Opinion ID: 4523916
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: December 1, 2010 email

Text: The Board found that the December 1 email was a pro- tected disclosure but that Ms. Demery did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that this disclosure was a contributing factor to her non-selection. Appx13. We agree. “An employee can demonstrate that a disclosure was a contributing factor by adducing evidence that the deciding official was aware of the disclosure and that the length of time between the disclosure and the adverse action was such that a reasonable person could conclude that the disclosure contributed to the agency’s decision to take action against him.” Suggs v. Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, 415 F. App’x 240, 242 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (citing 5 U.S.C. § 1221(e)(1)). Here, the Board found “there is no evidence anyone in CPAC (the deciding entity) had knowledge of the appellant’s disclosure,” crediting Ms. Langley’s and Mr. Denham’s testimony. Appx14. Ms. Demery argues that she demonstrated during the hearing that Mr. Denham and Ms. Langley lied during their testimony. Appellant’s Br. at 10–12. However, there is no evidence to support this contention. Rather, Ms. Demery seems to disagree with how the Board assessed the credibility of the witnesses. The Board’s assessment of demeanor, contradiction, consistency, or other credibility determinations is given great deference on appeal. Haebe v. Dep’t of Justice, 288 F.3d 1288, 1299 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (“[G]reat deference must be granted to the trier of fact who Case: 19-2282 Document: 35 Page: 7 Filed: 04/09/2020 DEMERY v. ARMY 7 has had the opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witnesses, whereas the reviewing body looks only at cold records.”) (internal citation and quotations omitted); King v. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs., 133 F.3d 1450, 1453 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (stating that the “evaluation of witness credibility is within the discretion of the Board and that, in general, such evaluations are virtually unreviewable on appeal”). Ms. Langley testified that she was unaware of Ms. Demery’s December 1 email. Mr. Denham also testified that he did not forward Ms. Demery’s December 1 email to Ms. Langley or anyone else. Additionally, the request for personnel action (RPA) tracker, which tracked the candidate selection of the Management Analyst position, does not contradict the testimony by Ms. Langley or Mr. Denham. We therefore do not disturb the Board’s credibility-based determination that CPAC had not been informed of the December 1 email and that Mr. Denham did not forward or discuss the December 1 email with anyone. The Board also found that CPAC’s personnel decision to select and hire Mr. Woods occurred before December 1. Substantial evidence supports this finding. Mr. Woods was first sent a tentative job offer on November 23, 2010. Although Mr. Woods’s firm offer was not sent until December 8, 2010, he was still selected for the Management Analyst position prior to Ms. Demery’s December 1 email. Therefore, the Board did not err in determining that the December 1 email was not a contributing factor to Ms. Demery’s non-selection.