Opinion ID: 2973550
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: statutory procedural rights

Text: A. Fligiel’s Remedies under the Veterans’ Benefits Act Veterans Administration physicians1 are afforded procedural protections when they experience a “major adverse action,” as defined by 38 U.S.C. § 7461. The statute identifies a “transfer” as such an action. § 7461(c)(2)(B). Initially, the district court agreed with the VA’s description of Fligiel’s relocation to the Ann Arbor VA as a “detail,” an action that does not trigger any statutory protections. However, after re-examining the issue, the court agreed with Fligiel that the relocation to the Ann Arbor VAMC was a transfer. Under Title 38, the VA’s procedure for addressing a major adverse action depends upon the findings of a two step analysis. First, the action must be identified as a major adverse action within § 7461(c)(2)(B). These include suspension, transfer, reduction in grade, reduction in basic pay, or discharge. Id. Next, the VA must determine whether the major adverse action was the result of “professional conduct or competence.” § 7461(c)(3). Questions of professional conduct or competence are defined as those involving clinical competence or direct patient care. § 7461(c)(3)(A)-(B). The determination as to whether the major adverse action involved a question of professional conduct or competence is a pivotal one. Adverse actions involving professional conduct or competence are governed by the procedures outlined in § 7462, while adverse actions that do not involve such a question are controlled by § 7463. Fligiel’s transfer to the Ann Arbor VAMC in October of 1999 was a major adverse action. The district court found that she was transferred for reasons other than professional conduct or competence, invoking the protections of § 7463. Under the statute, the employee is entitled to “(A) an advance written notice stating the specific reason for the proposed action, and (B) a reasonable time to answer orally and in writing and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of the answer.” § 7463(c)(2)(A)-(B). Additionally, the statute provides for internal grievance procedures, including the “right to formal review by an impartial examiner” and a right to have the examiner’s findings reviewed “by an official of a higher level than the official who decided upon the action.” § 7463(d)(1)-(3). However, there is no right of judicial review afforded by the statute, and review to a Disciplinary Appeals Board (“DAB”) is specifically foreclosed. § 7463(a). On appeal, Dr. Fligiel does not contest the district court’s conclusion that she was transferred for reasons other than professional conduct or competence, nor does she deny that her statutory remedies under Title 38 do not include judicial review. Dr. Fligiel relies instead on provisions of the APA to obtain judicial review. B. Fligiel’s Remedies under the Administrative Procedure Act The district court claimed jurisdiction relying on the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-06. Under the APA, an aggrieved party may seek judicial review of final agency action if there are no other adequate mechanisms for review, and review has not been foreclosed by statute or “committed to agency discretion by law.” 5 U.S.C. § 701(a). In determining whether review is available under the APA, we are mindful of the Supreme Court’s admonition that we must be “wary of interpreting the APA in a manner that precludes any judicial review of agency decisions, requiring a ‘showing of clear and convincing evidence’ that Congress intended to eliminate judicial review in matters of agency discretion.” UHI Inc. v. Thompson, 250 F.3d 993, 996 (6th Cir. 2001) citing Barlow v. Collins, 397 U.S. 159, 167 (1970). 1 38 U.S.C. § 7401 describes the health care professionals appointed within the VA system entitled to receive the procedural protections described in 38 U.S.C. §§ 7461-64. No. 04-1531 Fligiel v. Samson, et al. Page 5 The Secretary argued that judicial review under the APA was improper because of the holdings in United States v. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439 (1988); and Pathak v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 274 F.3d 28 (1st Cir. 2001). However, the district court found these cases inapposite to the facts here. Instead, the court claimed jurisdiction, and found that the VA’s procedural lapse was harmless error. We disagree with the district court in these determinations, and find that both Fausto and Pathak are on point. Further, we have denied judicial review in reliance on Fausto in similar circumstances. See Leistiko v. Stone, 134 F.3d 817 (6th Cir.1998), and Harper v. Frank, 985 F.2d 285 (6th Cir. 1993). We agree with the Secretary that Fligiel may not gain judicial review in reliance on the APA, because there is clear and convincing evidence that Congress precluded review for the type of harm she suffered. In United States v. