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62 FLRA No. 14
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3258 (Whitman, Arbitrator), 0-AR-4099 (March 23, 2007)
Before reaching the merits of a grievance, the Arbitrator requested the parties to address the issue of arbitrability. The Arbitrator found that the grievance was arbitrable. The Agency excepted to the Arbitrator's arbitrability determination.
The Authority dismissed the Agency's exceptions, without prejudice, because the exceptions were interlocutory. The Authority found that the award to which the exceptions were filed was preliminary and was not intended to be a complete resolution of all of the issues submitted to arbitration. Further, the Authority concluded that because under Authority precedent the management rights provisions of § 7106 do not preclude arbitration, there was no plausible jurisdictional defect supporting interlocutory review of the Agency's exceptions.