Court Opinion

ID: 9965458
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-05-02 16:00:33.336416+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:25:06.010331
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                   MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

ELESHIA HEGGINS,                                DOCKET NUMBER
             Appellant,                         DA-0752-16-0072-C-3

             v.

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND                       DATE: May 1, 2024
  URBAN DEVELOPMENT,
            Agency.

             THIS ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

      Mark Matulef , Esquire, Washington, D.C., for the appellant.

      Marcus R. Patton , Esquire, and Taylor L. Baronich , Esquire, Fort Worth,
       Texas, for the agency.

                                      BEFORE

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

                                REMAND ORDER

      The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which
denied her petition for enforcement of a settlement agreement. For the reasons
discussed below, we GRANT the appellant’s petition for review, VACATE the

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   A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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).
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initial decision, and REMAND the case to the Dallas Regional Office for further
adjudication in accordance with this Remand Order.

                                BACKGROUND
      In November 2015, the appellant filed a Board appeal challenging her
November 12, 2015 removal from the position of Program Analyst in the
agency’s Fort Worth Asset Management Division, Southwest Multifamily
Regional Center. Heggins v. Department of Housing and Urban Development ,
MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-16-0072-I-1, Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 1. On
January 14, 2016, the parties executed a settlement agreement resolving the
appeal, and the administrative judge incorporated the agreement into the record
and dismissed the appeal. IAF, Tabs 22-23. The agreement provided, in relevant
part, that the appellant agreed to withdraw her appeal and any other complaints,
grievances, or claims she had filed; and to waive the right to file any other
complaint, claim, lawsuit, grievance, or appeal against the agency regarding any
matter that was or could have been raised through the date of execution of the
agreement, except as necessary to seek enforcement of the agreement.         IAF,
Tab 22 at 5. In exchange, the agency agreed to mitigate the appellant’s removal
to a 74-day suspension, to rescind a July 30, 2015 reprimand and remove all
references to it from the appellant’s official personnel file, and to reassign the
appellant. Id. at 5-6.
      In September 2017, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement of the
settlement agreement.      Heggins v. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-16-0072-C-1, Compliance File (CF),
Tab 1. The administrative judge dismissed the petition for enforcement as moot,
finding that: (1) although the agency had issued a September 25, 2017 proposal
to suspend the appellant for 14 days that referenced the July 30, 2015 reprimand,
it had issued an amended proposal that did not reference the reprimand, and the
appellant had received all of the relief to which she was entitled regarding this
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issue; (2) the agreement did not require the agency to change its timekeeping
records, reflecting that the appellant was absent without official leave (AWOL),
on which the July 30, 2015 reprimand was based; and (3) the appellant’s other
claims regarding the proposed 14-day suspension and retaliation were outside the
scope of the agreement. CF, Tab 15, Compliance Initial Decision (CID) at 3-6.
The compliance initial decision became final on December 4, 2017, when neither
the appellant nor the agency filed a petition for review. CID at 6.
       In February 2018, the appellant filed a second petition for enforcement of
the settlement agreement.      Heggins v. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-16-0072-C-2, Compliance File
(C-2 CF), Tab 1. The administrative judge denied the petition for enforcement,
finding that:   (1) the agreement did not require the agency to change the
appellant’s pay status for 6 hours of AWOL incurred in July 2015, on which the
July 30, 2015 reprimand was based, or for 3 hours of AWOL incurred on
November 12, 2015; and (2) the agency’s placement of the appellant in a non-pay
status for 8 hours on November 13, 2015, the first day of the 74-day suspension
set forth in the agreement, complied with the agreement.             C-2 CF, Tab 9,
Compliance Initial Decision (C-2 CID) at 3-4. The compliance initial decision
became final on May 11, 2018, when neither party filed a petition for review.
C-2 CID at 4.
       In July 2018, the appellant filed a third petition for enforcement of the
settlement agreement, alleging that the agency had subjected her to harassment
and retaliation for filing her prior Board appeal, an equal employment opportunity
(EEO) complaint, and a U.S. district court case.        Heggins v. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-16-0072-C-3,
Compliance File (C-3 CF), Tabs 1-2.          She alleged that the harassment and
retaliation occurred in the form of unwanted verbal remarks and physical contact
from   agency   employees,    a   proposed    14-day   suspension,    placement   on
administrative leave, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation, and a
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second proposal to remove her. C-3 CF, Tabs 1-2, 6-7. The administrative judge
denied the petition, finding that: (1) the appellant had failed to show how the
second proposal to remove her or other instances of purported mistreatment
violated the settlement agreement; (2) her claims of discrimination and retaliation
were outside the scope of the agreement; (3) the appellant’s supervisor’s
statements to the agency’s OIG that the appellant “has been associated with other
work related problems including being absent without leave in 2015,” and that her
“termination was initiated by HUD but later [she] was rehired after she allegedly
filed a complaint for wrongful termination” did not violate the settlement
agreement; and (4) the appellant was barred by collateral estoppel from
challenging the proposal to suspend the appellant for 14 days because the
administrative judge had addressed it in her initial decision regarding her first
petition for enforcement. C-3 CF, Tab 8, Compliance Initial Decision (C -3 CID)
at 5-7.
      The appellant has timely filed a petition for review of the third compliance
initial decision.    Heggins v. Department of Housing and Urban Development ,
MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-16-0072-C-3, Compliance Petition for Review
(CPFR) File, Tab 1. The agency has opposed the petition. CPFR File, Tab 3.

