Opinion ID: 801202
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The AJ's Decision on Whitmore's Whistleblower Defense

Text: The AJ correctly understood that in the burden shifting scheme for whistleblower cases, the agency must first prove its case for removal by a preponderance of the evidence, 5 C.F.R. § 1201.56, then the former employee must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she made a protected disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) that was a contributing factor to the employee's termination. If the employee establishes this prima facie case of reprisal for whistleblowing, the burden of persuasion shifts to the agency to show by clear and convincing evidence that it would have taken the same personnel action in the absence of such disclosure. 5 U.S.C. § 1221(e). The AJ ultimately found that Whitmore had made protected disclosures, and that these disclosures were a contributing factor in the removal action. The AJ rejected Whitmore's whistleblower defense, however, finding that he would have been removed regardless of his whistleblowing disclosures. This appeal centers around whether the DOL carried its burden to show by clear and convincing evidence that it would have removed Whitmore regardless of his protected disclosures.
The AJ determined that the DOL had proven all of the charges against Whitmore by a preponderance of the evidence, and that the penalty of removal was reasonable. Nearly all of the critical facts surrounding the July 10, 2007 incident charge were admitted by Whitmore, and regarding certain disputed factse.g., whether Dubois intentionally spit on Whitmorethe AJ expressly found Dubois to be a more credible witness than Whitmore and concluded that Dubois' spitting was unintentional. The AJ found the July 10, 2007 incident to exhibit inexcusable Disruptive and Intimidating Behavior by Whitmore as charged. As stated by the AJ, violence in the workplace has an adverse effect on the agency's mission as well as its employees and cannot be tolerated. A17. Whitmore's emails and door sign were likewise found to satisfy the charges of Conduct Unbecoming a Supervisor and of Inappropriate Conduct in the Workplace. The AJ rejected Whitmore's argument that his removal must be set aside since Witt and Shalhoub relied heavily on the Morgan report, which Whitmore contended was objectionable as biased and inherently untrustworthy. The AJ found that Witt and Shalhoub in fact relied on considerable documentary evidence other than the Morgan report to justify their decisions, and the AJ in particular noted Shalhoub's testimony that he did not adopt Morgan's conclusions and would have removed Whitmore regardless of the report. Citing Whitmore's lack of remorse for his actions, his belief that his conduct was justified due to the harassment by Dubois, and the overall escalation of his inappropriate behavior, Shalhoub testified that no penalty short of removal would be effective to avoid similar problems in the future, and the AJ agreed. The removal penalty was deemed reasonable given Whitmore's supervisory position and the seriousness and impropriety of his actions, which fell shockingly short of the standards of integrity, judgment, and professionalism expected of one holding such a position, and which had a substantial negative effect on the trust and confidence in Whitmore overall. A17-18.
The AJ next found that the DOL proved by clear and convincing evidence that Whitmore would have been removed regardless of his protected disclosures. A19-22. To make this finding, the AJ applied the Carr factors for determining whether an agency has met its burden via clear and convincing evidence: [1] the strength of the agency's evidence in support of its personnel action; [2] the existence and strength of any motive to retaliate on the part of the agency officials who were involved in the decision; and [3] any evidence that the agency takes similar actions against employees who are not whistleblowers but who are otherwise similarly situated. Carr v. Soc. Security Admin., 185 F.3d 1318, 1323 (Fed.Cir.1999). As to the strength of the agency's evidence in support of Whitmore's removal, since nearly all of the facts surrounding Whitmore's charges were admitted or supported by documentary evidence which spoke for itself, the AJ viewed the strength of the DOL's evidence to be very strong. The AJ again rejected Whitmore's allegation that the Morgan report was unreliable and unfairly prejudicial, deeming the Morgan report irrelevant to the charges at issue here, since the charges did not arise from the report or the witness statements, and their proof did not depend on the validity, or not, of Morgan's report. A19. In any event, the AJ found that despite Whitmore's allegations concerning Morgan's bias and other impropriety, merely referencing Morgan's report or summarizing facts contained therein did not import Morgan's conclusions into the charges against Whitmore. The AJ next found insubstantial evidence to support a finding of a retaliatory motive, since Witt and Shalhoub were outside Whitmore's chain of command, were not directly implicated in any of Whitmore's whistleblowing, and had only limited knowledge of Whitmore's whistleblowing disclosures. Lastly, the AJ rejected Whitmore's argument that he was treated differently from similarly situated nonwhistleblowers, pointing in particular to Dubois who was subject to no disciplinary action whatsoever. Although Dubois also wrongfully engaged in argumentative conduct with Whitmore, the AJ deemed Whitmore more at fault for being the instigator and the one who threatened physical violence. Thus, Dubois was not viewed as being similarly situated to Whitmore for comparison purposes. Accordingly, the AJ concluded that the DOL had proven by clear and convincing evidence that Whitmore would have been removed regardless of his whistleblowing.