UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 2798, et al. , Plaintiffs,

v. CAROL WALLER POPE, et al ., Defendants. Civil Action No. 10-01012 (BAH)

MEMORANDUM OPINION A physician and his labor union brought this lawsuit seeking review of a decision by the General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Au thority (“FLRA”) not to issue an unfair labor practice complaint. The plaintiffs contend that the FLRA General Counsel’s decision not to issue the unfair labor practice complaint relied on an incorrect interpretation of a statutory term and that the General Counsel improperly deni ed as untimely the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration of the decision. As a result, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants – the Chairman of the FLRA and the FLRA Genera l Counsel – violated their procedural and substantive due process rights under the United States Constitution and that they misapplied applicable law, acted beyond thei r established authority, and engage d in conduct that is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discre tion. As detailed below, sin ce decisions by the FLRA General Counsel to issue or not to issue unfair labor pr actice complaints are not subject to judicial review, the Court dismisses the plaintiffs’ non-c onstitutional claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In addi tion, the Court grants summary judgment for the defendants on the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims.2 I. BACKGROUND A. The Parties Plaintiff Mohammed Hussain is a physicia n who was previously employed at the Department of Veterans Affair s Medical Center (“VA”) in Wash ington, D.C. Compl. ¶ 6. The other plaintiff in this case, American Fe deration of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, (“AFGE”) Local 2798, is a labor union that was the bargaining represen tative for Plaintiff Hussain and other VA physicians during the period of Hussain’s employment at the VA. Id. ¶¶ 4-5. The plaintiffs are suing the Chairman and th e General Counsel of the FLRA in their official capacities. Id. ¶¶ 7-8.
B. Plaintiff Hussain’s Employmen t at the VA Medical Center Dr. Hussain worked in the Radiology Ther apy Service of the VA for 27 years. See May 20, 2008 Letter from Peter A. Sutton, FLRA Re gional Director, to Johnnie A. Landon, Attorney (“Regional Director Declination Letter”). In June 2003, the VA m odified Dr. Hussain’s clinical privileges and renewed them for only three mont hs as opposed to the previously customary twoyear period. Id. On July 28, 2003, Dr. Hussain received a re port from his supervisor which gave him an overall rating of “low satisfactory.” Id. That day, Dr. Hussain notified the VA that he felt he had little choice but to resign due to dete riorating work conditions and that he viewed his resignation as a constructive discharge. Id. Subsequently, Dr. Hussain requested to be placed on indefinite medical leave and submitted a request for a disability retirement. 1 Id.

1 Dr. Hussain’s decision to seek medical leave appears to have arisen directly from his difficulties at work. See Ex. 3 to Pls.’ Opp’n to Defs.’ Mot. to Di smiss or for Summ. J., Arbitration Decision and Award, March 26, 2007, at 16 (“What precipitated this need for sick leave was that . . . Dr. Hussain received his annual performance evaluation . . . which was a distressingly low evaluati on for Dr. Hussain. He felt the evaluation was unfair. . . [His doctors] recognized that he had an obsession with what he perceived as injustice and discrimination being practiced against him in the work place which in turn caused him to suffer from inte nse stress and anxiety.”).3 On August 5, 2003, the VA informed Dr. Hussain that he could take sick leave until August 11, but that additional l eave would require medical docu mentation and that if such documentation were not provided, he would be placed on absent wit hout leave (“AWOL”)

