Police officers at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (Agency) sought hazardous pay differentials for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing exposure to the virus while patrolling and screening individuals at the facility. Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 1 grieved that the Agency violated Article 23 of their CBA, which required the Agency to address workplace hazards and authorized environmental differential pay for listed conditions, including exposure to virulent biologicals.
The Arbitrator initially found the grievance arbitrable, ruling that while no statute expressly authorized hazardous pay differentials for these officers, the Agency had discretion to negotiate such payments under the agreement. On the merits, the Arbitrator sustained the grievance, concluding that COVID-19 qualified as a virulent biological under the agreement’s incorporated federal regulations (5 C.F.R. Part 550, Appendix A). He awarded backpay for March 2020 to March 2021, finding the Agency’s safety measures insufficient to mitigate the unusual threat posed by COVID-19. The Agency appealed.
The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) reversed, holding the award contrary to law. The FLRA noted that hazardous pay differentials are authorized under 5 U.S.C. § 5545(d), which applies only to General Schedule employees. The officers here were covered under a separate pay system (5 U.S.C. § 5378), which explicitly excludes them from General Schedule classifications. The FLRA emphasized that sovereign immunity prohibits monetary awards unless statutory authority exists, and the collective bargaining agreement could not independently create such authority. The Arbitrator’s reliance on Appendix A was misplaced because it merely implemented § 5545(d) for General Schedule employees.
The FLRA set aside the award, rejecting the Union’s alternative arguments. It declined to address the Agency’s remaining exceptions, including claims of nonfact and public policy violations.
United States Department of the Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing, 51 FPER ¶ 643 (2025).