Illinois Nurses Association and Veterans Administration (Authority decision, May 12, 1983)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed this negotiability appeal without a merits ruling. 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 provisions of a locally negotiated agreement during agency head review. The disapproval was mailed February 25, 1983, making March 21 the deadline for the nurses' union to petition the Authority. The union filed March 28. The Authority dismissed the petition as untimely without deciding whether the provisions were negotiable.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability petition after agency head review under 5 U.S.C. § 7114(c).
• Outcome: Petition dismissed as untimely; no negotiability ruling.
• Key point: The petition was filed a week after the deadline measured from mail service.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v12 p60 ]

12:0060(18)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

12 FLRA No. 18

ILLINOIS NURSES ASSOCIATION
(Union)

and

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
(Agency)

Case No. O-NG-819

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REVIEW

This matter is before the Federal Labor Relations Authority , pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (5 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) and section 2424.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations (5 CFR 2424.1 (1983)) on a petition for review of negotiability issues filed on behalf of the union. For the reason indicated below, the union's petition for review must be dismissed.

Section 2424.3 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations provides that the time limit for filing a petition for review is 15 days after service of the agency's allegation that the duty to bargain in good faith does not extend to the matter proposed to be bargained.

The instant petition for review was filed with the Authority on March 28, 1983. The record 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 February 25, 1983. Therefore, under section 2424.3, as well as sections 2429.21 and 2429.22 of the Rules and Regulations, which are also applicable to the time limit here involved, since the agency's allegation of nonnegotiability was served by mail on February 25, 1983, the union's petition for review was due to be filed with the Authority no later than the close of business on March 21, 1983. However, as indicated above, the union's petition for review was not filed with the Authority until March 28, , 1983. Therefore, the union's petition was untimely filed and must be dismissed on that basis.

Accordingly, as the union's petition for review was untimely filed, and apart from other considerations, the appeal is hereby dismissed. For the Authority. Issued, Washington, D.C., May 12, 1983 James J. Shepard, Executive Director