status. Id. The VA subsequently placed Dr. Hussain on AWOL status on August 12, 2003. Compl. ¶ 13. C. Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint On September 5, 2003, Dr. Hussain filed a formal Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) administrative complaint, alleging th at the VA had discriminated against him by placing him on AWOL status, by denying him leave, by delaying the processing of his retirement papers, and by constructively discharging him. Regional Director Declination Letter; Compl. ¶
14. Dr. Hussain ultimately brought a Title VII lawsuit in federal court on his discrimination claims, but the suit resulted in a judgment in favor of the VA. See Hussain v. Principi , 344 F. Supp. 2d 86 (D.D.C. 2004), aff’d , 435 F.3d 359 (D.C. Cir. 2006).
D. Grievance Procedure On September 15, 2003, ten days after Dr. Hussa in had filed his EEO complaint, AFGE, pursuant to a negotiated grievance procedure be tween the VA and its bargaining unit employees, filed a grievance arising out of the treatment of Dr. Hussain. Compl. ¶¶ 10, 13. The grievance challenged the VA’s authority to place Dr. Hu ssain on AWOL status on August 12, 2003 for not providing medical documentation to the VA and also challenged the VA’s decision to continue Dr. Hussain’s AWOL status after he provide d medical documentation on September 15, 2003. Id. ¶ 13. The VA rejected the grievance and continue d Dr. Hussain in AWOL status because the VA deemed his September 15, 2003 medical documentation to be inadequate. Id. ¶ 15. AFGE then elevated the grievance to arbitration. Id.4 An arbitrator heard the grievance and issued an award and opinion. Id. ¶ 16. According to the plaintiffs, the arbitrator found that the VA’s initial decision plac ing Dr. Hussain on AWOL status and the VA’s decision to continue his AW OL status after September 15, 2003 violated the union contract, which provided that Dr. Hussain did not have to provide medical documentation for his illness until returning to work. Id. ¶ 17. The arbitrator also found that the VA constructively discharged Dr. Hussain by pl acing and keeping him on AWOL status. Id. The arbitrator ordered Dr. Hussain be reinstated with back pay and that the VA pay his attorneys’ fees. Id. The VA refused to implement the arbitrator’s award. Id. ¶ 18.
E. Unfair Labor Practice Charge Before the FLRA AFGE then filed an unfair la bor practice charge with the FLRA Washington Region to enforce the arbitrator’s award. Id. ¶ 19. The FLRA “is an independent administrative federal agency that was created by Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, also known as the Federal Se rvice Labor-Management Relations Statute and ‘FSLMRS.’” Nat’l Treasury Emps. Union v. Chertoff , 452 F.3d 839, 848 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (citing 5 U.S.C. § 7101 et. seq .). The FLRA is “intended to play a role in Federal sector labor-management relations analo gous to that of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the private sector.” Turgeon v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth. , 677 F.2d 937, 938-39 n.4 (D.C. Cir. 1982). The Federal Serv ice Labor-Management Relations Statute (“FSLMRS”) divides the FLRA’s powers betwee n the Authority itself and an independent General Counsel. Id. ; see also 5 U.S.C. § 7104. The General Counsel of the FLRA “serves at the pleasure of the Pr esident” and has by statute “separate authority” from that of the FLRA. Nat’l Air Traffic Controllers Ass’n v. Fed.5 Serv. Impasses Panel , 606 F.3d 780, 783 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (quoting Turgeon , 677 F.2d at 938 n.4.). “Her principal duties are to investigate un fair labor practice charges, issue unfair labor practice complaints arising from those charges, and prosecute those complaints before the
FLRA.” Id . “A union or an employer accusing its count erpart of an unfair labor practice first submits a charge to a Regional Director of the FLRA, 5 C.F.R. § 2423.6(a), who, acting ‘on behalf of the General Counsel ,’ investigates the charge, 5 C.F.R. § 2423.8(a), and decides whether to issue a complaint, 5 C.F.R. § 2423.10(a).” Id. “If the Regional Director dismisses the charge, then the charging party may appeal th at decision to the General Counsel, 5 C.F.R. § 2423.11(c), but the General Counsel’s decision whethe r to issue a complaint is not subject to judicial review.” Id. (citing Turgeon , 677 F.2d at 940). If the General Counsel issues a complaint, then it prosecutes the complaint at a hearing before the Authority. See 5 U.S.C. §
7118. In this case, the plaintiffs’ unfair labor practice charge was tran sferred from the FLRA’s Washington Regional Director to the Chicago Regional Director. 2 Compl

. ¶ 19. The Chicago Regional Director, acting on behalf of the General Counsel, found that there was no evidence the VA committed an unfair labor practice by declining to implement the plaintiffs’ arbitration aw ard. Regional Director Declination Letter; Compl

. ¶ 20. The Regional Director based this decision on his conclusion that the arbitrat or had actually been precluded from adjudicating the grievance due to the fact that Dr. Hussain had pr eviously filed an EEO complaint on the “same matter” as the grievance. Compl

. ¶ 20. As the Regional Director noted in his decision, a relevant part of the Federal Se rvice Labor-Management Relations Statute states that: “An aggrieved employ ee affected by a prohibited personnel practice under section 2302(b)(1) of this title which also falls under the coverage of th e negotiated grievance procedure

2 The parties do not address the r easons for the region transfer.6 may raise the matter under a statutory pro cedure or the negoti ated procedure, but not both .” 5 U.S.C. § 7121(d) (emphasis added); see also Compl. ¶ 20. Since the Regional Director determined that Dr. Hussain had already ra ised the same matter under the statutory EEO procedure as he had raised under the subsequent negotiated grievance pr ocedure, the Regional Director found that the grievance should have been precluded pur suant to 5 U.S.C. § 7121(d). Regional Director Declination Letter. AFGE appealed the Regional Director’s deci sion to the FLRA General Counsel “on the basis that the VA’s initial deci sion that placed Dr. Hussain on AWOL was not the ‘same matter’ as the VA’s subsequent decision to continue him in an AWOL status after he supplied the VA with medical documentation on September 15, 2003,” Compl

