Court Opinion

ID: 9965784
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-05-03 15:01:02.365455+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:25:39.212991
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                   MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

GARILYNN SMITH,                                 DOCKET NUMBERS
             Appellant,                         PH-1221-16-0010-C-3
                                                PH-1221-16-0010-X-1
             v.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,                         DATE: May 2, 2024
            Agency.

        THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

      Graig P. Corveleyn , Esquire, Hopewell, New Jersey, for the appellant.

      David K. Siegle , Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, for the agency.

                                      BEFORE

                           Cathy A. Harris, Chairman
                        Raymond A. Limon, Vice Chairman

                                  FINAL ORDER

      On August 31, 2022, the administrative judge issued a compliance initial
decision finding the agency in noncompliance with the Board’s April 13, 2022
Opinion and Order granting the appellant corrective action in Smith v.
Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-W-1.                  Smith v.
Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-C-3, Compliance

1
   A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add
significantly to the body of MSPB case law. Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,
but such orders have no precedential value; the Board and administrative judges are not
required to follow or distinguish them in any future decisions. In contrast, a
precedential decision issued as an Opinion and Order has been identified by the Board
as significantly contributing to the Board’s case law. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.117(c).
                                                                                     2

File (C-3 CF), Tab 5, Compliance Initial Decision (C-3 CID). The administrative
judge ordered the agency to take required action. C-3 CID at 6. Because the
agency did not take action under 5 C.F.R. § 1201.183(a)(6) within the time limit
for doing so, this matter was referred to the Board for processing under the
enforcement provisions of 5 C.F.R. § 1201.183(c)(1) and docketed under MSPB
Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-X-1. Meanwhile, the appellant also filed a petition
for review of the compliance initial decision. Smith v. Department of the Army,
MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-C-3, Compliance Petition for Review File
(CPFR File), Tab 1. We JOIN MSPB Docket Nos. PH-1221-16-0010-C-3 and
PH-1221-16-0010-X-1, and we address both the compliance referral action and
the petition for review of the compliance initial decision in this final decision.
      For the reasons discussed below, we find the agency in compliance with the
administrative judge’s compliance initial decision, and we therefore DISMISS the
appellant’s petition for enforcement. We also DENY the appellant’s petition for
review and AFFIRM the compliance initial decision.

   DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE ON COMPLIANCE
      On October 6, 2015, the appellant filed a timely individual right of action
(IRA) appeal alleging that the agency retaliated against her when it failed to
select her for the position of Executive Assistant after she made protected
disclosures exposing how the Department of Defense had been mishandling the
remains of fallen service-members.      Smith v. Department of the Army, MSPB
Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-W-1, Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 1. On May 19,
2017, the administrative judge issued an initial decision granting the appellant’s
request for corrective action. Smith v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket
No. PH-1221-16-0010-W-1, Initial Decision (May 19, 2017); IAF, Tab 47. On
April 13, 2022, following the agency’s petition for review, the Board issued an
Opinion and Order affirming the initial decision as modified and again granting
corrective action.     Smith v. Department of the Army, 2022 MSPB 4,
                                                                                        3

¶¶ 1, 39. 2 The Board ordered the agency to pay the appellant the correct amount
of back pay, interest on back pay, and other benefits no later than 60 calendar
days after the date of the Opinion and Order. Id., ¶ 40.
      On June 17, 2022, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement of the
Board’s April 13, 2022 Opinion and Order, alleging that the agency had failed to
pay her the back pay, interest, and benefits ordered by the Board.              Smith v.
Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-C-2, Compliance
File (C-2 CF), Tab 1.      The administrative judge issued a compliance initial
decision dismissing the appellant’s petition for enforcement as premature because
he found that the agency was making a good faith effort to ensure payment was
made. Smith v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-
C-2, Compliance Initial Decision (C-2 CID) at 3 (July 6, 2022); C -2 CF, Tab 4.
He noted that the agency stated that the Defense Finance and Accounting Service
(DFAS), the agency responsible for processing the required payment, was
experiencing a backlog due to the Board’s restored quorum and that it was
working with the appellant’s counsel to ensure payment. C-2 CID at 3. The
administrative judge stated that the appellant could file a new petition for
enforcement after 30 days if the agency had still not made the required payment.
Id.
      On August 5, 2022, the appellant refiled her petition for enforcement,
notifying the administrative judge that the agency still had not made the required
payment and requesting sanctions against the agency for its delay. C-3 CF, Tab 1
2
  On July 7, 2017, before the agency filed its petition for review, the appellant filed a
petition for enforcement alleging that the agency had failed to comply with the initial
decision’s interim relief order. Smith v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket
No. PH-1221-16-0010-C-1, Compliance File (C-1 CF), Tab 1. The administrative judge
dismissed the petition for enforcement and forwarded the matter to the Office of the
Clerk of the Board for joinder with the agency’s petition for review. Smith v.
Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-C-1, Compliance Initial
Decision at 3 (Aug. 17, 2017); C-1 CF, Tab 5. Neither party filed a petition for review
of the compliance initial decision, and in the Board’s April 13, 2022 Opinion and Order,
it denied the petition for enforcement because our regulations do not allow for a petition
for enforcement of an interim relief order. Smith, 2022 MSPB 4, ¶ 9 n.3.
                                                                                   4

