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56 FLRA No. 57
AFGE, Local 4052 Council of Prison Locals and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Detention Center, Guaynabo San Juan, Puerto Rico (Miller, Arbitrator), 0-AR-3234 (Decided May 16, 2000)
The Arbitrator denied a grievance alleging that the Agency had improperly compensated the grievants under 5 C.F.R. § 551.431, which governs pay for employees on standby duty or in an on-call status. The Authority found that the Union failed to demonstrate that the award was deficient.
The Authority stated that in promulgating regulations implementing the FLSA, OPM is obliged to exercise its administrative authority in a manner that is consistent with that of the Secretary of Labor. Nevertheless, it is also well-settled that the Statute does not authorize the Authority to pass judgment on rules or regulations that OPM or any other federal agency has enacted. Based on the foregoing, the Authority concluded that the Union's challenge to the validity of 5 C.F.R. § 551.431 -- an OPM regulation implementing the FLSA -- was not brought to the appropriate forum. Therefore, as the Arbitrator's application of 5 C.F.R. § 551.431 was not in error and, as the Union did not otherwise contend that the award was inconsistent with this regulation, ··___··the Union's contention provided no basis to conclude that the award was deficient. Additionally, the Authority found that the Arbitrator did not exceed his authority.