. ¶ 21, although, according to the plaintiffs’ Complaint in this action, the grievance apparently did challenge both Dr. Hussain’s placement on AWOL status as well as his continuation in that status. See id. ¶ 13. The plaintiffs contend that the Regional Director ’s interpretation of the term “matter” as used in 5 U.S.C § 7121(d) is at odds with a 2007 decision of the Fe deral Circuit that, according to the plaintiffs, suggests that the imposition of an employment st atus and the continuation of that status constitute separate “matters.” See id . ¶ 22 (citing Rhodes v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd. , 487 F.3d 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007)). The General Counsel upheld the Regional Directo r’s decision not to issue an unfair labor practices complaint on the plaintiffs’ charge. Id. ¶ 22

. In upholding the d ecision on appeal, the General Counsel acknowledged the plaintiffs’ argume nt, but found that the pl aintiffs’ appeal had “established no ground for either reversing the Regional Director’s decision or remanding the case for further investigation . . . .” Ex. H to Defs.’ Mem., Order Denying Appeal dated September 9, 2009. Thereafter, AFGE filed a motion for reconsidera tion of the General7 Counsel’s decision, which was denied as untim ely although AFGE objects that the motion was, in fact, timely. Compl. ¶¶ 23-31.
F. The Instant Complaint On June 16, 2010, the plaintiffs brought this ac tion alleging two counts. In Count I, the plaintiffs allege that “[b]y refusing to consider the plaintiffs’ motion fo r reconsideration on the pretext of an untimely filing of the motion, [the defendants] deprived plaintiff Hussain of a property interest in continued empl oyment as restored by the arbitr ator’s award” in violation of “the rights of plaintiffs to procedural and subs tantive due process of law and equal protection of the laws in violation of the Fifth Amendm ent to the United States Constitution.” Id. ¶ 35. 3 In Count II, the plaintiffs allege that by refusing to issue a comp laint, the defendants “violated plaintiff Hussain’s procedural and substantive due process rights as provided by the United States Constitution, misapplied applicable law, acted beyond their established authority, and engaged in conduct that is arbitrary, capricious, an d an abuse of discretion by operation of law.” Id. ¶ 37. The plaintiffs seek declar atory and injunctive re lief that would force the defendants to reinstate the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsidera tion as timely; declare that the plaintiffs’ interpretation of the term “matter” as used in 5 U.S.C. § 7121(d) is correct and binding on the General Counsel; and enjoin a particular attorney in the FLRA Office of General Counsel from further participation in the plaintiffs’ case. 4 Id ., Prayer for Relief. On October 7, 2010, the defendants moved to di smiss the Complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Alternativel y, the defendants move for summary judgment on

3 The Complaint has two paragraphs numbered 35. 4 The plaintiffs’ umbrage at this particular attorney appears to have arisen from the circumstances surrounding the dispute over whether the plaintiffs’ request for reconsideration was timely filed. See Compl. ¶¶ 25-33.8 the grounds that there are no material facts in dispute and judgment as a matter of law is warranted. 5 The defendants’ motion is presently before the Court. 6
II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW A. Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction A court must dismiss a case when it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. McManus v. District of Columbia , 530 F. Supp. 2d 46, 62 (D.D.C. 2007). “Plaintiff bears the burden of proving subject matter jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence.” Am. Farm Bureau v.
U.S. EPA , 121 F. Supp. 2d 84, 90 (D.D.C. 2000); accord Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife , 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992). It is well established that, in deciding a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, a court must construe the allegations in the Complaint liberally but “need not accept factual inferences drawn by plaintiffs if those inferences are not supported by facts alleged in the complaint, nor must th e Court accept plaintiffs’ legal conclusions.” Speelman v. United States , 461 F. Supp. 2d 71, 73 (D.D.C. 2006); see also Hohri v. United
States , 782 F.2d 227, 241 (D.C. Cir. 1986), vacated on other grounds , 482 U.S. 64 (1987). The Court must be assured that it is acting within the scope of its jurisdictional authority and therefore must give the plainti ffs’ factual allegations closer scrutiny when resolving a Rule 12(b)(1) motion than would be requ ired for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim.
See Macharia v. United States , 334 F.3d 61, 64, 69 (D.C. Cir. 2003); Westberg v. FDIC , 759 F. Supp. 2d 38, 41 (D.D.C. 2011); Dubois v. Wash. Mut. Bank , 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91855, at *5-6 (D.D.C. Sept. 2, 2010); Hoffman v. District of Columbia , 643 F. Supp. 2d 132, 135-136

