Court Opinion

ID: 9964590
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-30 15:00:43.072904+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:25:36.587786
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                   MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

NEGAR HESSAMI ,                                 DOCKET NUMBER
            Appellant,                          PH-1221-17-0271-M-2

             v.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS                          DATE: April 29, 2024
  AFFAIRS,
            Agency.

          THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

      Kellee B. Kruse , Esquire, and R. Scott Oswald , Esquire, Washington, D.C.,
        for the appellant.

      Kaitlin Fitzgibbon , Esquire, Buffalo, New York, for the agency.

      Shelly S. Glenn , Esquire, Baltimore, Maryland, for the agency.

                                      BEFORE

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

                                  FINAL ORDER

      The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which
denied her request for corrective action in her individual right of action (IRA)
appeal.   Generally, we grant petitions such as this one only in the following

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   A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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

circumstances: the initial decision contains erroneous findings of material fact;
the initial decision is based on an erroneous interpretation of statute or regulation
or the erroneous application of the law to the facts of the case; the administrative
judge’s rulings during either the course of the appeal or the initial decision
were not consistent with required procedures or involved an abuse of discretion,
and the resulting error affected the outcome of the case; or new and material
evidence or legal argument is available that, despite the petitioner’s due
diligence, was not available when the record closed.        Title 5 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, section 1201.115 (5 C.F.R. § 1201.115).             After fully
considering the filings in this appeal, we conclude that the petitioner has not
established any basis under section 1201.115 for granting the petition for review.
Therefore, we DENY the petition for review. Except as expressly MODIFIED to
VACATE the administrative judge’s analysis of whether the agency proved by
clear and convincing evidence that it would have taken the same personnel
actions in the absence of the disclosures, we AFFIRM the initial decision.
      The appellant was employed with the agency as the Chief of Pharmacy
Service at the agency’s medical center in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Hessami
v. Department of Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-17-0271-W-1,
Initial Appeal File, Tab 1. In her appeal, she alleged that she was detailed out of
her position, suspended for 14 days, and demoted to a nonsupervisory position in
reprisal for her disclosures concerning the prescribing practices of a particular
physician and the effect those practices had on the agency’s budget for
Hepatitis C treatment.    Id. at 17-21. After the administrative judge originally
dismissed her appeal for lack of jurisdiction for failing to nonfrivolously allege
that she made a protected disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8), Hessami v.
Department of Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket No. PH-1221-17-0271-W-2,
Appeal File (W-2 AF), Tab 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
vacated that finding, found that the appellant nonfrivolously alleged that she
made a protected disclosure, and remanded the appeal for further adjudication,
                                                                                   3

Hessami v. Merit Systems Protection Board, 979 F.3d 1362, 1369-71 (Fed. Cir.
2020). On remand, and following a hearing, the administrative judge issued an
initial decision finding that the appellant established jurisdiction over her appeal
by making sufficient nonfrivolous allegations but concluding that she failed to
prove by preponderant evidence that she made a protected disclosure under
5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) that was a contributing factor in her detail, suspension, and
demotion. Hessami v. Department of Veterans Affairs, PH-1221-17-0271-M-2,
Refiled Remand File (M-2 AF), Tab 29, Initial Decision (ID) at 8-18.            The
administrative judge further found that the agency proved by clear and convincing
evidence that it would have taken the same actions even in the absence of the
appellant’s disclosures, and he denied the appellant’s request for corrective
action. ID at 18-27.

The administrative judge correctly found that the appellant failed to establish a
prima facie case of whistleblower reprisal.
      In the initial decision, the administrative judge considered whether the
appellant proved that her disclosures regarding a particular physician’s
prescribing practices and the effect of those practices on the agency’s Hepatitis C
treatment budget constituted disclosures of wrongdoing that she reasonably
believed evidenced a violation of law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement,
a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger
to public health or safety pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8).         ID at 10-18.
He analyzed each of these categories of wrongdoing separately and found that the
appellant failed to prove by preponderant evidence that she reasonably believed
that she was disclosing any of the above-referenced categories of wrongdoing.
Id.
      On review, the appellant challenges the administrative judge’s findings as
inconsistent with the Federal Circuit’s opinion, particularly with respect to the
categories of gross mismanagement and a substantial and specific danger to
                                                                                        4

public health or safety.      Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 1 at 14-16. 2
Regarding the claim of gross mismanagement, the Federal Circuit stated in its
opinion that “[a] reasonable person could conclude that the [] prescribing practice
constituted gross mismanagement because the unjustified higher cost of therapies
was likely to have a substantial detrimental impact on the [agency’s] ability to
complete its mission of providing care to [Hepatitis C] patients because the
prescriptions were rapidly depleting” the budget.         Hessami, 979 F.3d at 1370.
With respect to a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, the
court found that her alleged disclosure “that a specific [G]overnment physician is
directing patients to take medications with known risks and side effects for an
unnecessarily long period of time, paired with her reasonable belief that there was
no clinical justification for doing so, does not represent a ‘negligible, remote, or
ill-defined peril.’” Id. at 1370 (internal citations omitted). Thus, the appellant

