DECISION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
This matter is before the Board on exceptions filed on February 21, 2008, by the Fraternal Order of Police, U. S. Capitol Police Labor Committee (“Union”) to an award by Arbitrator Joshua M. Javits. On March 21, 2008, the United States Capitol Police Board (“Employing Office”) filed its “Opposition to the Union’s Exceptions.”
The Board of Directors has reviewed this matter pursuant to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 7122, as adopted by section 220(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act (2 U.S.C. 1351(a)), and Part 2425 of the Regulations of the Office of Compliance.
The Arbitrator found that the request for expedited arbitration of an officer’s termination was untimely and therefore not arbitrable. In so doing, the Arbitrator first found that the Employing Office’s letter of July 16, 2007 concerning the “recommendation of termination” was a proposed disciplinary action that was not covered by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and that the Union’s request on August 3, 2007, for expedited arbitration of this proposed disciplinary action was not arbitrable. Second, the Arbitrator found that the effective date of the final termination was October 12, 2007, and that under the CBA, a request for expedited arbitration of the termination had to be filed by November 1, 2007–within twenty days of the effective date of the discipline. Because the Union requested expedited arbitration on November 21, 2007, the Arbitrator found that the Union’s request was untimely under the CBA and that the matter, therefore, was not arbitrable. He thus rejected the Union’s argument that its August 3, 2007 request for expedited arbitration, based on the July 16, 2007 letter, was sufficient notice of its intent to request expedited arbitration on the October 12, 2007 termination.