5 The defendants also originally argu ed that the Complaint should be dismissed for insufficiency of service of process pursuant to Rule 12(b)(5) because the plaintiffs did not serve both the U.S. Attorney for the district in which the complaint is filed and the Attorney General, as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i). It appears that service on these parties has now been completed, however. See ECF Nos. 9, 11. 6 This case was reassigned to the current presiding judge on February 22, 2011.9 (D.D.C. 2009); Grand Lodge of Fraternal Order of Police v. Ashcroft , 185 F. Supp. 2d 9, 13-14 (D.D.C. 2001). In evaluating subject matter ju risdiction, the Court, when necessary, may look outside the Complaint to “undi sputed facts evidenced in the record, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the c ourt’s resolution of disputed facts.” Herbert v. Nat’l Acad. of Sci. , 974 F.2d 192, 197 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (citing Williamson v. Tucker , 645 F.2d 404, 413 (5th Cir. 1981)); see also Alliance for Democracy v. FEC , 362 F. Supp. 2d 138, 142 (D.D.C. 2005).
B. Summary Judgment The defendants have also moved pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or, alternatively, for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56. If, on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), “m atters outside the plea dings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56.” Fed. R. Civ.P. 12(d); see also Strong-Fischer v. Peters , 554 F. Supp. 2d 19, 22 (D.D.C. 2008); Morris v. Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc. , No. 10-cv-388, 2011 WL 2417046, at *2-3 (M.D.N.C. June 13, 2011). Since matters beyond the pleadings will be considered here, the defendant’s motion will be treate d as one for summary judgment. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Pro cedure 56, the Court will grant a motion for summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matte r of law” based upon the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits and other factual materials in the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c); Tao v. Freeh , 27 F.3d 635, 638 (D.C. Cir. 1994). The Court “need c onsider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3). The Court must view all inferences in a light most fa vorable to the non-moving party. Tao , 27 F.3d at 638 (citing10 Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc ., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 255 (1986)). The burden is on the moving party to demonstrate that there is an “absence of a genuine issue of material fact” in dispute. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). In this case, the plaintiff doe s not appear to contest that the defendants’ contention that there are no material factual disputes. 7 Therefore, to the extent that the Court has jurisdiction over the claims in this action, judgmen t as a matter of law is appropriate.
III. DISCUSSION For the reasons explained below, the plain tiffs’ statutory claims that the defendants “misapplied applicable law, act ed beyond their established au thority, and engaged in conduct that is arbitrary, capricious, a nd an abuse of discretion by operation of law” must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In a ddition, the Court grants summary judgment for the defendants on the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims. A. Reviewability of Non-Constitutional Claims The plaintiffs in this case seek judicial re view of the FLRA General Counsel’s decision not to issue a complaint. The D.C. Circuit ha s “declared flatly that it has no jurisdiction to review decisions by the General Counsel of FL RA declining to issu e unfair labor practice complaints because such decisions do not constitute final orders of the [FLRA]” and the judicial review provisions of the Fede ral Service Labor-Management Rela tions Statute only provide for judicial review of “any fina l order of the [FLRA].” Patent Office Prof’l Ass’n v. FLRA , 128 F.3d 751, 752 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (hereinafter, “ POPA ”) (citing Turgeon , 677 F.2d at 938-39); see also Laird v. FLRA , No. 03-1015, 2003 WL 21195488, at *1 (D.C. Cir. May 19, 2003) (per curiam)