                    DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW
      The Board has the authority to enforce a settlement agreement that has been
entered into the record in the same manner as any final Board decision or order.
Vance v. Department of the Interior, 114 M.S.P.R. 679, ¶ 6 (2010). A settlement
agreement is a contract, and the Board will therefore adjudicate a petition to
enforce a settlement agreement in accordance with contract law.          Id.   In a
compliance action based on a settlement agreement, the burden of proving
noncompliance rests with the party asserting that the agreement has been
breached. Raymond v. Department of the Navy, 116 M.S.P.R. 223, ¶ 4 (2011).
The appellant, as the party asserting the breach, must show that the agency failed
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to abide by the terms of the settlement agreement. Id. The agency nonetheless is
required to produce evidence that it has complied with the settlement agreement.
Id.
       As set forth below, we find each of the appellant’s claims on review to be
without merit, except for her allegation of retaliation following the execution of
the settlement agreement, which warrants the remand of this matter to the
regional office.

The appellant’s claims regarding the agency’s actions prior to the execution of
the January 14, 2016 settlement agreement are waived under the settlement
agreement.
       On review, the appellant details numerous actions taken by the agency that
she alleges are retaliatory. 2 CPFR File, Tab 1 at 4-6. First, the appellant alleges
that, on June 29, 2015, her supervisor changed her schedule without warning, and
that, on or about July 22, 2015, she was falsely accused of being AWOL. Id. at 4.
The appellant also asserts that she reported to the agency’s OIG and to a
congressional member “as a whistleblower,” and that her November 12, 2015
removal was retaliation for these actions. 3 Id. These claims of retaliation prior to
the January 14, 2016 execution of the settlement agreement are foreclosed by the
2
  On review, the appellant does not appear to dispute the administrative judge’s finding
that she is estopped from claiming that the September 25, 2017 proposal to suspend her
for 14 days mentioned the rescinded July 30, 2015 reprimand in violation of the
settlement agreement, and we discern no reason to disturb this ruling, as the issue was
actually litigated and was necessary to the administrative judge’s decision dismissing
the appellant’s first petition for enforcement as moot. C-3 CID at 7; CID at 3-6; see
Hau v. Department of Homeland Security, 123 M.S.P.R. 620, ¶ 13 (2016) (holding that
collateral estoppel is appropriate when: (1) the issue is identical to that involved in the
prior action; (2) the issue was actually litigated in the prior action; (3) the determination
of the issue in the prior action was necessary to the resulting judgment; and (4) the
party against whom issue preclusion is sought had a full and fair opportunity to litigate
the issue in the prior action, either as a party to the earlier action or as one whose
interests were otherwise fully represented in that action), aff’d sub. nom. Bryant v.
Merit Systems Protection Board, 878 F.3d 1320 (Fed. Cir. 2017). The appellant has
also declined to challenge the administrative judge’s finding that the agency did not
improperly reference the July 30, 2015 reprimand or otherwise violate the settlement
agreement in issuing the July 20, 2018 proposal to remove her, and we see no reason to
disturb that finding. C-3 CID at 5-7.
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terms of the settlement agreement.         The settlement agreement provides, in
relevant part, that the appellant “agrees to forever release and waive the right to
file any complaint, claim, lawsuit, grievance, or appeal against the Agency . . .
regarding any matter that was or could have been raised up through the date of
the execution of this Agreement, except as may be necessary to seek enforcement
of the terms of this Agreement.” IAF, Tab 22 at 5. Accordingly, we decline to
consider the appellant’s allegations of retaliation prior to the execution of the
agreement. See, e.g., Clede v. Department of the Air Force, 72 M.S.P.R. 279,
282-83 (1996) (“An appellant’s waiver of Board appeal rights in a settlement
agreement is enforceable and not against public policy if the terms of the waiver
are comprehensive, freely made, and fair, and the execution of the waiver was not
the result of duress or bad faith on the part of the agency”), aff’d, 113 F.3d 1257
(Fed. Cir. 1997) (Table).

