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60 FLRA No. 148
NTEU and U.S. Dept. of the Treasury IRS, Washington, D.C. (Snow, Arbitrator) Case No. 0-AR-3874 (Decided March 29, 2005)
The Authority granted interlocutory review of the Agency's exceptions and set aside the portion of the award that assessed the validity of a qualification standard established by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The Agency conceded that its exceptions were interlocutory but argued that review was warranted because the exceptions raised a plausible jurisdictional defect, the resolution of which would advance the ultimate disposition of this case.
The Authority found that the Agency's exceptions presented a plausible jurisdictional defect, the resolution of which would advance the ultimate disposition of this case. Thus, it found that review of the exceptions was warranted and, on review, found that the Arbitrator lacked jurisdiction to assess the validity of the thirty-hour requirement. Accordingly, that portion of the award was set aside.