B-252405.2 July 21, 1994

B-252405.2 July 21, 1994

DIGEST

Mr. Don E. Hansen Manager, Travel & Relocation Systems Division Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20519

Dear Mr. Hansen:

This replies to your letter of February 22, 1994, regarding the settlement of a grievance filed by Ms. Wendy S. Anderson, an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which conflicts with the settlement certificate issued by our Claims Group Z-2868047, Jan. 12, 1993, which denied Ms. Anderson's claim for $7,450.79 in real estate expenses incurred in purchase of a residence incident to her transfer. You ask whether a determination in favor of Ms. Anderson under the grievance procedure overrides the disallowance of her claim issued by our Claims Group.

The grievance was filed in July 1992, and the FAA transmitted Ms. Anderson's claim here as a doubtful claim in August 1992. Since our Claims Group was unaware that Ms. Anderson was a member of a collective bargaining unit whose claim was covered by a negotiated grievance procedure, the Claims Group accepted the claim for settlement pursuant to 4 C.F.R. Part 31, and issued settlement certificate Z-2868047, Jan. 12, 1993, denying the claim on the merits. In November 1993 the FAA made a determination on Ms. Anderson's grievance to award her the amount claimed, $7,450.79.

Since April 1992 our Office has not considered claims from employees who are members of collective bargaining units whose claims are subject to a grievance procedure negotiated under 5 U.S.C. Sec. 7121(a). See Cecil E. Riggs, 71 Comp.Gen. 374 (1992). See also, 4 C.F.R. Sec. 30.1(b) (1993). Since Ms. Anderson's claim was subject to such a negotiated procedure, we are hereby withdrawing the Claims Group's January 12, 1993 settlement of Ms. Anderson's claim.

cc: Mr. Tim Haines Eastern Region Vice President National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. Airport Corporate Centre 894 Beaver Grade Road Coraopolis, PA 15108

Mr. Tim Haines Eastern Region Vice President National Air Traffic Controllers Association Airport Corporate Centre 894 Beaver Grade Road Coraopolis, PA 15108

Dear Mr. Haines:

This further replies to your letter of April 6, 1994, regarding the award in favor of Ms. Wendy S. Anderson, an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under the negotiated grievance procedure included in a collective bargaining agreement covering her. You ask that we retract the conflicting settlement certificate issued by our Claims Group Z-2868047, Jan. 12, 1993, which denied Ms. Anderson's claim for real estate expenses incident to her transfer.

Enclosed is a copy of our letter, dated today, to Mr. Don E. Hansen, Manager, Travel and Relocation Systems Division, FAA. Our letter advises him that we are withdrawing the January 12 settlement certificate as having been improvidently issued since we no longer consider claims from employees covered by negotiated collective bargaining agreements which include grievance procedures.

cc: Mr. Don E. Hansen Manager, Travel & Relocation Systems Division Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20591

Date: July 21, 1994 To: Director, Claims Group/OGC - Sharon S. Green From: Acting General Counsel - Robert P. Murphy Subject: Wendy S. Anderson - Subject of Claims Group Settlement and Negotiated Grievance (B-252405.2) - Z-2868047

Returned is Claims File No. Z-2868047 and copies of our letters, dated today, to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association advising them that we are withdrawing the settlement Z-2868047, Jan. 12, 1993, denying Ms. Wendy S. Anderson's claim for real estate expenses.

Although the fact that Ms. Anderson is a member of a collective bargaining unit covered by a negotiated collective bargaining agreement, including a grievance procedure, was unknown to the Claims Group when the settlement was issued, under Cecil E. Riggs, et al., 71 Comp.Gen. 374 (1992), grievance procedures are the exclusive remedy for employee claims covered by the procedures, precluding jurisdiction in our Office over such employee claims. See also 4 C.F.R. Sec. 30.1(b).

Concerning our decision Local Mileage Allowances, B-252405, Oct. 14, 1993, to which your March 9, 1994 memorandum refers, that decision did not directly adjudicate employee claims; rather, it answered an authorized agency official's questions about the effect of negotiated labor-management agreements' provisions on the mileage provision of the Joint Travel Regulations. We expressly retained jurisdiction under the Riggs decision to continue accepting requests from agency officials on issues of general application.[1] The FAA's transmittal of Ms. Anderson's claim to the Claims Group was the transmittal for settlement of an employee's claim rather than an agency official's request for decision on matters of general application.

Attachments

1. We recognize, of course, that our answers on such requests will often be used by agency officials in settling employee claims. However, should an employee covered by a negotiated grievance procedure disagree with such an agency settlement, the employee's remedy is to pursue the matter under the grievance procedure, not before our Office. See also, B-249061, May 17, 1993.