2
  In her petition for review, the appellant also challenges the administrative judge’s
findings that she failed to prove that she reasonably believed she was disclosing a
violation of law, rule, or regulation and a gross waste of funds. PFR File, Tab 1
at 14-15. Regarding her argument that she disclosed a violation of a law, rule, or
regulation, she argues for the first time on review that the agency’s treatment directives
constitute a “rule” under 5 U.S.C. § 551(4). Id. at 14. Generally, the Board will not
consider an argument raised for the first time on review absent a showing that it is
based on new and material evidence that was not previously available despite the
party’s due diligence. See Clay v. Department of the Army, 123 M.S.P.R. 245, ¶ 6
(2016). The appellant has not made such a showing. In any event, the appellant has not
provided any authority demonstrating that the Board has interpreted the word “rule” in
the context of the whistleblower reprisal statutes in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 551(4),
and, beyond her bare assertion, she has not explained how the agency’s Hepatitis C
treatment guidance would qualify under the definition provided there. Thus, this
argument does not provide a basis to disturb the initial decision. We have reviewed her
remaining arguments on review regarding whether her disclosures evidenced a violation
of law, rule, and regulation and a gross waste of funds but find that they also do not
provide a basis to disturb the initial decision. See Crosby v. U.S. Postal Service,
74 M.S.P.R. 98, 105-06 (1997) (finding no reason to disturb the administrative judge’s
findings when she considered the evidence as a whole, drew appropriate inferences, and
reached well-reasoned conclusions); Broughton v. Department of Health & Human
Services, 33 M.S.P.R. 357, 359 (1987) (same). The appellant does not specifically
challenge the administrative judge’s finding that she failed to prove that she reasonably
believed she disclosed an abuse of authority, and we discern no basis to disturb that
finding here.
                                                                                     5

argues on review that, based on the Federal Circuit’s assessment of her
disclosures, she made protected disclosures of gross mismanagement and a
substantial and specific danger to public health or safety under 5 U.S.C.
§ 2302(b)(8).
         The appellant’s arguments do not persuade us to disturb the administrative
judge’s finding that she failed to make a protected disclosure.         Notably, the
court’s statements regarding the disclosures were made as a part of a
jurisdictional finding and, by definition, did not include a weighing of the record
evidence. See id. at 1364 (holding that, when determining whether an appellant
has nonfrivolously alleged that she disclosed information that she reasonably
believed evidenced misconduct under the whistleblower protection statutes, the
Board’s inquiry should be limited to evaluating whether the appellant has alleged
sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim that is plausible on its
face).    Indeed, as reiterated in Hessami, to establish jurisdiction, an appellant
need only assert nonfrivolous allegations—allegations that are not vague,
conclusory, or facially insufficient—that she made a protected disclosure that was
a contributing factor to a reprisal. Id. at 1367; see 5 C.F.R. § 1201.4(s). When
seeking to prove the merits of a whistleblower reprisal claim, however, an
appellant must show by preponderant evidence—the degree of evidence that a
reasonable person, considering the record as a whole, would accept as sufficient
to find that a contested fact is more likely to be true than untrue—that she made a
protected disclosure that was a contributing factor in a personnel action taken
against her.     Smith v. Department of the Army, 2022 MSPB 4, ¶ 13 & n.7;
5 C.F.R. § 1201.4(q). Thus, at this stage, the administrative judge was tasked—
after weighing both parties’ evidence— with determining whether the appellant
proved by preponderant evidence that she made a disclosure that she reasonably
believed evidenced gross mismanagement or a substantial and specific danger to
public health or safety. See Smith, 2022 MSPB 4, ¶¶ 13-14; 5 C.F.R. § 1201.4(q).
                                                                                   6