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439 (1988), the Supreme Court held that an employee governed by the Civil Service Reform Act (“CSRA”) was foreclosed from invoking other statutory means of judicial review, because the CSRA is the comprehensive remedial scheme for such individuals. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 448-49. Fausto was an employee of the Fish and Wildlife Service, subject to the CSRA. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 442-43. After exhausting his administrative remedies, Fausto attempted to obtain judicial review of his adverse personnel action through the Back Pay Act, because the CSRA did not provide judicial review for the type of adverse action he suffered. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 447. The Court held that providing judicial review pursuant to an alternate statute would undermine the purpose of the CSRA; namely providing the comprehensive catalog of remedial measures for the employees regulated by the Act. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 448-50. The Court ruled that Congress intended the CSRA to “replace the haphazard arrangements for administrative and judicial review of personnel action, part of the ‘outdated patchwork of statutes and rules built up over almost a century’ that was the civil service system.” Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 444 (citation omitted). Further, the court noted that Congress enacted the CSRA, “which replaced the patchwork system with an integrated scheme of administrative and judicial review, designed to balance the legitimate interests of the various categories of federal employees with the needs of sound and efficient administration.” Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 446. The Court reasoned that granting federal employees governed by the CSRA judicial review by invoking the protections of other federal statutes would undermine the comprehensive aim of the CSRA. Id. Further, the court reasoned that the absence of a provision allowing judicial review of Fausto’s adverse personnel action in the CSRA was an indication that Congress did not intend employees to have such a right. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 448-9. “It seems to us evident that the absence of provision for these employees to obtain judicial review is not an uninformative consequence of the limited scope of the statute, but rather manifestation of a considered congressional judgment that they should not have statutory entitlement to review for adverse action of the type governed by Chapter 75.” Id. Applying the holding in Fausto to the facts here, we find that Fligiel is precluded from invoking the protections of the APA to obtain the judicial review of her adverse employment action that she was denied by the Veterans’ Benefits Act. Like the CSRA, Title 38 provides a comprehensive regulatory scheme for employees of the VA. In particular, § 7463 outlines the procedures Congress intended to provide for review of adverse actions of the type Fligiel encountered. Fligiel was entitled to “(A) an advance written notice stating the specific reason for the proposed action, and (B) a reasonable time to answer orally and in writing and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of the answer.” § 7463(c)(2)(A)-(B). In No. 04-1531 Fligiel v. Samson, et al. Page 6 addition, internal grievance procedures were available. § 7463 (d)(1)-(3). However, there is no provision for judicial review conferred by § 7463, in contrast to § 7462.2 Fligiel’s attempt to acquire judicial review relying on provisions of the APA is ill fated. Under Fausto, where a comprehensive remedial scheme exists to address agency adverse actions, and Congress has clearly indicated that no judicial review is available, an individual may not choose other federal statutory avenues to obtain review. Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 455. “The CSRA established a comprehensive system for reviewing personnel action taken against federal employees. Its deliberate exclusion of employees in respondent’s service category from the provisions establishing administrative and judicial review for personnel action of the sort at issue here prevents respondent from seeking review in the Claims Court under the Back Pay Act.” Id. Like Fausto, Fligiel was entitled to specific procedural remedies under Title 38, which did not include judicial review. She cannot now rely on the procedural protections of the APA. The First Circuit addressed this very issue in Pathak v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 274 F.3d 28 (1st Cir. 2001). Pathak was a VA physician governed by the provisions of the Veterans’ Benefits Act. Id. Like