration award as untimely. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a)(1), orders involving arbitral awards are generally excluded from judicial review unless they involve an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This decision does not resolve an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

AFGE filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the Social Security Administration. The Authority calculated that the filing deadline was August 1, 1984, based on the award's June 28 mailing and the applicable statutory and regulatory time rules. The exceptions were filed on August 2. The Authority dismissed them as untimely without reviewing the award's merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b) and 5 C.F.R. §§ 2425.1, 2429.21, and 2429.22.
• Outcome: Union exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Filing one day after the calculated deadline prevented Authority review of the award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v16 p36 ]

16:0036(8)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

16 FLRA No. 8

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Activity

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
Union

Case No. O-AR-824

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Bernard Cushman 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 June 28, 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 August 1, 1984. However the exceptions were not filed until August 2, 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., September 14, 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. 98-244, 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).