San Antonio Air Logistics Center and AFGE Local 1617 (Authority decision, March 11, 1985)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority resolves exceptions to an arbitration award. 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 state that it involves one.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 1617 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving the San Antonio Air Logistics Center. The award was mailed on January 20, 1985, making February 25 the deadline for filing exceptions. The union filed at the Authority's national office on March 4. The Authority dismissed the exceptions because the time ran from service by mail, not from the union's later receipt of the award.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exception deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b).
• Outcome: Union exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Mailing the award started the filing period; receipt did not.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v17 p181 ]

17:0181(27)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

17 FLRA No. 27

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

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1617
Union

Case No. O-AR-935

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Barry J. Baroni 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 January 20, 1985, 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 2429.2 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 not later than the close of business on February 25, 1985. However, the exceptions were not filed with the Authority at its national office in Washington, D.C., until March 4, 1985.

In its exception dated February 26, 1985, the Union states that it "hereby files an exception to the Award . . . , issue(d) on 20 January 1985 and received on 28 January 1985." Inasmuch as the period for filing exceptions to the Arbitrator's award began on the date the award was served on the filing party, that is, deposited in the mail (see section 2429.27(d) of the Authority's Rules and Regulations), and not on the date the award was received by that party, the Union's exceptions were untimely filed.

Accordingly, the Union's exceptions are hereby dismissed. For the Authority. Issued, Washington, D.C., March 11, 1985 Harold D. Kessler, Managing Director for Case Processing

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