The Board lacks jurisdiction over the appellant’s claims of discrimination and
retaliation for protected whistleblowing activity in this compliance proceeding.
      The appellant asserts that she filed EEO complaints in 2015 and 2017 and a
Board appeal in 2015. CPFR File, Tab 1 at 4. She further asserts that, after she
filed her 2015 Board appeal and “won [her] job back,” the “retaliation never
stopped,” and that her new supervisor belittled her and other supervisors spoke
harshly to her.   Id. The appellant asserts that she is the only young, African
American female analyst within a six-state region with a secret clearance.          Id.
She claims that, under a new supervisor, she was denied training, medical
treatment, the ability to care for her mother during surgery, and the ability to
grieve her deceased brother. Id. at 5. She also asserts that her supervisor has lied

3
  The appellant also asserts on review that the agency’s management had “unsavory
alliances” with the union and that she suffered weight loss. CPFR File, Tab 1 at 4. The
appellant did not raise these claims below, and we decline to consider them on review.
See Avansino v. U.S. Postal Service, 3 M.S.P.R. 211, 214 (1980) (providing that, under
5 C.F.R. § 1201.115, the Board will not consider evidence submitted for the first time
with the petition for review absent a showing that it was unavailable before the record
was closed, despite the party’s due diligence).
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and attempted to suspend her for a statement that she did not make and grabbed
her three times, and that the new director is racist.     Id.   She states that she
reported the grabbing incident “to EEO” and that her request to be reassigned
from the department was denied. Id.
      The appellant did not raise before the administrative judge her claims
regarding the denial of training, medical treatment, the ability to care for her
mother, the ability to grieve her brother, or the new director, and we decline to
consider them. See Avansino v. U.S. Postal Service, 3 M.S.P.R. 211, 214 (1980).
To the extent that the appellant alleges that the agency has subjected her to
discrimination on the basis of her race, gender, age, or disability, or retaliation
for her protected EEO activity, the Board does not have jurisdiction over such
claims in the absence of an otherwise appealable action.        Pridgen v. Office of
Management and Budget, 117 M.S.P.R. 665, ¶ 7 (2012) (stating that the Board
does not have jurisdiction over discrimination claims absent an otherwise
appealable action). A breach of a settlement agreement is not an independently
appealable action. Kuykendall v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 68 M.S.P.R.
314, 329 (1995). The administrative judge thus properly declined to consider the
appellant’s claims of discrimination. C-3 CID at 5.
      The appellant also alleges that she was retaliated against for providing the
Board with “whistleblower information” such as the sale of pornographic items at
work. CPFR File, Tab 1 at 5. To the extent that the appellant alleges that the
agency retaliated against her for engaging in protected whistleblowing activity,
the Board is similarly without jurisdiction to consider the appellant’s allegations
in determining whether the agency breached the settlement agreement. See Wren
v. Department of the Army, 2 M.S.P.R. 1, 2 (1980) (holding that prohibited
personnel practices under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b) are not an independent source of
Board jurisdiction), aff’d, 681 F.2d 867 (D.C. Cir. 1982); see also Kuykendall,
68 M.S.P.R. at 329 (providing that the appellant’s claims under 5 U.S.C.
§ 2302(b)(1) and (b)(9) were immaterial to the issue of whether the agency
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breached the settlement agreement).         Should the appellant wish to file an
individual right of action appeal claiming reprisal for whistleblowing, she may do
so consistent with statute and the Board’s regulations.