      An integral part of a disclosure of gross mismanagement is that the action
or inaction disclosed creates a substantial risk of significant adverse impact on
the agency’s ability to accomplish its mission. Cassidy v. Department of Justice,
118 M.S.P.R. 74, ¶ 8 (2012). Here, the agency’s mission is to treat its veteran
patients. The appellant’s disclosure related directly to a physician’s practices in
treating his patients and did not include allegations that such treatment was
ineffective or medically harmful. Thus, the content of the appellant’s disclosure
failed to demonstrate that the physician’s practices were detrimental to the
agency’s mission to care for and treat veteran patients. W-2 AF, Tab 3 at 21, 23.
To the extent the alleged wrongdoing threatened the agency’s budget and, by
extension, its ability to accomplish its mission, the record also establishes that,
given the appellant’s position with the agency as the Chief of Pharmacy Service
and her involvement in the Hepatitis C treatment program, she would have known
that the prescribing practices and their relationship to the budget were constantly
under review by the agency’s Hepatitis Interdisciplinary Team (HIT), which is
comprised of prescribing providers, representatives from the fiscal offices, social
workers, nursing staff, and representatives from the pharmacy, and that every
dollar and pill was carefully tracked and every prescribing decision thoroughly
considered. Id. at 20-21, 72-75, 157. Given this oversight and the appellant’s
familiarity with the same, we discern no error in the administrative judge’s
finding that the appellant failed to prove that she reasonably believed that the
wrongdoing she disclosed evidenced gross mismanagement. ID at 15.
      Regarding a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety,
although we recognize that the appellant’s allegations may have been sufficient to
constitute a nonfrivolous allegation of a protected disclosure adequate to establish
jurisdiction over her claims in the instant appeal, the Federal Circuit has
explained that specific evidence of detailed circumstances giving rise to a
likelihood of impending harm is needed to demonstrate by preponderant evidence
that a disclosure evidences a substantial and specific danger to public health or
                                                                                       7

safety.   See Chambers v. Department of the Interior, 602 F.3d 1370, 1376
(Fed. Cir. 2010). Here, the record does not demonstrate that the appellant could
have reasonably believed that impeding harm to the agency, to its patients, or to
the public was likely.       Again, the record demonstrates that the physician
treatment plans for individual patients were regularly reviewed and approved by
the HIT and that the agency regularly monitored the effect the high costs of its
Hepatitis C treatment plans had on the budget. W-2 AF, Tab 3 at 20-22, 157.
Moreover, the appellant conceded that she did not have any information that
patients were put at risk by the physician’s treatment plan, and she admitted that
no patients were denied treatment because of the budget issues she disclosed.
Id. at 57-58.   Accordingly, we discern no error in the administrative judge’s
finding that the appellant failed to prove by preponderant evidence that she
reasonably believed that she disclosed a substantial and specific danger to public
safety or health. ID at 15-16.
      Based on the foregoing, we agree with the administrative judge that the
appellant failed to establish a prima facie case of whistleblower reprisal. 3

We vacate the administrative judge’s finding that the appellant proved by clear
and convincing evidence that it would have taken the same personnel actions
against the appellant even in the absence of her disclosure.
      Although the administrative judge correctly found that the appellant failed
to establish a prima facie case of whistleblower reprisal, he nonetheless
proceeded to consider whether the agency met its burden of showing by clear and
convincing evidence that it would have detailed, suspended, and demoted the
3
  In the initial decision, the administrative judge proceeded to consider whether the
appellant proved by preponderant evidence that her disclosures were a contributing
factor in a personnel action. ID at 18-21; see Smith, 2022 MSPB 4, ¶ 13. He concluded
that, although the appellant met the knowledge/timing test, she failed to meet any of the
other factors relevant to determining whether she met the contributing factor element.
ID at 19-21. Although we conclude this finding is in error, see 5 U.S.C. § 1221(e)(1)
(A)-(B) (providing that the knowledge/timing test is sufficient to meet the contributing
factor element), we need not determine the effect of this error because we otherwise
agree with the administrative judge that the appellant failed to prove that she made a
protected disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8).
                                                                                      8

appellant even in the absence of any protected whistleblowing activity.
ID at 21-27 (citing Carr v. Social Security Administration, 185 F.3d 1318
(Fed. Cir. 1999)).    Because we agree with the administrative judge that the
appellant failed to establish a prima facie case of whistleblower reprisal, it was
improper for the administrative judge to consider whether the agency met its
burden to show by clear and convincing evidence that it would have taken the
same action in the absence of the appellant’s protected activity.        See 5 U.S.C.
§ 1221(e)(2); Clarke v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 121 M.S.P.R. 154, ¶ 19
n.10 (2014), aff’d per curium, 623 F. App’x 1016 (Fed. Cir. 2015). 4
Accordingly, we vacate the initial decision’s finding that the agency showed by
clear and convincing evidence that it would have detailed, suspended, and
demoted the appellant even in the absence of her disclosures.

                         NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS 5
      The initial decision, as supplemented by this Final Order, constitutes the
Board’s final decision in this matter.      5 C.F.R. § 1201.113.      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

4
  Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has disagreed with the
Board’s decision in Clarke, it did so on other grounds. Delgado v. Merit Systems
Protection Board, 880 F.3d 913, 923-25 (7th Cir.), as amended on denial of reh’g and
reh’g en banc (7th Cir. 2018).
5
  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

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.
      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
                                                                                   10

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
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
                                                                                     11

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 the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or any court of appeals of
competent jurisdiction. 6   The court of appeals must receive your petition for

6
   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.
                                                                                12

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
Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that
any attorney will accept representation in a given case.
                                                                       13

      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.