Overseas Federation of Teachers and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Mediterranean Region (Authority decision, January 31, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed the union's negotiability petition without ruling on its merits. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a), a person aggrieved by a final Authority order may generally seek judicial review within 60 days of issuance. A review petition does not itself stay the order.

Plain-English summary

The Overseas Federation of Teachers sought review of a Defense Dependents Schools declaration that a proposed bargaining matter was nonnegotiable. The declaration was mailed to the union in November 1983. The Authority calculated the petition deadline as December 5, including the extra time allowed for service by mail. The union filed on December 12, so the Authority dismissed the petition as untimely without deciding whether the proposal was negotiable.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability appeal filing rules under 5 U.S.C. § 7105(a)(2)(E).
• Outcome: Union petition dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The petition reached the Authority after the deadline that included the mail-service allowance.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v13 p721 ]

13:0721(119)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

OVERSEAS FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPENDENTS
SCHOOLS, MEDITERRANEAN REGION
Activity

Case No. O-NG-937

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REVIEW

The matter is before the Authority pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Statute and section 2424.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations on a petition for review of a negotiability issue filed by the Union. For the reason indicated below, the Union's petition 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 extent do the matter proposed to be bargained is served on the Union. Section 2429.22 of the Authority's Regulations provides for an five days be added to the prescribed period when the document which triggers the running of such period is served on the other party by mail.

From the submissions of the parties in the record before the Authority, it appears that the Activity's allegation of nonnegotiability was served on the Union by mail on November 14, 1983. Therefore, under the above-cited provisions, the Union's petition for review was due in the national office of the Authority in Washington, D.C. before the close of business on December 5, 1983. Since the Union's petition for review was not filed with the Authority until December 12, 1983, it is clearly untimely and must be dismissed on that basis.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Union's petition for review in this case be dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., January 31, 1984

James J. Shepard, Executive
Director