Opinion ID: 2088220
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events Leading to the Termination of Mr. Oliver's Employment

Text: The underlying dispute in this case evolved from intense friction that developed between Mr. Oliver and his superiors at DOT where he was employed as Deputy Director of the Office of Civil Rights. In less than two years after Mr. Oliver's initial employment, he was discharged by the then Secretary of DOT for alleged failures to perform various duties and to carry out direct instructions of his superiors. This discharge was ultimately overturned by the Civil Service Commission (now Merit Systems Protection Board), and Mr. Oliver then resumed his employment at DOT pursuant to the order of reinstatement. In the meantime, the Office of Civil Rights at DOT had a new Director, Ms. Ellen Finegold, and there developed almost immediately a serious dispute between Mr. Oliver and Ms. Finegold concerning work assignments which Mr. Oliver apparently refused to perform. This dispute over work assignments ultimately led Ms. Finegold to initiate steps to discharge Mr. Oliver for the second time. This in turn provoked on September 22, 1978 a violent confrontation with Mr. Oliver in which Ms. Finegold and a co-worker ended up sprawled out on the office floor. As a result of this incident, Mr. Oliver was charged with criminal assault, and he retained Respondent herein as defense counsel. In the ensuing criminal proceeding, Mr. Oliver testified that he had been attacked by Ms. Finegold and that his conduct in the violent confrontation was in self-defense. The trial ended on March 7, 1979 when the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Mr. Oliver was estatic, and even reverent, in his praise of Respondent's abilities as a lawyer, and announced [w]e have only just begun. [2] Mr. Oliver then retained Respondent in connection with several administrative complaints filed by Mr. Oliver with DOT alleging that his second discharge in June 1979 was motivated in part by racial or political discrimination and was therefore unlawful. In the administrative proceedings, Mr. Oliver waived his right to testify in an evidentiary hearing and relied instead on the allegations in his complaints and the legal argument that the jury's verdict of acquittal in the criminal proceeding was res judicata of his version of the violent altercation. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) rejected this legal argument and made Findings of Fact, based on testimony and sworn statements of several eye witnesses, that Mr. Oliver was the aggressor and struck both Ms. Finegold and her co-worker with sufficient force to knock them to the floor. The ALJ also found that the charge of racial discrimination was not supported by the evidence and that the charge of political discrimination was totally baseless. Based on these findings, the ALJ entered a decision upholding the termination of Mr. Oliver's employment at DOT for the second time. On July 18, 1980, the decision of the Administrative Law Judge was adopted by the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) and constituted the final order in the administrative proceedings involved. In this disciplinary case, Respondent is not charged with any misconduct in these administrative proceedings before DOT or MSPB.