Click here to view the decision.
55 FLRA No. 156
U.S. Department of The Air Force, 439th Airlift Wing Westover Air Reserve Base Massachusetts and AFGE, Local 3707 (Bornstein, Arbitrator), 0-AR-3063 (Decided September 30, 1999)
The Arbitrator sustained the Union's grievance, finding that the Agency violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement when it charged employees eight hours of annual leave for days when they were away from their home station on long distance flights and were engaged in mandatory crew rest periods. Consequently, the Arbitrator ordered the Agency to restore the annual leave deducted from the employees, and pay those employees for the time that they had engaged in crew rest. The Authority found that the Agency's exception provided no basis for finding the award deficient.
The Authority found that the Agency's practice of excusing ARTs from duty in order to engage in crew rest is, in essence, a method of granting ARTs administrative leave. The Authority noted that it has long recognized that agencies have discretion to excuse employees from duty for brief periods of time. Here, the Authority found that the Arbitrator's finding that the employees were entitled to be paid for the time spent in crew rest is tantamount to a finding that the employees were entitled to administrative leave. The Authority added that the Comptroller General has also recognized that agencies have discretion to excuse employees from duty for brief periods of time, without charge to leave or loss of pay, in order to rest after long distance flights. The Authority concluded that the Agency failed to demonstrate that it had no authority to pay ARTs for time spent engaged in crew rest.