7 Consistent with Local Civil Rule 7(h)(1), the defendants have provided a statement of undisputed facts along with their motion for summary judgment. The plaintiffs have not provided any counter-statement of genuine issues of fact in dispute. Accordingly, the Co urt “may assume that facts identified by the moving party in its statement of material facts are admitted.” See Local Civil Rule 7(h)(1).11 (“This court lacks jurisdiction to review a decision by the Genera l Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority not to issue an unfair labor practice complaint.”); Brookens v. FLRA , No. 02- 1281, 2003 WL 40485, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 3, 2003) (p er curiam) (same). Indeed, the D.C. Circuit’s pronouncements emphasizing the non-review ability of decisions of the FLRA General Counsel have been strikingly unequivocal. See POPA , 128 F.3d at 753 (“Lest there be any lingering confusion, we write to ma ke clear that . . . it remains the law of this circuit that a decision of the General Counsel of FLRA not to file a complaint is not judicially reviewable given that the statute provides for revi ew only of decisions of the Authority.”) The parties on both sides of this case agree on the genera l non-reviewability of the General Counsel’s decisions not to issue an unfair labor complaint. See Pl.’s Opp’n to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss or for Summ. J. (“Pls.’ Mem.”) at 2-3; Defs.’ Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss or for Summ. J. (“Defs.’ Mem.”) at 12-14. The plaintiffs argue, however, that their claims are nonetheless reviewable by this Court under three purported exceptio ns to this general rule precluding judicial review of the General Counsel’s decisions. The plaintiffs argue that the General Counsel’s decision is reviewable because it is a jurisdiction-disclaiming agency decision, because it embodies an official agency interpretation of a statute, or constitutes an agency order that violates clear statutory ma ndates. The Court is not persuaded by these arguments and will therefore dismiss the plaintiffs ’ non-constitutional claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See POPA , 128 F.3d at 753. 1. No “Disclaimer of Jurisdicti on” Exception Applies to the Plaintiffs’ Claims Against the FLRA. The plaintiffs argue that, although the General Counsel’s enforcement decisions are generally non-reviewable, “if an agency’s non- enforcement decision is based on the agency’s decision that it does not have juri sdiction over the matter to be enforced, the jurisdictional basis12 of the non-enforcement decision is subject to judici al review.” Pls.’ Mem. at 3. The plaintiffs argue that the D.C. Circuit’s 1986 ruling in International Longshorem an’s Association, AFL-CIO v. National Mediation Board recognized an exception to th e general non-revi ewability of discretionary agency decisions where an agency’s non-enforcement decision rests on a disclaimer of jurisdiction. See id. (citing Int’l Longshoreman’s Ass’n, 785 F.2d 1098 (D.C. Cir. 1986) (hereinafter, “ ILA ”)). While this exception may be av ailable in other contexts, the D.C. Circuit indicated in its ruling in POPA that this exception does not apply to decisions of the General Counsel about whether to issue complaints. See POPA , 128 F.3d at 753 & n.1.
In ILA , the D.C. Circuit held that federal cour ts could review otherwise non-reviewable orders of the National Mediation Bo ard, an agency that coordinates labor relations in the railroad and airline industry, if the orders in question found that the Bo ard lacked jurisdiction over an application for mediation. ILA , 785 F.2d at 1101. ILA reaffirmed a similar holding in a previous decision involving the National Mediation Board. See id. at 1100-1101 (citing Air Line Dispatchers Ass’n v. Nat’l Mediation Bd. , 189 F.2d 685 (D.C. Cir. 1951), cert. denied , 342 U.S. 849 (1951)). The plaintiffs argue th at this Court should extend the ILA exception to decisions of the FLRA General Counsel not to issue a comp laint, if those decisions are based on the conclusion that the General Counsel lack s jurisdiction to issue a complaint. The D.C. Circuit has indi cated, however, that the ILA exception does not apply to the General Counsel’s decisions about wh ether to issue complaints. In POPA , the plaintiff argued for a substantially similar exception to the non-revi ewability of a decision of the FLRA General Counsel not to issue a complaint. Specifically, th e plaintiff in POPA pointed to a footnote in the Supreme Court’s decision in Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821 (1985), “in which the Supreme Court noted that it did not decide whether an agency’s discretiona ry decision not to exercise its13 enforcement authority might be subject to re view if the decision was based either on the agency’s conclusion that it lacked jurisdiction or on a general policy ‘so extreme as to amount to an abdication of [the agency’s ] statutory responsibilities.’” POPA , 128 F.3d at 753 (quoting Heckler , 470 U.S. at 833 n.4). The POPA plaintiff, citing this footnote in Heckler , argued that the “court can review decisions of the Genera l Counsel not to issu e unfair labor practice complaints when such decisions are the result of a misguided agency policy.” Id. The D.C. Circuit in POPA noted that the Ninth Circuit had relied on this footnote in Heckler to endorse exceptions to the general rule that discreti onary agency enforcement decisions are not reviewable. Id. (citing Montana Air Chapter No. 29 v. FLRA , 898 F.2d 753 (9th Cir. 1990)). 8 The D.C. Circuit roundly rejected this argument in the FLRA c ontext, explaining that “[b]oth this court and the Supreme Cour t have declared, even after Heckler , that decisions of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board wh ether to issue complain ts are not subject to review by this court, and we now reaffirm th e same for the General Counsel of FLRA.” Id. The D.C. Circuit further added: “Our reasoni ng is specific to the [Federal Service LaborManagement Relations Statute], and we thus do not question the cases in this circuit that allow judicial review of agency nonenf orcement decisions in certain other contexts. Most importantly, we do not disturb this circuit’s ex ceptions to the general rule, under Heckler , that § 701(a)(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act precludes judi cial review over nonenforcement decisions.”
POPA , 128 F.3d at 753 n.1 (citing, inter alia , ILA ). Accordingly, in reaffirming the rule that decisions of the FLRA General Counsel not to issue a complaint are no t subject to judicial review, the D.C. Circuit sp ecifically noted that the ILA exception advanced by the plaintiffs here

