UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD 

HEATHER A. MELTON,

Appellant,

v.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,

Agency.

DOCKET NUMBER

CH-0752-09-0448-M-1

DATE: April 21, 2022

THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL1

Heather A. Melton, Clarksville, Tennessee, pro se.

Patrick Sweeney and Katherine E. Griffis, Esquire, Fort Campbell, 

Kentucky, for the agency.

BEFORE

Raymond A. Limon, Vice Chair

Tristan L. Leavitt, Member

FINAL ORDER

¶1 The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which 

dismissed her petition for enforcement as moot. Generally, we grant petitions 

such as this one only in the following circumstances: the initial decision contains 

erroneous findings of material fact; the initial decision is based on an erroneous 

 

1 A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add 

significantly to the body of MSPB case law. Parties may cite nonprecedential orders, 

but such orders have no precedential value; the Board and administrative judges are not 

required to follow or distinguish them in any future decisions. In contrast, a 

precedential decision issued as an Opinion and Order has been identified by the Board 

as significantly contributing to the Board’s case law. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.117(c).
2

interpretation of statute or regulation or the erroneous application of the law to 

the facts of the case; the administrative judge’s rulings during either the course of 

the appeal or the initial decision were not consistent with required procedures or 

involved an abuse of discretion, and the resulting error affected the outcome of 

the case; or new and material evidence or legal argument is available that, despite 

the petitioner’s due diligence, was not available when the record closed. Title 5 

of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 1201.115 (5 C.F.R. § 1201.115). 

After fully considering the filings in this appeal, we conclude that the petitioner 

has not established any basis under section 1201.115 for granting the petition for 

review. Therefore, we DENY the petition for review and AFFIRM the initial 

decision, which is now the Board’s final decision. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113(b). 

¶2 In March 2009, the appellant filed an appeal challenging the agency’s 

decision to place her on indefinite suspension for failing to maintain a security 

clearance. Melton v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-09-

0448-I-1, Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 1. The administrative judge twice 

dismissed the appeal without prejudice for refiling at a later date. IAF, Tab 5, 

Initial Decision; Melton v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-

09-0448-I-2, Appeal File, Tab 8, Initial Decision. Ultimately, the parties reached

a settlement agreement and entered the agreement into the record for 

enforcement, and the administrative judge dismissed the appellant’s appeal as 

settled. Melton v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-09-0448-

I-3, Appeal File (I-3 AF), Tab 27, Initial Decision. Among other things, the 

settlement agreement required that the agency pay a lump sum of $35,000 in 

exchange for the appellant’s voluntary resignation, effective no later than 

August 7, 2010. I-3 AF, Tab 26 at 4-6. 

¶3 In January 2014, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement of the 

settlement agreement. Melton v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket 

No. CH-0752-09-0448-C-1, Compliance File (CF), Tab 1. The administrative 

judge denied the petition for enforcement, finding that the appellant failed to 
3

prove noncompliance. CF, Tab 14, Compliance Initial Decision. The Board 

reversed, finding the agency in noncompliance regarding health insurance 

premiums and associated wage garnishments. Melton v. Department of the Army, 

MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-09-0448-C-1, Order (C-1 Order), ¶¶ 5-10 (June 18, 

2015).2 As a result, the Board ordered the agency to cancel the appellant’s debts 

from health insurance premiums and reimburse her any wage garnishments 

collected after August 5, 2010. Id., ¶ 16. The agency responded by submitting 

evidence that it both cancelled the appellant’s $2,929.29 debt and reimbursed her 

wage garnishments of $2,998.71, after which the Board found the agency in 

compliance. Melton v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-09-

0448-X-1, Tab 24, Final Order (X-1 Final Order) (Jan. 21, 2016).3

¶4 The appellant appealed the Board’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit, where our reviewing court affirmed in part, but remanded 

for further consideration of one issue. Melton v. Department of the Army, 664 F.

App’x 909 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The court explained that the record included a 

post-settlement earnings statement showing that $1,019.89 was deducted for a 

pre-settlement debt, and that amount appeared to be owed to the appellant. Id.

at 913-14. Because the Board had not yet addressed that $1,019.89 deduction, the 

court did not draw a final conclusion, but did remand for the Board to do so. Id.

at 915. Specifically, the court concluded, “We affirm the Board’s decision with 

one exception: We vacate the decision to the extent that it denies a further refund 

of $1,019.89, and we remand for consideration of that issue.” 4 Id.

 

2 Although the appellant presented other allegations, including one concerning her 

former representative and another concerning whistleblower reprisal, the Board found 

them immaterial or waived as a result of her settlement agreement. C-1 Order,

¶¶ 11-15.

3

The appellant again raised various other matters, but the Board declined to address 

them because they were unrelated to the compliance issues in the instant appeal. X-1 

Final Order, ¶ 2 n.2.

