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
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Damon B. Ford
Compensation and Leave Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
01/11/2023
Date
The claimant is a Federal civilian employee of the Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He seeks assistance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in having his agency take corrective action by increasing his initial salary determination upon his appointment in December 2021, to an Air Conditioning Equipment Mechanic, WG-5306-10, job. For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied for lack of jurisdiction.
The claimant asserts his department provided incorrect information to him during the appointment process. He states he “asked repeatedly about negotiating [his] starting wage” because he believes his work experience is at a higher level than what is needed to perform his Federal civilian job. The claimant states he was told to request a salary adjustment after starting his job because they would want to check his level of experience and knowledge. Additionally, the claimant believes his initial salary determination should have been negotiated because the salary of previously hired employees in his department was negotiated. In a memorandum dated April 22, 2022, the agency stated the pay for Federal Wage System employees, like the claimant, cannot be retroactively adjusted, in accordance with VA policy.
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 from the claimant (i.e., SF 50, block 37 showing the bargaining unit status) shows the claimant occupied a bargaining unit position during the period covered by the claim. The 2011 Master Agreement between the VA and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National Veterans Affairs Council of Locals (the Union), covering the claimant during the claim period does not specifically exclude pay issues from the NGP (Article 43, Grievance Procedure). 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.
Lastly, the claimant believes he is being discriminated against because he is a disabled veteran. He also feels a hostile work environment exists and states he was informed that if he continues to mention his salary issue to his servicing human resources (HR) staff, HR and management will either fire or force him to quit. However, OPM’s claims jurisdiction is limited to consideration of statutory and regulatory liability. OPM adjudicates compensation claims by determining whether controlling statute, regulations, policy, and other written guidance were correctly applied to the facts of the case. OPM’s compensation claims program does not include settlement of discrimination or harassment issues. Therefore, this request is beyond the scope of our claim adjudication authority and is denied.
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