at 5. The appellant stressed that she had waited 5 years for the Board to regain its
quorum and that now, even after the Board’s decision, she had yet to be
compensated. Id. In response, the agency reasserted its claim about the backlog
at DFAS and that it had worked diligently on the appellant’s case and claimed
that the appellant’s back pay packet was with DFAS. C-3 CF, Tab 3 at 4-5.
      On August 31, 2022, the administrative judge issued a compliance initial
decision granting the appellant’s third petition for enforcement. C-3 CID at 1-2.
The administrative judge found that the agency acknowledged it failed to make
payment by June 12, 2022, sixty days from the date of the Board’s decision, that
it sought to avoid responsibility for its continued failure to comply with the
Board’s final decision, and that it was unable to identify when the appellant could
expect payment. C-3 CID at 5. He further found that DFAS is an instrument or
agent of the agency and thus that the agency was responsible for its inertia.
C-3 CID at 5-6.    He ordered the agency to pay the appellant the appropriate
amount of back pay with interest no later than 10 days after the date his decision
became final. C-3 CID at 6.
      On October 5, 2022, the appellant filed a petition for review of the
August 31, 2022 compliance initial decision, informing the Board that although
she received payment on September 22, 2022, the payment was deficient and
failed to include any explanation of the calculations made to arrive at that dollar
amount, and thus that the agency had not complied with the Board’s final
decision.   CPFR File, Tab 1 at 5.         The appellant also argued that the
administrative judge erred by failing to address her request for sanctions and
asked the Board to consider whether, given this fact and the agency’s continued
noncompliance, sanctions are appropriate. Id. at 5-6.
      Meanwhile, the agency failed to make a timely submission with the Office
of the Clerk of the Board under 5 C.F.R. § 1201.183(a)(6), as required when the
administrative judge made his finding of noncompliance. Therefore, while the
petition for review was pending, the matter was also referred for processing under
                                                                                 5

the enforcement provisions of 5 C.F.R. § 1201.183(c). Smith v. Department of
the Army, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-16-0010-X-1, Compliance Referral File
(CRF), Tab 1. Thereafter, on October 18, 2022, the agency submitted a statement
of compliance pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 1201.183(a)(6)(i). CRF, Tab 2. The agency
submitted evidence showing that DFAS paid the appellant, provided a narrative
summary and evidence explaining DFAS’ calculations—including computation of
the appellant’s hourly rate, bonuses, interest, leave payout, taxes, and other
deductions and offsets—and provided evidence and argument showing that it
otherwise complied with the Board’s final decision. Id. at 4-29. The appellant
did not respond.
      On October 19, 2022, the agency filed a response to the appellant’s petition
for review contending that the petition is now moot. CPFR File, Tab 4 at 4. The
agency states that although it was unable to meet the Board’s timeline, it would
be inappropriate for the Board to sanction the agency because it has now
submitted evidence of full compliance. Id.

                                  ANALYSIS
Compliance Referral File (X-1 matter).
      When the Board finds a personnel action unwarranted or not sustainable, it
orders that the appellant be placed, as nearly as possible, in the situation she
would have been in had the wrongful personnel action not occurred. House v.
Department of the Army, 98 M.S.P.R. 530, ¶ 9 (2005). The agency bears the
burden to prove its compliance with a Board order. Vaughan v. Department of
Agriculture, 116 M.S.P.R. 319, ¶ 5 (2011). An agency’s assertions of compliance
must include a clear explanation of its compliance actions supported by
documentary evidence. Id. The appellant may rebut the agency’s evidence of
compliance by making “specific, nonconclusory, and supported assertions of
continued noncompliance.”       Brown v. Office of Personnel Management,
113 M.S.P.R. 325, ¶ 5 (2010).
                                                                                 6