4 Although the appellant once again raised other issues, such as the validity of the 

settlement agreement, the agency’s failure to rehire her, and whistleblower retaliation, 
4

¶5 On remand from the court, the agency simply paid the appellant the 

$1,019.89 identified, and the administrative judge dismissed the matter as moot. 

Melton v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-09-0448-M-1, 

Remand File (RF), Tab 19 at 4-5, Tab 26 at 4-5, Tab 27, Remand Initial Decision 

(RID). The administrative judge found that, while the appellant presented 

allegations of other damages and wrongdoing, those matters were beyond the 

scope of the court’s remand. RID at 3. The appellant has filed a petition for 

review, along with several supplements. Melton v. Department of the Army, 

MSPB Docket No. CH-0752-09-0448-M-1, Remand Petition for Review (RPFR) 

File, Tabs 1-9. The agency has filed a response. RPFR File, Tab 11. The 

appellant has filed a reply with several additional supplements. 5 RPFR File, 

Tabs 13-19.

¶6 In the instant case, there is no dispute that the agency paid the appellant the 

$1,019.89 identified by our reviewing court. RF, Tab 19 at 4-5, Tab 26 at 4-5. 

Nevertheless, the appellant alleges other damages and improprieties. RPFR File, 

Tab 1. For example, she appears to assert that the agency improperly withheld a 

separate $1,053.22 from her final paycheck. Id. at 7-8. She also appears to assert 

that the agency should have but failed to compensate her for leave balances upon 

her separation. Id. at 8-9. In addition, the appellant argues that the agency has 

forged documents and engaged in retaliation, defamation, and libel. E.g., id. at 5, 

9-10. 

¶7 A case is moot when the issues presented are no longer “live” or the parties 

lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome of the case. Hess v. U.S. Postal 

 

the court found them without merit or outside the scope of its proceedings. Melton,

664 F. App’x at 912-15.

5

The appellant also filed a motion to strike the agency’s response as untimely. RPFR 

File, Tab 12. That motion is denied because the agency’s response is, in fact, timely. 

The Board’s acknowledgement order specifically identifies the agency’s deadline as 

September 8, 2017, and the agency filed its response on that date. RPFR File, 

Tabs 10-11.
5

Service, 124 M.S.P.R. 40, ¶ 8 (2016). An appeal will be dismissed as moot if, by 

virtue of an intervening event, the Board cannot grant any effectual relief in favor 

of the appellant. Id. Mootness can arise at any stage of litigation, and a 

compliance proceeding will be dismissed as moot when, inter alia, there is no 

further relief the Board can grant. See Burke v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 

121 M.S.P.R. 299, ¶ 13 (2014) (dismissing an appellant’s petition for 

enforcement as moot when an agency ultimately complied with a settlement 

agreement provision and there was no further meaningful relief that the Board 

could provide); Bables v. Department of the Army, 86 M.S.P.R. 171, ¶¶ 19-20 

(2000) (same). 

¶8 Because the agency provided the $1,019.89 identified by the court’s remand 

as potentially owed to her, we agree with the administrative judge’s determination 

that this case is now moot. We will not consider the appellant’s allegations of 

other improprieties, some of which previously were raised and rejected, because 

they all exceed the scope of the court’s remand order. Melton, 664 F. App’x 

at 915; C-1 Order, ¶¶ 11-14; X-1 Final Order, ¶ 2 & n.2; see, e.g., Zelenka v. 

Office of Personnel Management, 110 M.S.P.R. 205, ¶ 15 n.3 (2008) (refusing to 

address an appellant’s arguments that exceeded the scope of the issues to be 

addressed on remand), rev’d on other grounds, 361 F. App’x 138 (Fed. Cir. 

2010); Umshler v. Department of the Interior, 55 M.S.P.R. 593, 597 (1992) 

(finding that an administrative judge properly limited the scope of remand 

proceedings, consistent with the Federal Circuit’s remand order), aff’d, 6 F.3d 

788 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (Table). 
6

NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS6

You may obtain review of this final decision. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(a)(1). By 

statute, the nature of your claims determines the time limit for seeking such 

review and the appropriate forum with which to file. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b). 

Although we offer the following summary of available appeal rights, the Merit 

Systems Protection Board does not provide legal advice on which option is most 

appropriate for your situation and the rights described below do not represent a 

statement of how courts will rule regarding which cases fall within their 

jurisdiction. If you wish to seek review of this final decision, you should 

immediately review the law applicable to your claims and carefully follow all 

filing time limits and requirements. Failure to file within the applicable time 

limit may result in the dismissal of your case by your chosen forum. 

Please read carefully each of the three main possible choices of review 

below to decide which one applies to your particular case. If you have questions 

about whether a particular forum is the appropriate one to review your case, you 

should contact that forum for more information. 

(1) Judicial review in general. As a general rule, an appellant seeking 

judicial review of a final Board order must file a petition for review with the U.S. 

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which must be received by the court 

within 60 calendar days of the date of issuance of this decision. 5 U.S.C. 

