NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 43
Non-Injury Grievance

Section 5
Discovery and Prehearing Procedures

(a)(i)

Any party may seek bifurcation of a grievance to assert a claim of untimeliness. Bifurcation motions shall be presented in writing to the other party and the arbitrator in the moving party’s answer or at any time no later than seven (7) days prior to the scheduled hearing on the merits of the grievance. If an arbitrator has not yet been assigned to hear the grievance then the moving party shall file the motion with the Notice Arbitrator, who will decide the motion or assign it to a member of the Non-Injury Grievance Arbitration panel. A party’s decision to pursue a bifurcated hearing may not delay the processing of a hearing scheduled on the merits of the grievance. For any motions made at least thirty (30) days before a hearing on the merits of the grievance, the parties will use their best efforts to bifurcated hearing at least ten (10) days before the scheduled hearing on the merits of the grievance. In any case where a timely motion for bifurcation is made, but a bifurcated hearing is not held, the arbitrator shall decide the issue of timeliness during the hearing on the merits.

(a)(ii)

If a defense of untimeliness is not raised at least seven (7) days before the scheduled hearing on the merits of the grievance, the parties will be precluded from arguing that defense. However, where a party learns of facts supporting the defense fewer than seven days prior to the hearing, during the hearing, or in a post-hearing deposition, the party must present the defense to the opposing party and arbitrator within seven (7) days of when the facts supporting the defense became known or reasonably should have been known to the party. An assertion at the hearing, or subsequent to the hearing, of a newlydiscovered untimeliness defense will enable either party to present additional testimony, including the opportunity to recall witnesses or call new witnesses.

(a)(iii)

If a grievance is ultimately dismissed based on a finding of untimeliness, the arbitrator shall issue a written decision limited to that issue, and such ruling shall be final.

(b)

No later than fourteen (14) days prior to the date set for any hearing, each party will submit to the other copies of all documents, reports and records relevant to the dispute. Failure to submit such documents, reports and records no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the hearing will preclude the non-complying party from submitting such documents, reports and records into evidence at the hearing, but the other party will have the opportunity to examine such documents, reports and records at the hearing and to introduce those it desires into evidence, except that relevant documents submitted to the opposing party less than fourteen (14) days before the hearing will be admissible provided that the proffering party and the custodian(s) of the documents made a good faith effort to obtain (or discover the existence of) said documents or that the document’s relevance was not discovered until the hearing date. In the case of an expedited grievance pursuant to Section 4, such documentary evidence shall be exchanged on or before two (2) days prior to the date set for the hearing unless the arbitrator indicates otherwise.