Opinion ID: 211763
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: The National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”) is a federal agency tasked with regulating much of the credit union industry. NCUA is governed by a three-person Board (“NCUA Board”), whose members for the time period relevant to this appeal were Norman D’Amours, Yolanda Wheat, and Dennis Dollar. NCUA is also managed by an Executive Director, who for the time period relevant to this appeal was Carolyn Jordan. Although the NCUA Board and its main management staff are located in Alexandria, Virginia, NCUA acts primarily through its six regional offices, two of which are located in Atlanta, Georgia and Concord, California. Each regional office is run by a Regional Director. The Regional Director reports to the NCUA Board through two Associate Regional Directors, an Associate Regional Director of Operations (“ARDO”) and an Associate Regional Director of Programs (“ARDP”). All Regional Directors and Associate Regional Directors hold Senior Staff Positions. For the time period relevant to this appeal, the NCUA Board retained all authority for making personnel decisions regarding Senior Staff Positions. From 1999 until his removal, McCollum held the position of ARDO in the Atlanta office of the NCUA. In 1997, the Office of Personnel Management discovered an illegal hiring scheme conducted by NCUA during 1996 and 1997. The subsequent investigations by the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Special Counsel led to a number of personnel actions against various employees. On July 29, 1998, while the investigations were ongoing, McCollum wrote a letter to an investigator for the Office of 05-3015 2 Special Counsel. In that letter, McCollum stated his belief that certain NCUA Board members were involved in the illegal hiring scheme and were attempting to blame him and other career executives. On September 19, 1999, McCollum made a hotline complaint call to the NCUA Office of Inspector General alleging that his supervisor was giving race-based promotions and pay raises. As part of the subsequent investigation, McCollum alleged that Executive Director Jordan and NCUA Board member Wheat may have had something to do with the allegedly improper promotions and pay raises. The Office of Inspector General concluded that McCollum’s hotline complaint was “unsubstantiated” out of three possible categories: “disproved,” “unsubstantiated,” and “substantiated.” On March 16, 2000, the NCUA Board reassigned a number of Senior Staff Position personnel implicated in the illegal hiring scheme investigations. As a result, the ARDP position in Concord, California was vacant. In June 2000, the Board, on Executive Director Jordan’s recommendation, directed McCollum to be reassigned to that position. Executive Director Jordan testified that McCollum was selected because he was one of two people who had not been moved in over ten years and because he was very experienced, having had a number of jobs within NCUA. NCUA initially notified McCollum by letter of his directed reassignment on June 8, 2000. That letter contained the following language: Should it become necessary to initiate a termination action for your failure to report as directed or for your declination of this reassignment, you will be notified in writing in accordance with Federal regulations. If you are involuntarily separated or if you choose to resign rather than accept the offered position, you may be eligible to receive severance pay or you may be eligible for discontinued service retirement. 05-3015 3 On July 7, 2000, McCollum notified Executive Director Jordan that he accepted the reassignment conditioned on a favorable decision on his request for reconsideration or accommodation. McCollum’s request for accommodation involved his twenty-fouryear-old daughter who had cerebral palsy and who was part of a group for highfunctioning mentally-handicapped people in Atlanta. McCollum requested that NCUA extend the time during which he could choose discontinued service retirement until June 30, 2001 to give him an opportunity to see whether his daughter could successfully live by herself in Atlanta within her group or whether McCollum would have to stay in Atlanta to care for her and accept removal from his position at NCUA. McCollum also requested that he be detailed to California during this period and that NCUA cover his expenses for flying back to Atlanta every other weekend. However, McCollum made clear that he was open to other options. Upon Executive Director Jordan’s recommendation, on August 15, 2000, the NCUA Board rejected McCollum’s request for accommodation. McCollum was notified of the NCUA Board’s decision by letter of August 22, 2000. That letter also indicated that McCollum may be eligible for discontinued service retirement if he declined the reassignment and was involuntarily separated from service. He received the letter on August 29, 2000 and replied that same day. In his reply, he reiterated his willingness to accept any reasonable accommodation including a shorter term detail. He also noted his willingness to discuss these options. Executive Director Jordan responded on September 5, 2000, informing McCollum that the NCUA Board had considered his request and denied it. Jordan instructed McCollum to accept or decline the reassignment by September 7, 2000. On September 7, 2000, McCollum declined the 05-3015 4 reassignment and requested discontinued service retirement, but he noted that he would continue to be available for work until his retirement became effective. McCollum’s letter stated the following: In light of the NCUA Board’s decision rejecting my request for accommodation, my wife and I have concluded that we cannot adequately fulfill our family