Court Opinion

ID: 9396140
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-19 17:00:10.806686+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:14.333366
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                   MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

JOHN MADISON,                                   DOCKET NUMBER
                    Appellant,                  AT-0714-20-0333-X-1

             v.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS                          DATE: May 19, 2023
  AFFAIRS,
            Agency.

        THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

      Willie C. Darrisaw, Augusta, Georgia, for the appellant.

      W. Robert Boulware, Esquire, Montgomery, Alabama, for the agency.

                                      BEFORE

                          Cathy A. Harris, Vice Chairman
                           Raymond A. Limon, Member
                           Tristan L. Leavitt, Member 2

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   A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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
  Member Leavitt’s name is included in decisions on which the three -member Board
completed the voting process prior to his March 1, 2023 departure.
                                                                                       2

                                      FINAL ORDER

¶1        After the appellant appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board
     challenging his removal by the agency, the parties reached a settlement agreement
     resolving the disputed issues, and the agreement was included in the Board’s
     record for enforcement purposes in the decision dismissing the appeal. The case
     is now before the Board on the appellant’s July 8, 2021 petition for enforcement
     alleging that the agency breached the settlement agreement by failing to appoin t
     him to the position specified by that agreement. For the reasons discussed below,
     we find the agency in compliance and DISMISS the petition for enforcement.

        DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE ON COMPLIANCE
¶2        On June 9, 2020, the administrative judge dismissed as settled appellant’s
     appeal of his removal, accepting the settlement agreement into the record for
     enforcement. Madison v. Department of Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket No. AT-
     0714-20-0333-I-1, Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 25, Initial Decision.           In
     pertinent part, the settlement agreement required the agency to, within 30 days of
     the execution date of the settlement agreement, place the appellant in the position
     of Social Work Administrative Officer. IAF, Tab 24 at 5. The initial decision
     became the final decision of the Board when neither party filed a petition for
     review.
¶3        On July 8, 2021, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement of the
     settlement agreement. Madison v. Department of Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket
     No. AT-0714-20-0333-C-1, Compliance File (CF), Tab 1. The appellant asserted
     that the agency placed him in the position of Administrative Assistant, not Social
     Work Administrative Officer, and that this position paid him less than he would
     have received in the Social Work Administrative Officer position. CF, Tab 1
     at 3. The agency admitted that the Administrative Officer position was at the
     GS-7 level, while the Social Work Administrative Officer position was at the
     GS-9 level. The agency asserted that appellant had been given a choice of these
                                                                                         3

     positions and had selected the Administrative Officer position, but admitted that
     it had not informed the appellant of the grade level difference. See CF, Tab 7,
     Compliance Initial Decision (CID) at 2.
¶4        On September 3, 2021, the administrative judge issued a compliance initial
     decision granting the appellant’s petition, finding that the agency was not in
     compliance because it had failed to place the appellant in the position of
     Administrative Officer at the GS-09, step 10 level, as specified by the agreement.
     The administrative judge ordered the agency within 20 days to retroactively
     restore the appellant to that position effective June 29, 2020, until July 4, 2021 ,
     and to pay appropriate back pay and benefits for that time period . 3 CID at 5.
¶5        The administrative judge informed the agency that, if it decided to take the
     actions ordered in the compliance initial decision, it must submit to the Clerk of
     the Board a narrative statement and evidence establishing compliance.             CID
     at 7-8. In addition, he informed both parties that they could file a petition for
     review of the compliance initial decision if they disagreed with the findings
     therein. CID at 7-8. Neither party filed any submission with the Clerk of the
     Board within the time limit set forth in 5 C.F.R. § 1201.114. As such, pursuant to
     5 C.F.R. § 1201.183(b)-(c), the administrative judge’s findings of noncompliance
     became final, and the appellant’s petition for enforcement was referred to the
     Board for a final decision on issues of compliance. See Madison v. Department of
     Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket No. AT-0714-20-0333-X-1, Compliance Referral
     File (CRF), Tab 1.
¶6        The Board issued an acknowledgment order on October 15, 2021, with a
     Notice to Agency requiring the agency to submit within 15 days evidence
     showing that it had complied with all actions identified in the CID. The order
     also included a Notice to Appellant that the appellant may respond to any

     3
      The agency had promoted him to the agreed-upon position effective July 4, 2021. See
     CID at 2.
                                                                                           4

     submission from the agency by filing arguments with the Clerk of the Board
     within 20 calendar days of the date of service of the agency’s evidence of
     compliance. The order notified the appellant that “[i]f you do not respond to the
     agency’s evidence of compliance within 20 days, the Board may assume you are
     satisfied and dismiss your petition for enforcement. ” CRF, Tab 1 at 2-3.
¶7          On October 21, 2021, the agency submitted evidence that shows the
     appellant’s appointment to the Administrative Officer GS 9, Step 10 position was
     made retroactive to June 29, 2020.         The Standard Form 50 Notif ication of
     Personnel Action cancelled the previous action, which had delayed his promotion
     to this level to July 4, 2021. The agency’s evidence also includes agency emails
     that state the appellant received his resulting retroactive pay on September 23,
     2021. CRF, Tab 2 at 4-8.
¶8          This agency evidence on its face shows that the agency has complied with
     its obligation to place the appellant in the correct position, but does not
     conclusively demonstrate that the agency correctly calculated and paid back pay .
     However, the appellant has not made any reply to the agency’s Octo ber 21, 2021
     submission, and many more than 20 days have elapsed since he was served with
     it.   Accordingly, we assume that the appellant is satisfied with the agency’s
     action, and we therefore dismiss the petition for enforcement. This is the final
     decision of the Merit Systems Protection 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 OF APPEAL RIGHTS 4
            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

     4
       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.
                                                                                        5

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 bel ow 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).
      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.
                                                                                   6

      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 ou r 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
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
                                                                                  7

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
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 th e
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or any court of appeals of
competent jurisdiction. 5   The court of appeals must receive your petition for

5
  The original statutory provision that provided for judicial review of certain
whistleblower claims by any court of appeals of competent jurisdiction expired on
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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 visi t 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.

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.
                                                                        9

      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:                                  /s/ for
                                        Jennifer Everling
                                        Acting Clerk of the Board
Washington, D.C.