Click here to view the decision.
55 FLRA No. 34
U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California (Angelo, Arbitrator), 0-AR-3057 (Decided February 23, 1999)
The Arbitrator sustained the grievance over the grievant's reassignment as the result of her disqualification from her law enforcement position. The Authority concluded that the Agency failed to establish that the award was deficient.
Preliminarily, the Authority rejected the allegation that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority. The Authority noted that arbitrators exceed their authority when they resolve an issue not submitted to arbitration. Here, the Authority found that the award was responsive to the issue, as stipulated.
Regarding the jurisdictional issue raised under section 7121(d) of the Statute, the Authority noted that although this issue may be raised at any stage of the Authority's proceedings, the issue raised by the Agency for the first time was the jurisdiction of the Arbitrator to resolve the grievance. Under section 2429.5 of the Authority's Regulations, the Authority will not consider issues that could have been, but were not, raised before the arbitrator. The Authority noted that there was no indication in the record that the Agency argued to the Arbitrator, as it has in its exception, that the grievance was precluded by section 7121(c)(3) of the Statute. The Authority concluded that as the issue of section 7121(c)(3) related to the arbitrability of the grievance, it clearly could, and should, have been presented to the Arbitrator.