New York State Nurses Association and Veterans Administration, Bronx Medical Center (Authority decision, July 13, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed a negotiability petition as untimely. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review of a final Authority order in an appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after issuance under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a).

Plain-English summary

The Veterans Administration disapproved parts of a locally negotiated agreement with the New York State Nurses Association at the Bronx Medical Center. The union sought Authority review of those disapprovals. The Authority calculated a May 29, 1984 filing deadline based on when the agency served its disapproval and the extra time allowed for mailing. The union filed on June 4. The Authority dismissed the petition as untimely without addressing the provisions' negotiability.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability petition filing deadline under the Authority's rules.
• Outcome: Union petition dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The petition arrived after the deadline for challenging the agency head's disapproval.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v15 p261 ]

15:0261(52)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

15 FLRA No. 52

NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION
Union

and

UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN VETERANS
ADMINISTRATION (BRONX MEDICAL CENTER)
Agency

Case No. O-NG-1008

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REVIEW

This matter is before the Authority pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and section 2424.3 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, on a petition for review of negotiability issues filed by the Union. For the reasons stated below, the Union's petition for review must be dismissed as untimely filed.

Under section 2424.3 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, the time limit for filing a petition for review is fifteen days after the date the Agency's allegation that the duty to bargain in good faith does not extend to the matter proposed to be bargained is served on the Union. Further, section 2429.22 of the Authority's Regulations provides for an extra five days to be added to the prescribed period when the document which triggers the running of such period is served on the other party by mail.

The record before the Authority in this case indicates that the parties forwarded a locally executed collective bargaining agreement to the agency head for review and approval pursuant to section 7114(c) of the Statute. During such review, the agency head disapproved certain provisions in the negotiated agreement by letter dated May 9, 1984. Therefore, under the above-cited provisions, since the Agency's allegation in this case was apparently served on the Union by mail, the Union's petition for review was due to be filed with the Authority before the close of business on May 29, 1984. Since the Union's petition for review was not filed until June 4, 1984, it is clearly untimely and must be dismissed on that basis.

Accordingly, the Union's petition for review is hereby dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., July 13, 1984
Harold D. Kessler, Director, Case
Management