41:0235(22)AR - AFGE LOCAL 1617 and U.S. AIR FORCE AIR FORCE LOGISTICS COMMAND KELLY AFB, TEXAS -- 1991 FLRAdec AR

41 FLRA NO. 22
 41 FLRA 235

 14 JUN 1991

          AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
                          LOCAL 1617
                            (Union)

                              and

               U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
                  AIR FORCE LOGISTICS COMMAND
                  KELLY AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS
                            (Agency)

                           0-AR-2107

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

     The Union filed exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Ernest
E. Marlatt the above-captioned case. On May 24, 1991, the
Authority directed the Union to show cause why its exceptions
should not be dismissed as untimely filed. The Union filed a
timely response to the Authority's Order. For the reasons set out
below, the Union's exceptions must be dismissed.

     The time limit for filing exceptions to an arbitration award
is 30  days beginning on the date the award is served on the
filing party. 5 C.F.R. 2425.1(b). The date of service is the date
the arbitration award is deposited in the U.S. mail or is
delivered in person. 5 C.F.R. 2429.27(d). Absent evidence to the
contrary, the date of the arbitration award is presumed to be the
date of service of the award. See Oklahoma City Air Logistics
Center, Tinker Air Force Base and American Federation of
Government Employees, Local No. 916, 32 FLRA  165, 167 (1988). If
the award is served by mail, 5 days are added to the period for
filing exceptions to the award. 5 C.F.R. 2429.22. The time limit
may not be extended or waived by the Authority. 5 C.F.R.
2429.23(d).

     Exceptions to an Arbitrator's award may not be filed in a
Regional Office but must be filed in the Authority's Docket
Room, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 20424. 5 C.F.R.
2429.24(a). See Veterans Administration Medical Center,
Gainesville, Florida and American Federation of Government
Employees, Local 2729, 31 FLRA  1108 (1988).

     The Arbitrator's amended award is dated April 2, 1991.
Presuming that the award was deposited in the U.S. mail on April
2, 1991, an exception to the award had to be either postmarked by
the U.S. Postal Service or received in person at the Authority no
later than May 6, 1991, in order to be considered timely. 5
C.F.R. 2425.1(b), 2429.21(b) and 2429.22.

     The Union exceptions are dated May 3, 1991, and addressed to
the Authority's Dallas Regional Office. The Regional Office
received the Union's exceptions by mail on May 8, 1991, and
forwarded the exceptions by mail to the Authority's Docket Room
on the same day after having notified the Union by telephone of
the misfiling. 1 The Union's exceptions were received and
considered filed in the Authority's Docket Room on May 13,
1991.

     The Union's submission in response to the Authority's Order
to Show Cause includes a copy of the Union's official mail log
indicating receipt on April 4, 1991, of the Arbitrator's April 2,
1991 amended award. However, it is well established that the date
of receipt of the award is not controlling in the determination
of the timeliness of exceptions. U.S. Department of the Navy,
Navy Resale Activity, Guam and American Federation of Government
Employees, Local 1689, 39 FLRA  1109 (1991). Instead, the date of
service of the award--the date that the matter served is
deposited in the U.S. mail or is delivered in person--controls. 5
C.F.R. 2429.27(d).

     The Union's exceptions were not filed in the Authority's
Docket Room within the prescribed time limit. As the time limit
for filing exceptions may not be extended or waived by the
Authority, the Union's exceptions are dismissed.

     For the Authority.

Alicia N. Columna
Director, Case Control Office