[ v56 p682 ]
56 FLRA No. 113
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 31
(Union)
and
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
LOUIS STOKES MEDICAL CENTER
NURSING HOME CARE UNIT
BRECKSVILLE, OHIO
(Agency)
0-AR-3333
_____
DECISION
September 22, 2000
_____
Before the Authority: Donald S. Wasserman, Chairman and Dale Cabaniss, Member.
This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to an award of Arbitrator Glen M. Bendixsen filed by the Union under section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority's Regulations.
Under section 7122(a) of the Statute, an award is deficient if it is contrary to any law, rule, or regulation; or it is deficient on other grounds similar to those applied by Federal courts in private sector labor-management relations. Upon careful consideration of the entire record in this case, and Authority precedent, the Authority concludes that the award is not deficient on the grounds raised in the exceptions and set forth in section 7122(a). See American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2921 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Dallas, Texas, 50 FLRA 184, 185-86 (1995) (arbitrator's determination of the procedural arbitrability of a grievance is subject to challenge only on grounds other than those that directly challenge the procedural arbitrability determination); American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1668 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska, 50 FLRA 124, 126 (1995) (award not deficient on ground that arbitrator failed to provide a fair hearing where excepting party fails to demonstrate that the arbitrator refused to hear or consider pertinent and material evidence, or that other actions in conducting the proceeding so prejudiced a party so as to affect the fairness of the proceeding as a whole). [n1]
Accordingly, the Union's exceptions are denied.
Footnote # 1 for 56 FLRA No. 113
In addition, the Federal Rules of Evidence are not applicable to arbitration hearings and awards, such as that rendered in this case. See, e.g., U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923, 56 FLRA 280, 287 (2000).