      Here, as noted above, to establish compliance with the Board’s final
decision in the underlying appeal, the agency had to, among other things, “pay the
appellant the correct amount of back pay, interest on back pay, and other
benefits.” Smith, 2022 MSPB 4, ¶ 40. The evidence that the agency submitted
with its statement of compliance demonstrates that it has now done so. CRF,
Tab 2 at 14, 16-29. Specifically, the agency submitted evidence demonstrating
that it paid the appellant on September 22, 2022, and it submitted a declaration
from a DFAS supervisor explaining the methodology behind the payment,
including how the appellant’s back wages and raises and bonuses were calculated
and what offsets and deductions were made, including for taxes and benefits. See
id. at 14-29.   The agency alleges that it sent DFAS’ certified back pay
calculations to the appellant on October 13, 2022. Id. at 4-5. The appellant did
not submit an objection or any response to the agency’s statement of compliance,
despite being notified of her opportunity to do so and being cautioned that the
Board may assume she is satisfied and dismiss her petition for enforcement if she
did not respond. CPFR File, Tab 2 at 3. As a result, we assume that the appellant
is satisfied with the agency’s compliance.     See Baumgartner v. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 111 M.S.P.R. 86, ¶ 9 (2009). Consequently,
we find that the agency is in compliance with the administrative judge’s
August 31, 2022 compliance initial decision.

Petition for Review of the Compliance Initial Decision (C-3 matter).
      In her petition for review, the appellant first expressed concern about
whether the amount of the payment she received was correct and how it was
calculated. CPFR File, Tab 1 at 5. However, as discussed above, we have found
that the agency submitted evidence sufficiently explaining the methodology
behind the payment and that it is in compliance with the administrative judge’s
compliance initial decision and the Board’s April 13, 2022 Opinion and Order.
The appellant also argued on review that the administrative judge erred by failing
to address her request for sanctions and that the Board should now consider this
                                                                                   7

request. CPFR File, Tab 1 at 5-6. Although we sympathize with the appellant’s
frustration at the agency’s delay in payment and the administrative judge’s
decision not to address the sanctions issue, the imposition of sanctions is a matter
within the administrative judge’s sound discretion, and absent a showing that
such discretion has been abused, the administrative judge’s determination will not
be found to constitute reversible error.       Bilger v. Department of Justice,
33 M.S.P.R. 602, 607 (1987), aff’d, 847 F.2d 842 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (Table); see
also 5 C.F.R. § 1201.43. Further, the Board’s ability to impose sanctions is a
means to enforce compliance.        Eikenberry v. Department of the Interior,
39 M.S.P.R. 119, 121 (1988); see 5 U.S.C. § 1204(a)(2), (e)(2)(A). The Board
has held that it would be inappropriate for it to impose sanctions where, as here,
the agency has submitted evidence of compliance.          Id.; see also Bruton v.
Department of Veterans Affairs, 112 M.S.P.R. 313, ¶ 14 (2009) (stating that the
Board lacks the authority to impose punishment or sanctions once compliance has
been obtained). Thus, the appellant’s argument and request are unavailing.
      In light of the foregoing, we find that the agency is now in compliance, and
we dismiss the appellant’s petition for enforcement. We also deny her petition
for review. This is the final decision of the Board in this compliance proceeding.
Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 1201.183(c)(1) (5 C.F.R.
§ 1201.183(c)(1)).

                NOTICE TO THE APPELLANT REGARDING
                      YOUR RIGHT TO REQUEST
                     ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS
      You may be entitled to be paid by the agency for your reasonable attorney
fees and costs. To be paid, you must meet the requirements set forth at Title 5 of
the United States Code (5 U.S.C.), sections 7701(g), 1221(g), or 1214(g). The
regulations may be found at 5 C.F.R. §§ 1201.201, 1201.202, and 1201.203. If
you believe you meet these requirements, you must file a motion for attorney fees
                                                                                      8

and costs WITHIN 60 CALENDAR DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS DECISION.
You must file your motion for attorney fees and costs with the Clerk of the Board.

                         NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS 3
      You may obtain review of this final decision. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(a)(1). By
statute, the nature of your claims determines the time limit for seeking such
review and the appropriate forum with which to file.            5 U.S.C. § 7703(b).
Although we offer the following summary of available appeal rights, the Merit
Systems Protection Board does not provide legal advice on which option is most
appropriate for your situation and the rights described below do not represent a
statement of how courts will rule regarding which cases fall within their
jurisdiction.   If you wish to seek review of this final decision, you should
immediately review the law applicable to your claims and carefully follow all
filing time limits and requirements. Failure to file within the applicable time
limit may result in the dismissal of your case by your chosen forum.
      Please read carefully each of the three main possible choices of review
below to decide which one applies to your particular case. If you have questions
about whether a particular forum is the appropriate one to review your case, you
should contact that forum for more information.

      (1) Judicial review in general . As a general rule, an appellant seeking
judicial review of a final Board order must file a petition for review with the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which must be received by the court
within 60 calendar days of the date of issuance of this decision.             5 U.S.C.
§ 7703(b)(1)(A).

