Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Compensation Claim Decision
Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Denver, Colorado
Damon B. Ford
Compensation and Leave Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
05/12/2020
Date
The claimant is a Federal civilian employee of the Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in Denver, Colorado. She seeks assistance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in having her agency take corrective action by granting her “50 hours of retroactive pay” for the days she was in a Leave Without Pay pay-status, and processing a promotion to the GS-11 grade level retroactive to October 2016 as a correction on a Standard Form (SF) 50, Notification of Personnel Action, resulting in a $32,600 “difference in pay,” when the claimant was employed by the VA in New York. For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied for lack of jurisdiction.
Section 7121(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code (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 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. United States, 308 F.3d 1220, 1228 (Fed Cir. 2002). Further, the Federal Circuit also found that all matters not specifically excluded from the grievance process by the CBA fall within the coverage of the CBA. Id. at 1231. As such, OPM cannot assert jurisdiction over the compensation or leave claims of Federal employees who are or were subject to a negotiated grievance procedure (NGP) under a CBA between the employee’s agency and labor union for any time during the claim period, unless the matter is or was specifically excluded from the CBA’s NGP. See title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 178.101(b).
Information OPM obtained (i.e., SF 50, block 37 showing bargaining unit status) shows the claimant occupied a bargaining unit position during the period covered by the claim. The Master Agreement between the VA and the American Federation of Government Employees National Veterans Affairs Council of Locals, covering the claimant during the claim period does not specifically exclude pay or promotion issues from the NGP (Article 43). 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.
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 United States court.