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55 FLRA No. 10
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Farm Service Agency Kansas City, Missouri and U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General Kansas City Missouri and NTEU and NTEU, Chapter 264, Case No. DE-CA-60399 (Decided December 24, 1998)
In this case, the Respondent sought reconsideration of an Authority Order, dated October 23, 1997, dismissing as untimely the Respondent's exceptions to an Administrative Law Judge's decision. The Respondent also sought reconsideration and remand of the Judge's decision. The Authority found that the Respondent failed to establish extraordinary circumstances warranting review of the October 23, 1997 Order. The Authority also rejected the Respondent's motion to reconsider and remand the Judge's decision.
Under section 2429.17 of the Authority's Regulations, a party seeking reconsideration after the Authority has issued a final decision or order bears the heavy burden of establishing that extraordinary circumstances exist to justify this unusual action. The Authority found that the Respondent failed to establish extraordinary circumstances in this case. The Authority noted that it has previously addressed and rejected claims that untimely filings caused by delays or problems with internal mail systems present extraordinary circumstances warranting reconsideration.