3
  Since the issuance of the initial decision in this matter, the Board may have updated
the notice of review rights included in final decisions. As indicated in the notice, the
Board cannot advise which option is most appropriate in any matter.
                                                                                        9

      If you submit a petition for review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal   Circuit,   you   must   submit   your   petition    to   the   court   at   the
following address:
                              U.S. Court of Appeals
                              for the Federal Circuit
                             717 Madison Place, N.W.
                             Washington, D.C. 20439

      Additional information about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit is available at the court’s website, www.cafc.uscourts.gov. Of particular
relevance is the court’s “Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants,” which is
contained within the court’s Rules of Practice, and Forms 5, 6, 10, and 11.
      If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for an appeal to
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, you may visit our website at
http://www.mspb.gov/probono for information regarding pro bono representation
for Merit Systems Protection Board appellants before the Federal Circuit. The
Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that
any attorney will accept representation in a given case.

      (2) Judicial   or    EEOC    review    of   cases      involving   a   claim     of
discrimination . This option applies to you only if you have claimed that you
were affected by an action that is appealable to the Board and that such action
was based, in whole or in part, on unlawful discrimination. If so, you may obtain
judicial review of this decision—including a disposition of your discrimination
claims —by filing a civil action with an appropriate U.S. district court ( not the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), within 30 calendar days after you
receive this decision.      5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2); see Perry v. Merit Systems
Protection Board, 582 U.S. 420 (2017). If you have a representative in this case,
and your representative receives this decision before you do, then you must file
with the district court no later than 30 calendar days after your representative
receives this decision. If the action involves a claim of discrimination based on
                                                                                10

race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or a disabling condition, you may be
entitled to representation by a court-appointed lawyer and to waiver of any
requirement of prepayment of fees, costs, or other security.        See 42 U.S.C.
§ 2000e-5(f) and 29 U.S.C. § 794a.
      Contact information for U.S. district courts can be found at their respective
websites, which can be accessed through the link below:
      http://www.uscourts.gov/Court_Locator/CourtWebsites.aspx .
      Alternatively, you may request review by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of your discrimination claims only, excluding
all other issues . 5 U.S.C. § 7702(b)(1). You must file any such request with the
EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations within 30 calendar days after you receive
this decision. 5 U.S.C. § 7702(b)(1). If you have a representative in this case,
and your representative receives this decision before you do, then you must file
with the EEOC no later than 30 calendar days after your representative receives
this decision.
      If you submit a request for review to the EEOC by regular U.S. mail, the
address of the EEOC is:
                            Office of Federal Operations
                     Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
                                  P.O. Box 77960
                             Washington, D.C. 20013

      If you submit a request for review to the EEOC via commercial delivery or
by a method requiring a signature, it must be addressed to:
                            Office of Federal Operations
                     Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
                                 131 M Street, N.E.
                                   Suite 5SW12G
                             Washington, D.C. 20507

      (3) Judicial     review   pursuant   to   the   Whistleblower    Protection
Enhancement Act of 2012 . This option applies to you only if you have raised
claims of reprisal for whistleblowing disclosures under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) or
                                                                                     11

other protected activities listed in 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D).
If so, and your judicial petition for review “raises no challenge to the Board’s
disposition of allegations of a prohibited personnel practice described in
section 2302(b) other than practices described in section 2302(b)(8), or
2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D),” then you may file a petition for judicial
review either with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or any court
of appeals of competent jurisdiction. 4 The court of appeals must receive your
petition for review within 60 days of the date of issuance of this decision.
5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(1)(B).
      If you submit a petition for judicial review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit, you must submit your petition to the court at the
following address:
                               U.S. Court of Appeals
                               for the Federal Circuit
                              717 Madison Place, N.W.
                              Washington, D.C. 20439

      Additional information about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit is available at the court’s website, www.cafc.uscourts.gov. Of particular
relevance is the court’s “Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants,” which is
contained within the court’s Rules of Practice, and Forms 5, 6, 10, and 11.
      If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for an appeal to
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, you may visit our website at
http://www.mspb.gov/probono for information regarding pro bono representation
for Merit Systems Protection Board appellants before the Federal Circuit. The

4
   The original statutory provision that provided for judicial review of certain
whistleblower claims by any court of appeals of competent jurisdiction expired on
December 27, 2017. The All Circuit Review Act, signed into law by the President on
July 7, 2018, permanently allows appellants to file petitions for judicial review of
MSPB decisions in certain whistleblower reprisal cases with the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit or any other circuit court of appeals of competent jurisdiction.
The All Circuit Review Act is retroactive to November 26, 2017. Pub. L. No. 115-195,
132 Stat. 1510.
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Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that
any attorney will accept representation in a given case.
      Contact information for the courts of appeals can be found at their
respective websites, which can be accessed through the link below:
      http://www.uscourts.gov/Court_Locator/CourtWebsites.aspx .

FOR THE BOARD:                        ______________________________
                                      Gina K. Grippando
                                      Clerk of the Board
Washington, D.C.