§ 7703(b)(1)(A). 

If you submit a petition for review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 

Federal Circuit, you must submit your petition to the court at the 

following address: 

 

6

Since the issuance of the initial decision in this matter, the Board may have updated 

the notice of review rights included in final decisions. As indicated in the notice, the 

Board cannot advise which option is most appropriate in any matter.
7

U.S. Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit 

717 Madison Place, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20439 

Additional information about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal 

Circuit is available at the court’s website, www.cafc.uscourts.gov. Of particular 

relevance is the court’s “Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants,” which is 

contained within the court’s Rules of Practice, and Forms 5, 6, 10, and 11. 

If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for an appeal to 

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, you may visit our website at 

http://www.mspb.gov/probono for information regarding pro bono representation 

for Merit Systems Protection Board appellants before the Federal Circuit. The 

Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that 

any attorney will accept representation in a given case. 

(2) Judicial or EEOC review of cases involving a claim of 

discrimination. This option applies to you only if you have claimed that you 

were affected by an action that is appealable to the Board and that such action 

was based, in whole or in part, on unlawful discrimination. If so, you may obtain 

judicial review of this decision—including a disposition of your discrimination 

claims—by filing a civil action with an appropriate U.S. district court (not the 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), within 30 calendar days after you 

receive this decision. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2); see Perry v. Merit Systems 

Protection Board, 582 U.S. ____ , 137 S. Ct. 1975 (2017). If you have a 

representative in this case, and your representative receives this decision before 

you do, then you must file with the district court no later than 30 calendar days

after your representative receives this decision. If the action involves a claim of 

discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or a disabling 

condition, you may be entitled to representation by a court-appointed lawyer and 
8

to waiver of any requirement of prepayment of fees, costs, or other security. See

42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f) and 29 U.S.C. § 794a. 

Contact information for U.S. district courts can be found at their respective 

websites, which can be accessed through the link below: 

http://www.uscourts.gov/Court_Locator/CourtWebsites.aspx. 

Alternatively, you may request review by the Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of your discrimination claims only, excluding 

all other issues. 5 U.S.C. § 7702(b)(1). You must file any such request with the 

EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations within 30 calendar days after you receive

this decision. 5 U.S.C. § 7702(b)(1). If you have a representative in this case, 

and your representative receives this decision before you do, then you must file 

with the EEOC no later than 30 calendar days after your representative receives

this decision. 

If you submit a request for review to the EEOC by regular U.S. mail, the 

address of the EEOC is: 

Office of Federal Operations 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

P.O. Box 77960 

Washington, D.C. 20013 

If you submit a request for review to the EEOC via commercial delivery or 

by a method requiring a signature, it must be addressed to: 

Office of Federal Operations 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

131 M Street, N.E. 

Suite 5SW12G 

Washington, D.C. 20507 

(3) Judicial review pursuant to the Whistleblower Protection 

Enhancement Act of 2012. This option applies to you only if you have raised 

claims of reprisal for whistleblowing disclosures under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) or 

other protected activities listed in 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D). 

If so, and your judicial petition for review “raises no challenge to the Board’s 
9

disposition of allegations of a prohibited personnel practice described in

section 2302(b) other than practices described in section 2302(b)(8), or 

2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D),” then you may file a petition for judicial 

review either with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or any court 

of appeals of competent jurisdiction.7The court of appeals must receive your 

petition for review within 60 days of the date of issuance of this decision. 

5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(1)(B). 

If you submit a petition for judicial review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for 

the Federal Circuit, you must submit your petition to the court at the 

following address: 

U.S. Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit 

717 Madison Place, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20439 

Additional information about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal 

Circuit is available at the court’s website, www.cafc.uscourts.gov. Of particular 

relevance is the court’s “Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants,” which is 

contained within the court’s Rules of Practice, and Forms 5, 6, 10, and 11. 

If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for an appeal to 

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, you may visit our website at 

http://www.mspb.gov/probono for information regarding pro bono representation 

for Merit Systems Protection Board appellants before the Federal Circuit. The 

Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that 

any attorney will accept representation in a given case. 

 

7

The original statutory provision that provided for judicial review of certain 

whistleblower claims by any court of appeals of competent jurisdiction expired on 

December 27, 2017. The All Circuit Review Act, signed into law by the President on 

July 7, 2018, permanently allows appellants to file petitions for judicial review of 

MSPB decisions in certain whistleblower reprisal cases with the U.S. Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit or any other circuit court of appeals of competent jurisdiction. 

The All Circuit Review Act is retroactive to November 26, 2017. Pub. L. No. 115 -195, 

132 Stat. 1510. 
10

Contact information for the courts of appeals can be found at their 

respective websites, which can be accessed through the link below: 

http://www.uscourts.gov/Court_Locator/CourtWebsites.aspx.

FOR THE BOARD:

Washington, D.C.

 /s/ for 

Jennifer Everling

Acting Clerk of the Board