Opinion ID: 774674
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Consistency with Bingaman

Text: 24 The Board's approach is also wholly consistent with the approach taken by this court in Bingaman. Petitioners seem to read Bingaman to require a rigid, bright-line test based on the six factors of the Board's decision. Petitioners also argue that other factors -- such as whether the officers' duties are commensurate with Norfolk City police officers -- should be considered as well. This court, however, has never adopted the Bingaman factors; nor has the court held that federal employees are always entitled to LEO coverage so long as they satisfy the Bingaman factors. Indeed, as noted in Bingaman and Hannon v. Department of Justice, 234 F.3d 674 (Fed. Cir. 2000), the Bingaman factors were developed by the Board, not by this court as captur[ing] the essence of what Congress intended. Bingaman, 127 F.3d at 1436; Hannon, 234 F.3d at 677-78 (noting that in Bingaman, this court merely recognized and applied the [Bingaman] factors, factors which had been developed by the Board, not this court). In examining the duties performed by these petitioners, the Bingaman court only addressed prongs (ii) and (iii) of 5 C.F.R. 831.902, 842.802. Bingaman, 127 F.3d at 1436 (Applying [the Bingaman factors], the [AJ] properly found that Bingaman failed to establish that he is eligible for LEO retirement credit.). The court did not need to consider prong (i) of the test -- examining the basic reasons for the existence of the position -- because the court found that the petitioners had failed to meet their burden of proof regarding the second and third prongs of 5 C.F.R. 831.902, 842.802. 25 Moreover, some of the most probative factors are not even a part of the six-factor Bingaman test. Hannon, 234 F.3d at 678. For instance, in Hannon, this court held that the Board should consider hazard as a probative factor in assessing LEO retirement coverage. Id. at 679 (The Board has recognized . . . that hazard is a significant element of law enforcement work.). Moreover, in light of evident legislative intent to grant LEO credit only to those who have jobs requiring physically demanding work, other factors, such as whether the officer must retire at an early age or whether there is an early maximum entry age, would also be highly probative in determining whether the officer is entitled to LEO retirement credit. Indeed, while all of the Bingaman factors may always be considered, some are more probative than others. For example, whether the job requires an annual physical fitness test may be probative in assessing whether the position is designed to be limited to young and physically fit individuals who would be forced to retire at an unusually early age, depending on the stringency of the test. Other Bingaman factors, however, are normally less probative because they do not always distinguish between officers who do LEO work and those who do not. For example, guards mainly protecting life and property and police officers whose jobs primarily involve pursuing or detaining criminals all might carry a firearm, be on call 24 hours a day, or have to work long periods without taking a break. The regulations, however, specifically exclude guards who mainly protect life and property from LEO retirement coverage. See 5 C.F.R. 831.902, 842.802. Other factors, proposed by petitioners, have little relevance. For instance, that petitioners' positions are equivalent to those of Norfolk City police officers has little probative value because not all Norfolk City police officers would be entitled to LEO credit if they were federal employees. 26