The appellant’s claims of retaliation following the execution of the settlement
agreement warrant the remand of this matter for further adjudication.
      Finally, the appellant alleges that the agency engaged in unlawful
retaliation when it failed to execute a proposed settlement agreement, placed her
on administrative leave, initiated an OIG investigation, denied her legal
representation, did not inform her of her Weingarten rights, forced her to give
responses to an OIG investigator, gave false descriptions of her, and proposed her
removal on July 20, 2018. 4 CPFR File, Tab 1 at 5-6.
      The appellant raised in her petition for review, and throughout this
compliance proceeding, the claim that the agency has retaliated against her for
filing her Board appeal and returning to work as the result of the settlement of her
appeal. Id. at 4; C-3 CF, Tabs 1-2. Implicit in any settlement agreement is a
requirement that the parties fulfill their respective contractual obligations in good
faith. Kuykendall, 68 M.S.P.R. at 323. Even if an agreement does not explicitly
prohibit retaliation or harassment, an agency’s post-settlement harassment and
retaliation against an appellant may constitute bad faith in implementing a
reinstatement term, and thereby establish agency noncompliance with the
settlement agreement. Stasiuk v. Department of the Army, 118 M.S.P.R. 1, ¶ 7
(2012); Kuykendall, 68 M.S.P.R. at 323-24. To establish that an agency breached
the implied covenant of good faith with respect to a reinstatement term, an
appellant must show that the agency’s proven retaliatory or harassing actions,
4
  The appellant appears to refer to National Labor Relations Board v. Weingarten, Inc. ,
420 U.S. 251 (1975), which held that an employee has a right to union representation
during an investigatory interview when the employee reasonably believes that discipline
may result. Weingarten, 420 U.S. at 267. Although Weingarten only applies to private
sector employees, Congress has granted Federal employees Weingarten-type rights, as
set forth in 5 U.S.C. § 7114(a)(2). The appellant did not allege below that the agency
did not inform her of her Weingarten rights and thus we decline to consider this claim.
See Avansino, 3 M.S.P.R. at 214.
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under the totality of the circumstances, amounted to an unjustified and substantial
deprivation of rights as an incumbent of the position in question.         Stasiuk,
118 M.S.P.R. 1, ¶ 7. A mere showing of some frictions, misunderstandings, or
unpleasantness between the appellant and other employees or managers is
insufficient to meet this burden. Id.
      Here, the administrative judge did not consider whether the appellant’s
claims of retaliation and harassment were allegations that the agency acted in bad
faith in implementing the settlement agreement. The record is not sufficiently
developed to resolve this issue in the first instance on review. See Williams v.
Department of the Navy, 79 M.S.P.R. 364, 367 (1998) (remanding for further
development of the record a claim that the agency acted in bad faith in
implementing a reinstatement order when the agency did not respond to the
appellant’s allegations of harassment and retaliation).   In addition, neither the
administrative judge nor the agency apprised the appellant of the means to
establish noncompliance with a settlement agreement based upon bad faith.
Accordingly, this matter must be remanded to the regional office for further
adjudication regarding this issue. See Stasiuk, 118 M.S.P.R. 1, ¶ 8 (remanding a
compliance matter for further adjudication when the administrative judge did not
provide notice to the appellant of the means to establish noncompliance based
upon bad faith). On remand, the administrative judge shall afford the parties an
opportunity to present evidence and argument as to whether the agency violated
the implied covenant of good faith in implementing the terms of the settlement
agreement.
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                                    ORDER
      For the reasons discussed above, we REMAND this case to the Dallas
Regional Office for further adjudication in accordance with this Remand Order.
In the remand initial decision, the administrative judge may reincorporate prior
findings as appropriate, consistent with this Remand Order.

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