## Facts

- Lance Greenstreet, an SSA IT Specialist with about eleven years of service, damaged a computer and other office equipment during an isolated outburst on March 15, 2006.
- SSA placed Greenstreet on administrative leave and removed him effective July 28, 2006.
- The union grieved the removal and sought reinstatement with back pay, leave, and benefits; the dispute proceeded to arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement.
- At arbitration, Greenstreet conceded serious misconduct warranting substantial discipline but argued removal was excessive.
- The arbitrator credited Greenstreet’s tenure, positive work and disciplinary history, and restitution, concluded removal was too severe, and ordered reinstatement without back pay.
- The award issued 342 days after the removal, leaving Greenstreet off payroll for 342 days with no back pay, effectively functioning as an unpaid suspension whose length matched the time to decision.
- Greenstreet sought Federal Circuit review under 5 U.S.C. § 7121(f), challenging only the penalty’s length and structure, not the finding that discipline was warranted.

## Issues

1. Whether an arbitrator acts arbitrarily by imposing a de facto “time served” unpaid suspension whose length is determined solely by the elapsed time between removal and the arbitration decision.
2. Whether denial of back pay in this posture can be supported by Back Pay Act concepts, where discipline is justified and the dispute concerns selecting an appropriate penalty.

## Decision

- The Federal Circuit vacated the award in part and remanded.
- The court held that a suspension’s length is arbitrary when based solely on “time served,” rather than a reasoned assessment tied to the misconduct and relevant penalty considerations.
- The court did not disturb the arbitrator’s conclusion that removal was excessive and that some lesser discipline was appropriate.
- On remand, the arbitrator was directed to determine a specific, appropriate suspension length based on proper penalty analysis rather than the timing of the arbitral process.

## Legal Principles

- In review of federal-sector arbitration awards under § 7121(f), the penalty determination must not be arbitrary or capricious, must be supported by substantial evidence, and must be consistent with law.
- A disciplinary suspension is unlawful as arbitrary when its duration is set solely by the amount of time an employee happened to be off duty pending adjudication (“time served”).
- Penalty selection must reflect a reasoned application of job-related considerations (including seriousness of the offense, past record, and service efficiency), not procedural delay.
- The Back Pay Act addresses compensation for unjustified or unwarranted personnel actions; it does not supply a method for fixing the severity or duration of otherwise justified discipline.

## Conclusion

The Federal Circuit required that when an arbitrator converts a removal into a suspension, the suspension’s duration must be justified by a reasoned penalty determination and cannot be dictated solely by the time consumed by the arbitration process.


Greenstreet v. Soc. Sec. Admin., 543 F.3d 705 (Fed. Cir. 2008)