obligations if I continue work at NCUA under the conditions you require. I therefore must decline your reassignment offer and hereby request discontinued service retirement. Soon after McCollum’s request for discontinued service retirement, McCollum received a call from Executive Director Jordan’s deputy, Sherry Turpenoff, notifying him that Jordan wanted him removed from NCUA by September 10, 2000. McCollum informed Turpenoff that it would take longer than three days to process his removal and requested that he be allowed to work in either Atlanta or California during that period. Executive Director Jordan rejected his request on the basis that NCUA did not have work for him in Atlanta or California and required McCollum to use his annual leave during the removal processing period. On September 26, 2000, NCUA issued a letter to McCollum notifying him of his proposed removal. The letter stated, “Because you had been in Region III for over 10 years and had served as both an ARDO and ARDP, as well as Acting Regional Director, you were the best candidate to bring the needed stability and experience to this position in Region VI.” On October 4, 2000, McCollum responded to NCUA’s letter reiterating his willingness to accept any accommodation, his continued interest in serving in the California position, and his desire to continue working during the removal processing period. Although NCUA’s letter specifically provided ten days for McCollum to respond, neither Executive Director Jordan nor any of the NCUA Board members could recall having seen his response. On October 12, 2000, McCollum received a letter from 05-3015 5 NCUA notifying him that it had processed his discontinued service retirement and had forwarded his paperwork to the Office of Personnel Management. McCollum initially filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel claiming that he had been removed in retaliation for whistleblowing. In May 2002, however, McCollum appealed to the Board. The Administrative Judge (“AJ”) divided McCollum’s appeal into two cases. The first case covered McCollum’s Whistleblower Protection Act claims, and the second case covered his adverse action claim for removal. With respect to his Whistleblower Protection Act claims, the AJ found that McCollum made protected disclosures under the Whistleblower Protection Act in 1998 and 1999. McCollum v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., No. AT-1221-02-0575-W-1, slip op. at 5-8 (M.S.P.B. Dec. 31, 2002) (“WPA Opinion”). The AJ found that McCollum only established a personnel action under the Whistleblower Protection Act with respect to his lowered point score on his performance appraisal. Id. at 14. She also found that McCollum’s protected disclosure in 1999 was a contributing factor to his removal but concluded that NCUA had proved by clear and convincing evidence that it would have given McCollum the same performance appraisal even if he had not made the disclosures. Id. at 16-17. The AJ refused to consider McCollum’s claims based on NCUA’s failure to accommodate him and NCUA’s failure to allow him to continue on work duty status while his removal was being processed. With respect to his adverse action claims, the AJ found that NCUA proved by a preponderance of the evidence that its reasons for reassigning McCollum were legitimate, that he was given adequate notice of the reassignment decision, and that he refused to accept the reassignment. McCollum v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., No. AT- 05-3015 6 0752-02-0569-I-1, slip op. at 10-11 (M.S.P.B. Dec. 31, 2002) (“Removal Opinion”). In considering his claim that his removal constituted improper retaliation under the Whistleblower Protection Act, the AJ concluded that “[n]either the Board members nor Ms. Jordan had any apparent motive to retaliate against the appellant.” Id. at 21. The AJ found that although there was some evidence that NCUA made accommodations for others who received directed reassignments, its reasons for not doing so in this case were legitimate. Based on the evidence of NCUA’s reasons for reassigning McCollum and the lack of “apparent motive to retaliate,” the AJ concluded that NCUA proved by clear and convincing evidence that it would have removed McCollum even if he had not made the protected disclosures. Id. McCollum petitioned the Board for review of the AJ’s decisions. On September 30, 2004, the Board issued an order stating that the two Board members, Chairman McPhie and Member Marshall, could not agree on a disposition. As a result, the AJ’s decisions became the final decisions of the Board. McCollum v. Nat’l Credit Union Admin., No. AT-0752-02-0569-I-1, slip op. at 1-2 (M.S.P.B. Sept. 30, 2004). Both Board members wrote separate opinions. Chairman McPhie disagreed with the AJ’s analysis of McCollum’s claims as a removal for refusing a directed reassignment. Id., slip op. at 7 (separate opinion of Chairman McPhie). He instead would have found that McCollum was challenging an involuntary retirement. Chairman McPhie also would have held that NCUA’s refusal to accommodate McCollum and its requirement that he take leave while his retirement was being processed constituted personnel actions under the Whistleblower Protection Act and would remand for adjudication of those claims. Id. at 13-14. Member Marshall agreed with the AJ’s characterization of McCollum’s case as 05-3015 7 an appeal of a removal and would have found that McCollum waived any right to challenge the AJ’s failure to consider NCUA’s refusal to accommodate and requirement that McCollum use leave time while processing his removal. Id. at 1-3 (separate opinion of Member Marshall). McCollum timely petitioned for review with this court. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(9).