American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1617 and San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas (Authority decision, March 27, 1985)

Final FLRA decision. This is a final order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority involving an arbitral award under 5 U.S.C. § 7122. The Authority dismissed the union's exceptions because the award relates to an employee removal, a matter excluded from its arbitration review jurisdiction. The decision identifies review under 5 U.S.C. § 7703 as the route for such matters.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 1617 challenged an arbitration award involving removal of a San Antonio Air Logistics Center employee. The Authority held that removal is a covered adverse action for which arbitration exceptions cannot be filed with it under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). It dismissed the exceptions for lack of jurisdiction without reviewing the underlying award. The decision points to judicial review under 5 U.S.C. § 7703 for the employee.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Removal review exclusion under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7121(f), 7122(a), and 7512.
• Outcome: Union exceptions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
• Key point: An arbitration award concerning removal follows the statutory judicial review route rather than FLRA exception review.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v17 p354 ]

17:0354(51)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

17 FLRA No. 51

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 1617
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Union

and

SAN ANTONIO AIR LOGISTICS CENTER
KELLY AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS
Activity

Case No. O-AR-910

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Harold R. Ainsworth 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, the Authority is without jurisdiction to review the Union's exceptions and they must be dismissed on that basis.

Section 7122(a) of the Statute provides, in pertinent part:

Either party to arbitration under this chapter may file with the Authority an exception to any arbitrator's award pursuant to the arbitration (other than an award relating to a matter described in section 7121(f) of this title).

The matters described in section 7121(f) of the Statute include those covered under 5 U.S.C. 7512 which, in turn, applies to specified adverse actions including removals. Review of an arbitration award relating to such matters must be obtained in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 7703, i.e., in the same manner and under the same conditions as if the matter involved had been decided by the Merit Systems Protection Board.

Since the arbitrator's award relates to a matter covered by 5 U.S.C. 7512, i.e., the removal of the grievant, under section 7122(a) of the Statute, exceptions to the award may not be filed with the Authority. Consequently, the Authority is without jurisdiction to review the exceptions. Rather, the grievant may seek judicial review of the arbitrator's award pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 7703.

Accordingly, and apart from other considerations, the Union's exceptions are hereby dismissed. For the Authority. Issued, Washington, D.C., March 27, 1985 Harold D. Kessler Managing Director for Case Processing