Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Compensation Claim Decision
Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Robert D. Hendler
Classification and Pay Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
11/19/2015
Date
The claimant seeks to file a claim for “unpaid severance pay and an incorrect SF 50 [Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form (SF) 50]” as a result of her removal from the position she previously occupied with the U.S. Forest Service (FS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, due to her “medical inability to perform the duties of her position.” We received the claim on September 8, 2015. For the reasons discussed herein, the claim is denied.
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 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. 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 5 CFR 178.101(b).
The SF-50 provided by the claimant documenting her removal from Federal employment effective February 24, 2015, shows she occupied a bargaining unit position during the period covered by the claim. The Master Agreement between the FS and the National Federation of Federal Employees covering the claimant during her employment with the FS, and in effect during the period of the claim, does not specifically exclude compensation issues from the NGP (Article 9 in the CBA effective October 25, 2010). Therefore, the claim for severance pay 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. As is clear in Muniz v. United States, 972 F.2d 1304 (Fed. Cir. 1992), the fact that the claimant is no longer employed by the FS does not remove the Civil Service Reform Act’s jurisdictional bar for claims covered by the CBA arbitration and grievance procedures that arose during and from her employment with the FS.
With regard to the request for correction of the SF-50, OPM is not authorized to provide the requested relief under the compensation claims authority. Under section 3702 of title 31, United States Code (U.S.C.), OPM adjudicates compensation and leave claims brought by employees who seek to challenge pay or leave decisions made by their employing agency. OPM’s authority under 31 U.S.C. § 3702 does not extend to reviewing or amending alleged SF-50 “coding” errors at the behest of an employee or former employee. Therefore, we must also decline to take action on this part of the claimant’s request.
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.