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55 FLRA No. 27
U.S. Dept. of the Air Force, Seymour Johnsosn Air Force Base North Carolina and NAGE, Local R5-188 0-AR-2980 (Decided January 28, 1999)
The Arbitrator determined that the Agency violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement when it reduced the number of guaranteed work hours for certain employees. He ordered the Agency to cancel the reduction in hours, and to make whole the affected employees. The Authority concluded that the award was not deficient under section 7122(a) of the Statute.
The Authority first held that the exceptions were properly before the Authority. It then rejected the allegations that the award did not draw its essence from the agreement, and that it was based on a nonfact. The Agency also argued that the award was inconsistent with Agency regulation, that the Arbitrator failed to follow Authority precedent, that the award interfered with management's rights to determine its mission under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute and with management's right to assign work under section 7106(a)(2)(B). The Authority rejected these arguments.
With regards to the first allegation, the Authority noted that any alleged inconsistency between the agency regulation and the award did not provide a basis for vacating the award, because the award was based on the parties' agreement, and the agreement, not the regulation, governed the matter. Thus, the Agency's exception did not provide a basis for vacating the award.
The Authority also concluded that the award was consistent with Authority precedent. The Authority noted that in applying the standard of de novo review, the Authority will not find an award deficient solely because the arbitrator failed to apply a particular legal analysis. The Authority explained that under de novo review, the Authority determines whether an arbitrator's legal conclusions are consistent with the applicable standard of law, based on the arbitrator's findings of fact. The Authority also concluded that the award was not contrary to management's rights under section 7106(a) of the Statute.