Source: http://www.flra.gov/decisions/v60/60-043ab.html
Timestamp: 2014-11-26 15:19:16
Document Index: 373042985

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 7122', '§ 7122', '§ 7121', '§ 7121', '§ 511', '§ 7121', '§ 7121', '§ 7121', '§ 7121', '§ 7121']

p194 ] applicable classification standard. The Agency contends that the Arbitrator does not have authority under the Statute to render classification decisions pertaining to the pay plan, occupational series, or grade of a Federal position. Additionally, the Agency contends that the Arbitrator improperly extended his authority by determining what duties should be credited for purposes of applying the classification standard. B. Union's Opposition 1. The Arbitrator did not exceed his authority The Union maintains that the temporary promotion issue is properly before the Arbitrator. According to the Union, the grievant performed work at the GS-9 level, for which he did not receive GS-9 pay from May 2 through August 25, 2002. The Union contends that the Agency failed to properly investigate the grievant's claim that his work should be reclassified, pursuant to the Agency's contractual obligation to do so. 2. The award is not contrary to § 7122(a) of the Statute because it does not involve the classification of a position The Union argues that the award is valid because it violates no laws and is consistent with the language of the parties' agreement. According to the Union, the Arbitrator compared the duties of the grievant with the Agency's classification guide and made the appropriate decision, based on the parties' agreement, that the grievant should be awarded backpay. IV. Analysis and Conclusions A. The Arbitrator did not exceed his authority An arbitrator exceeds his or her authority when the arbitrator fails to resolve an issue submitted to arbitration, resolves an issue not submitted to arbitration, disregards specific limitations on his or her authority or awards relief to persons who are not encompassed within the grievance. United States Dep't of Def., Army & Air Force Exch. Serv., 51 FLRA 1371, 1378 (1996). As the parties did not stipulate the issue in the underlying grievance, the Arbitrator framed the arbitrability issue, and resolved it, in terms of the accuracy of the wages paid to the grievant pursuant to the terms of the parties' agreement, which would cover the issue of whether the grievant should have received a temporary promotion. [n2] In the absence of a stipulation, the Authority will defer to an arbitrator's framing of the issue. See, e.g., AFGE, Local 933, 58 FLRA 480, 482 (2003). Accordingly, we find that the Arbitrator did not exceed his authority by addressing the temporary promotion issue. B. The award is contrary to § 7122(a) of the Statute because it involves the classification of duties When an exception involves an award's consistency with law, the Authority reviews any question of law raised by the exception and the award de novo. See NTEU, Chapter 24, 50 FLRA 330, 332 (1995) (citing United States Customs Serv. v. FLRA, 43 F.3d 682, 686-87 (D.C. Cir. 1994)). In applying the standard of de novo review, the Authority assesses whether an arbitrator's legal conclusions are consistent with the applicable standard of law. See United States Dep't of Def., Dep'ts of the Army & the Air Force, Ala. Nat'l Guard, Northport, Ala., 55 FLRA 37, 40 (1998). In making that assessment, the Authority defers to the arbitrator's underlying factual findings. See id. Under § 7121(c)(5) of the Statute, grievances concerning "the classification of any position which does not result in the reduction in grade or pay of an employee" are precluded by law from coverage by a negotiated grievance procedure. Thus, an arbitrator is barred from resolving any grievance concerning the classification of a position that does not result in the reduction in grade or pay of an employee. See Soc. Sec. Admin., 60 FLRA 62, 64 (2004). The Authority has construed the term "classification" in § 7121(c)(5) in the context of 5 C.F.R. § 511.101(c), which defines the term as "the analysis and identification of a position and placing it in a class under the position-classification plan established by [the Office of Personnel Management] under chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code." See AFGE, Local 987, 37 FLRA 386, 389 (1990). Where the substance of a grievance concerns the grade level of the duties assigned to, and performed by the grievant, the grievance concerns the classification of a position within the meaning of § 7121(c)(5) of the Statute. Similarly, where the substance of a grievance concerns the accretion of higher-graded duties to an existing position, the grievance concerns a classification matter. See AFGE Local 1858, 59 FLRA 713, 715 (2004). Where, however, [ v60
p195 ] the substance of a grievance concerns whether a grievant is entitled to a temporary promotion under a collective bargaining agreement by reason of having temporarily performed the duties of a higher-graded position, the grievance does not concern the classification of a position within the meaning of § 7121(c)(5) of the Statute. United States Dep't of the Navy, Naval Aviation Depot, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C., 42 FLRA 795, 801 (1991). However, when the duties of a position have not been previously classified, a grievance seeking a temporary promotion to that position concerns a classification matter within the meaning of § 7121(c)(5) of the Statute. See United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 54 FLRA 1416, 1421-22 (1998). In such a grievance, a necessary predicate to determining whether the employee performed higher-graded duties would be to determine the classification of those duties. United States Dep't of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Paterson Air Fore Base, Ohio, 59 FLRA 64, 67 (2003) (Wright-Patterson AFB). In this case, the Arbitrator examined duties performed by the grievant, compared those duties to the matrix used as a tool by Agency classification staff, and determined that the grievant should have received a temporary promotion. However, it is clear that the grievant was seeking an upgrade, in his permanent position, based on the performance of additional duties. As noted, grievances concerning the grade level assigned to an employee concern classification matters. [n3] Thus, to reach his conclusion that the grievant was due a temporary promotion, the Arbitrator classified and graded a set of duties. The Union admits as much when it stated that the Arbitrator "compared the duties of the grievant with the [A]gency's classification guide, and made the appropriate decision[.]" Opposition at 14. Because the Arbitrator resolved an issue that involved the classification of the grievant's grade level, the award is inconsistent with § 7121(c)(5) of the Statute. See Soc. Sec. Admin., 60 FLRA No. 16, slip op. at 8. We grant the exception and set aside the award, including the award of backpay, because it involves the classification of duties under § 7121(c)(5) of the Statute. [n4] V. Decision The award is set aside. File 1: Authority's Decision in 60
FLRA No. 43 File 2: Opinion of Member Pope
FLRA No. 43 - Authority's Decision Member Pope's separate opinion, dissenting in part, is set forth after this decision.
FLRA No. 43 - Authority's Decision The Arbitrator framed the issue to be "whether the Agency violated the collective bargain