8 In Montana Air Chapter No. 29 , the Ninth Circuit relied on both Heckler and the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in ILA to hold that the court did have jurisdiction to review a decision of the FLRA General Counsel not to issue a complaint. 898 F.2d at 756-57. The fact that the D.C. Circuit squarely addressed this Ninth Circuit decision and rejected it seriously undermines the plaintiffs’ reliance on ILA here.14 remains valid in other contexts, but does not apply to the General Counsel’s decisions. Therefore, this Court is bound by Circ uit precedent to hold that the ILA exception for jurisdiction-disclaiming agency or ders does not apply to decisions of the General Counsel of the FLRA regarding whether to issue complaints. 9
2. The General Counsel’s Decisi on Is Not Reviewable Merely Because It Embodied A Statutory Interpretation. The plaintiffs’ second argument is that th is Court may review the General Counsel’s decision not to issue a complaint because this Ci rcuit permits unreviewable agency decisions to be reviewed where a legal challenge focuses on an agency’s announcem ent of a substantive statutory interpretation. See Pls.’ Mem. at 15-16 (citing Int’l Union, United Auto., Aerospace & Agr. Implement Workers of America v. Brock , 783 F.2d 237 (D.C. Cir. 1986) (hereinafter, “ Int’l
Union ”). This argument fares no better for the plaintiffs.
In Int’l Union , the D.C. Circuit held that “an ag ency’s statutory interpretation was presumptively reviewable even if announced in the context of a non-enforcement decision.” Crowley Caribbean Transp., Inc. v. Pena , 37 F.3d 671, 675 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (citing Int’l Union , 783 F.2d at 245-46). Subsequent D.C. Circuit a nd Supreme Court decisions have substantially narrowed the viability of the Int’l Union exception, however. See id. at 676

. As the D.C. Circuit explained in Crowley , the Supreme Court has “squarely reject[ed] the notion of carving reviewable legal rulings out from th e middle of non-review able actions.” Id. (citing ICC v. Bhd. of Locomotive Eng’rs , 482 U.S. 270 (1987)). Crowley makes clear that while “an agency’s statement of a general enforcement policy may be reviewable for legal sufficiency where the agency has expressed the policy as a formal re gulation after the full rulemaking process or has

9 Moreover, even if the ILA exception were to apply to decisions of the FLRA General Counsel regarding whether toissue complaints, it is not clear that the decision challenged by the plaintiffs in this case is the type of jurisdictiondisclaiming order that could fall within the exception. Indeed, the defendant contends “the plaintiffs’ suggestion that the General Counsel made a determ ination regarding the FLRA’s jurisdicti on is misplaced.” Defs.’ Reply at 6. The Court does not reach this issue, however, since it has concluded that the exception is inapplicable.15 otherwise articulated it in some form of uni versal policy statement,” an individual nonenforcement decision that does not express a broa d, general enforcement policy ordinarily should not be treated as a substantive agency statutory interpretation that rebuts the presumption against the non-reviewability of agency enforcement decisions. Id. at 676-77. Based on the Court’s review of the record here, there is no indication that the General Counsel’s decision not to issue a complaint in the plaintiffs’ case reflected the so rt of broad enforcement policy that could give rise to judicial review under Crowley. Further, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in POPA suggests that – like the ILA exception – the Crowley exception is also not available in the context of the FLRA General Counsel’s decisions about whether to issue complaints. See POPA , 128 F.3d at 753 n.1 (explaining that the D.C. Circui t’s holding about the non-reviewab ility of the General Counsel’s nonenforcement decisions is specific to the Fe deral Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and does not disturb the holdings of other cases that have iden tified areas in which judicial review of agency nonenforcement decisions may be permitted, including, inter alia , Crowley , 37 F.3d at 674-77). Accordingly, the plaintiffs cannot obtain judicial review of the General Counsel’s decision not to issue a complaint ba sed upon any purported stat utory interpretations embodied in that decision. 3. The Leedom v. Kyne Exception Does Not Apply To The Plaintiffs’ Claims. The plaintiffs state that the Regional Dir ector and General Counsel made “statutory interpretation errors” in their decision not to issue a complaint. Pls.’ Mem. at 12. In Leedom v. Kyne , 358 U.S. 184 (1958), the Supreme Court created a “narrow,” “extremely limited” exception that confers federal ju risdiction even where Congress is understood generally to have precluded review. Griffith v. FLRA , 842 F.2d 487, 492 (D.C. Cir. 1988). This narrow exception may enable judicial review where an agency has cl early acted contrary to a statute, for example,16 by disregarding “a specific and una mbiguous statutory directive.” Griffith , 842 F.2d 487 at 493(citing United Food and Commercial Wo rkers, Local 400 v. NLRB , 694 F.2d 276, 279 (D.C. Cir. 1982)). “Garden-variety errors of law or fact [committed by an agency] are not enough” to invoke Leedom jurisdiction. Id. The plaintiffs state that they do not “rely solely or principally upon [ Leedom ] as their basis of review of the instant cas e.” Pls.’ Mem. at 2. They have not argued in detail in their brief that Leedom should apply nor have they identifie d any clear and una mbiguous statutory provision that the General Counsel has violated. To the extent that the plaintiffs do rely on Leedom , however, that reliance is misplaced because “[g]arden-variety errors of law or fact,” such as those alleged by the plainti ffs here, are not enough to invoke the Leedom exception