Fligiel, Pathak was subject to a major adverse action not involving professional conduct or competence. Pathak, 274 F.3d. 28, 32. He, too, was entitled to the statutory protections of 38 U.S.C. § 7463, which do not include judicial review. Pathak attempted to use the APA to acquire judicial review of his adverse action. Id. In deciding whether Pathak was entitled to judicial review under the APA, the First Circuit stated: [I]t was Dr. Pathak’s actions as an employee and as a supervisor that were at issue, not his clinical competence or direct patient care. In contrast with § 7462, which provides judicial review of discipline based on professional conduct or competence, Congress provided no right of review in § 7463, which governs discipline unrelated to professional conduct or competence. Congress’s express provision of judicial review in § 7462, coupled with a complete omission of judicial review in § 7463- - the provision governing Pathak-- is “persuasive evidence that Congress deliberately intended to foreclose further review of such claims.” Pathak v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 274 F.3d 28, 32 (citing United States v. Erika, Inc., 456 U.S. 201, 208 (1982), quoted in Fausto, 484 U.S. 439, 448 (1988)). We agree with the First Circuit’s analysis. Like Pathak, Fligiel may not invoke the review provisions of the APA in order to obtain the judicial review Congress intended to deny her under § 7463. We are careful to circumscribe this holding to situations such as this, where there is clear evidence that Congress did not intend to provide judicial review of agency action. In fact, § 7463 specifically precludes review of a major adverse action by a Disciplinary Appeals Board (DAB) not arising from a question of professional conduct or competence. § 7463(a). Because a review by the DAB is the first step to judicial review under § 7462, Congress forestalled the review process by eliminating board review for the type of adverse actions addressed by § 7463. It is clear that Congress wanted to limit judicial review to adverse actions only involving questions of professional conduct or competence. Fligiel’s transfer to the Ann Arbor VA was not such an adverse action, and she was not entitled to judicial review. 2 38 U.S.C. § 7462 does provide for judicial review of an adverse agency action involving “professional conduct or competence.” It is apparent that Congress wanted to limit the availability of judicial review to well defined circumstances. While the district court acknowledged that Fligiel suffered a major adverse action, it found the action did not arise out of a question of professional conduct or competence. Therefore, Fligiel was not entitled to the procedural protections of § 7462, including judicial review. No. 04-1531 Fligiel v. Samson, et al. Page 7 This circuit has relied on Fausto to deny judicial review in other situations. In Leistiko v. Stone, 134 F.3d 817 (6th Cir. 1998), Leistiko was a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard and an “excepted service” federal employee governed by the CSRA. Leistiko, 134 F.3d 817, 818. He was terminated from his position as a Supervisory Aircraft Pilot by the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department after he was medically disqualified from aviation service. Id. After unsuccessfully pursuing his administrative remedies, Leistiko filed suit in federal district court alleging violations of his rights under the APA.3 Id. The district court dismissed the claim . Id. We affirmed, noting that under Fausto, the CSRA precluded judicial review of Leistiko’s termination. Leistiko 134 F.3d 817, 820. While Chapter 75 of the CSRA provided substantive and procedural rights for “removals”, it expressly excluded individuals in Leistiko’s employment category. Id. We found that this exclusion evinced clear congressional intent to deny these employees the protections, including judicial review. Id. “Because Col. Leistiko has thus been excluded from the protections of Chapter 75, the logic of Fausto is that his removal from the technicians position is not subject to judicial review.” Id. Further, we acknowledged that the APA generally allows judicial review of final agency action when there is no other adequate remedy, except when other statues preclude this review. Id. Relying4 on Fausto, we found that the CSRA did preclude Leistiko’s right of review under the APA. Id. Likewise, we find that the Veterans’ Benefits Act effectively precludes judicial review for Fligiel. The Act’s express exclusion of DAB review in 38 U.S.C. § 7463, and its inclusion of DAB review and subsequent judicial review in § 7462 clearly demonstrates congressional intent to limit review to the adverse actions governed by § 7463. 5Fligiel may not circumvent this limitation by invoking the judicial review provision of the APA.