Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Compensation Claim Decision
Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code
Detroit, Michigan
Robert D. Hendler
Classification and Pay Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
09/02/2014
Date
The claimant, who is employed in a Patent Examiner (Electrical Engineering), GS-1224-12, position, seeks to have her pay adjusted from GS-12, Step 1, to GS-12, Step 8. We received the claim request on July 14, 2014, and information from her employing agency at our request on July 24, 2014. For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied for lack of jurisdiction.
OPM settles Federal civilian employee compensation and leave claims under the provisions of section 3702(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code (U.S.C.), and part 178 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). However, section 7121(a)(1) of title 5, U. S. C., directs that except as provided elsewhere in the statute, the grievance procedures in a negotiated collective bargaining agreement (CBA) shall be the exclusive administrative remedy for resolving matters that fall within the coverage of the CBA. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has found the plain language of 5 U.S.C. § 7121(a)(1) to be clear, and as such, limits the administrative resolution of a Federal employee’s grievance to the negotiated procedures set forth in the CBA.Mudge v.
The record shows the claimant occupied a bargaining unit position during the period of the claim. The CBA between The U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office, and the Patent Office Professional Association covering the claimant during the period of the claim does not specifically exclude pay setting issues from the NGP (Article 11). Therefore, this claim must be construed as covered by the NGP the claimant was subject to during the claim period, and OPM has no jurisdiction to adjudicate this claim or intervene in this matter.
This settlement is final. No further administrative review is available within OPM. Nothing in this settlement limits the claimant’s right to bring an action in an appropriate