. B. Constitutional Claims While the plaintiffs’ non-constitutional claims must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims are reviewable in federal court. See Griffith , 842 F.2d at 494 (finding judi cial review provisions of the FSLMRS did not preclude plaintiff’s as-applied constitutional due process challenge). 10 Accordingly, the Court turns to the merits of the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims. 11 The plaintiffs contend that the arbitrator’s award restored a constitutionally protected property interest in continued empl oyment to Dr. Hussain. Pl.’s Me m. at 6. The plaintiffs argue that Dr. Hussain has been deprived of this prope rty interest by the Gene ral Counsel’s purportedly

10 D.C. Circuit authority subsequent to Griffith has, in some instances, questioned the continuing vitality of some of the premises underlying the rationale for Griffith ’s conclusion. See Lepre v. Dep’t of Labor , 275 F.3d 59, 67 (D.C. Cir. 2001). Griffith ’s ultimate conclusion that the FSLMRS’s jurisdictional provisions do not bar review of constitutional claims has not been overruled, however. Accordingly, the Court considers the plaintiffs’ Constitutional claims on the merits. 11 On July 25, 2011, approximately seven months after the completion of briefing on the defendants’ motion, the plaintiffs filed a motion requesting “a status conference to determine whether the parties shall provide additional briefing on the constitutional issues in this case” and requesting oral argument. The Court finds that providing the plaintiffs with an additional opportunity to brief the issues in this case is unwarranted. In addition, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 7(f), the request for oral argument is denied.17 erroneous statutory interpretations and by the General Counsel’s fa ilure to accept the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration as timely filed. See Pl.’s Mem. at 6, 15-18. According to the plaintiffs, these alleged deprivati ons infringed the plaintiffs’ right s to procedural and substantive due process of law in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. See id. ; Compl. ¶¶ 35-37. The Court disagrees and rules that summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims should be granted for the defendants. “The first inquiry in every due process challenge is whether the plaintiff has been deprived of a protected interest in ‘liberty’ or ‘property.’ Only after finding the deprivation of a protected interest do we look to see if the government’s procedur es comport with due process.” Gen. Elec. Co. v. Jackson , 610 F.3d 110, 117 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (citation omitted); see also Griffith , 842 F.2d at 495-501 (upholding district court’ s rejection of due pr ocess challenge to FLRA’s disposition of plaintiff’s claim because pl aintiff had no protected pr operty interest in an annual within-grade pay increase). Even assuming, arguendo , however, that plaintiff Hussain has a protected property interest in this case and that the plaintiffs are correct that the General Counsel’s decision not to issue a complaint was based upon a legal error, “a mere violation of law does not give rise to a due process claim.” Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Emps., AFL-CIO, Local 446 v. Nicholson , 475 F.3d 341, 353 (D.C. Cir. 2007). In order to prevail on a s ubstantive due process claim, th e plaintiffs would need to demonstrate “an act of grave unfairness,” such as “a deliberate flouting of the law,” and the plaintiffs in this action have not done so. Id. (quotations omitted); see also Tri Cnty. Indus., Inc. v. District of Columbia , 104 F.3d 455, 459 (D.C. Cir. 1997); Elkins v. District of Columbia , 527 F. Supp. 2d 36, 49 (D.D.C. 2007) (“The government’s infringement of the recognized property interest must constitute a grave unfairness: Inadvertent er rors, honest mistakes, agency18 confusion, even negligence in th e performance of official duties, do not warrant redress.”) (quoting Silverman v. Barry , 845 F.2d 1072, 1080 (D.C. Cir. 1988)). Any legal errors in the General Counsel’s decision not to issue a complain t on the plaintiffs’ unfair labor practice charge or in the calculation of the timeliness of the plai ntiffs’ motion for reconsideration would not rise to the level of substantive due proc ess violation. To the extent the plaintiffs allege the denial of the motion for reconsideration as untimely was pret extual or in bad faith, that allegation is not supported by specific facts or fact ual allegations that would create a triable issue of fact on that question. 12 Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment to the defendants on the substantive due process claim. Summary judgment is also appropriate on the plaintiffs’ procedural due process claim. Generally, procedural due proce ss “requires notice and opportunity for hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.” Pearson v. District of Columbia , 644 F. Supp. 2d 23, 46 (D.D.C. 2009), aff’d 377 F. App’x 34 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (citing Mathews v. Eldridge , 424 U.S. 319, 333 (1976)). The plaintiffs’ allegations here s how that they availed themselves of the procedures specified for requesting that the General Counsel issue an unfair labor practices complaint. The FLRA

