UNITED STATES OF AME RICA MERIT SYSTEMS PROTEC TION BOARD

JOHN PAUL JONES, III , Appellant,

v.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Agency. DOCKET NUMBER DE

- 3330

- 14

- 0570

- I

- 1

DATE: April 30, 2015



### THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

John Paul Jones, III , Albuquerque, New Mexico, pro se.

K. Keian Weld , Esquire, Washington, D.C., for the agency.

BEFORE
Susan Tsui Grundmann, Chairman Mark A. Robbins, Member

FINAL ORDER ¶1 The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which denied the appellant’s request for corrective action under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA). Generally, we grant petitions such as this one only when: the initial decision contains erroneous findings of

1 A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add significantly to the body of MSPB case law. Parties may cite nonprecedential orders, but such orders have no precedential value; the Board and administrative judges are not required to follow or dis tinguish them in any future decisions. In contrast, a precedential decision issued as an Opinion and Order has been identified by the Board as signific antly contributing to the Board’ s case law. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.117 (c).2

material fact; the initial decision is based on an erroneous interpretation of statute or regulation or the erroneous application of the law to the facts of the case; the judge’s rulings during either the course of the appeal or the initial decision were not consistent with require d 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. 2 See 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, and based on the following points and authorities, we conclude that the petitioner has not established any basis under section 1201.115 for granting the petition for review. Therefore, we DENY the pe tition for review.
The initial decision is final.

NOTICE TO THE APPELL ANT REGARDING YOUR FURTHER REVIEW RIGHTS The initial decision, as supplemented by this Final Order, constitutes the
Board's final decision in this matter. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113 . You have the right to request the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to review this final decision. You must submit yo ur request to the court at the following
address: United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 717 Madison Place, N.W.

Washington, DC 20439

2 Regarding the appellant’s argument on review that the administrative judge was biased against him because of rulings that the administrative judge made in one of the appellant’s prior VEOA appeals, the appellant has not shown that the administrative judge’s comments or actions in this appeal show "a deep

- seated favoritism or antagonism that would make fair judgment impossible." Petition for Review File, Tab 1 at 6

- 10 ; see Bieber v. Department of the Army , 287 F.3d 1358 , 1362

- 63 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (quoting Liteky v. United States , 510 U.S. 540 , 555 (1994)).3

The court must receive your request for review no later than 60 calendar days after the date of this orde r. See 5 U.S.C. § 7703 (b)(1)(A) (as rev. eff. Dec. 27, 2012). If you choose to file, be very careful to file on time. The court has held that normally it does not have the authority to waive this statutory deadline and that filings that do not comply with the deadline must be dismissed. See Pinat v. Office of Personnel Management , 9 31 F.2d 1544 (Fed. Cir. 1991). If you need further information about your right to appeal this decision to court, you should refer to the federal law that gives you this right. It is found in Title 5 of the United States Code, section 7703 ( 5 U.S.C. § 7703 ) (as rev. eff. Dec. 27, 2012). You may read this law as well as other sections of the United States Code, at our website, http://www.msp b.gov/appeals/uscode.htm

. Additional information 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 conta ined within the court's Rules of Practice , and Forms 5, 6, and 11. If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for your court appeal, 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 Merit Systems Protection Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that any attorney will accept representation in a given case.

FOR THE BOARD:

Washington, D.C. ______________________________ William D. Spencer Clerk of the Board