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55 FLRA No. 30
AFGE, Local 1741 and U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correction Institution, Milan, Michigan (Gravelle, Arbitrator), 0-AR-3039 (Decided January 29, 1999)
The Arbitrator denied a grievance alleging that the Agency violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement when it attempted to require the grievant to submit to a fitness-for-duty examination. The Authority concluded that the Union failed to establish that the award was deficient.
The Authority rejected the allegations that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority, and that the award failed to draw its essence from the agreement. The Authority also concluded that the award was not contrary to 5 C.F.R. § 339.301.
The Authority noted that the authorization to conduct fitness-for-duty examinations is set forth in part 339 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Authority found that the Arbitrator applied the plain meaning of the regulation in determining that the Agency was empowered to schedule the grievant for a fitness-for-duty examination because the grievant occupied a position with medical standards or physical requirements. Accordingly, the Authority found that the award was not inconsistent with the regulation and that the exception provided no basis for finding the award deficient.