12 Plaintiffs currently argue that th e motion for reconsideration was originally due on and was timely filed by September 28, 2009. Pls.’ Mem. at 15. On September 14, 2009, however, plaintiffs’ counsel filed a request for extension of time to file their motion for reconsideration “up to and including September 28, 2009,” and this request for extension of time stated the plaintif fs’ view, at that time, that the motio n for reconsideration had a “September 21, 2009 deadline date.” See Ex. I to Def.’s Mem., Charging Party’s Request for an Extension of Time, Sept. 14, 2009. This request for extension of time was denied. See Ex. J to Def.’s Mem., Denial of Request for Extension of Time. Considering that the plaintiffs previously contended that the motion for reconsideration was due on September 21 – which, even accepting plaintiffs’ position that the motion was filed on September 28, would have made their filing untimely – the plaintiffs certainly have not established that the government’s treatment of the motion as untimely was in bad faith. Further, in any event, the FLRA’s regulations do not provide an automatic right to reconsideration. Rather, a decision of the Gene ral Counsel will only be reconsidered upon a showing of “extraordinary circumstances.” See 5 C.F.R. § 2423.11(g) (“After the General Counsel issues a final decision, the Charging Party may move for reconsideration of the final decision if it can establish extraordinary circumstances in its moving papers.”). The defendants state that, far fr om establishing extraordinar y circumstances, a “cursory review of the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration indicat es that it does nothing more than repeat the arguments made in their appeal.” Defs.’ Reply at 10 n.3. Thus, even if the motion were accepted as timely, it is apparent the General Counsel would deny reconsideration, and that decision would not be reviewable in federal court, as discussed above.19 Regional Director considered the plaintiffs’ unf air labor practice charge and issued a decision declining to file a complaint. Compl. ¶ 20. The plaintiffs appealed this decision to the General Counsel, who upheld the decision not to file a complaint. Id. ¶ 22. As with the plaintiffs’ substantive due process claim, even assuming, arguendo , that the agency made an error in calculating the timeliness of the motion for reco nsideration, that would not suffice to state a claim for violation of procedural due process. See Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Emps., Local 2741 v. District of Columbia , 689 F. Supp. 2d 30, 35-36 (D.D.C. 2009) (dismissing procedural due process claim where plaintiffs failed to “allege facts that suggest they were deprived of any process due to them” and noting that “[e]ven assuming the [defe ndant’s] actions have run awry of [certain] statutes. . . such violations do not amount to a constitutional violation. ‘A mere violation of law does not give ri se to a due process claim.’”) (citing Nicholson , 475 F.3d at 353). Accordingly, the Court will grant summary judgm ent for the defendants on the procedural due process claim. 13
IV. CONCLUSION For the reasons detailed above , the plaintiffs’ non-constitutio nal claims are dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and summary judgment is granted fo r the defendants on the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims. An appropriate Order will issue.

DATED: September 1, 2011 /s/ 

# Beryl A. Howell BERYL A. HOWELL United States District Judge

13 Although the plaintiffs referenced an Equal Protection claim in the Complaint, they have not addressed the legal basis for this claim in their brief, and no such legal basis is apparent. Therefore, summary judgment for the defendants on this claim is also appropriate.