[Maritime Administration Employees' Claims for Retroactive Differential Pay]

A labor union requested a decision on behalf of 53 Maritime Administration (MARAD) employees who claimed retroactive environmental differential pay for a period prior to an arbitration award. The employees contended that the same conditions which warranted differential pay existed prior to the arbitration award. GAO considered the claims, since the: (1) arbitrator did not take jurisdiction over the claims; (2) employees did not file a grievance; and (3) employees based their right to differential pay on statutes and regulations which existed independently from the collective bargaining agreement. GAO held that the employees failed to show that the MARAD denial of their claim was wrong or arbitrary and capricious, since MARAD had followed applicable health and safety standards during the period in question. Accordingly, the claims were denied.