Court Opinion

ID: 9373587
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-22 16:06:02.13132+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:42.341868
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                        MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

     CASANOVA HAMBRICK,                              DOCKET NUMBER
                 Appellant,                          DC-3443-17-0481-I-1

                  v.

     UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE,                   DATE: July 14, 2022
                   Agency.

             THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

           Silas Burgess, III, New York, New York, for the appellant.

           Greg Allan Ribreau, Esquire, Charlotte, North Carolina, for the agency.

                                           BEFORE

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

                                       FINAL ORDER

¶1         The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which
     dismissed his appeal for lack of jurisdiction. For the reasons set forth below, we
     GRANT the petition, VACATE the initial decision, and FORWARD 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        A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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).
                                                                                         2

     appellant’s allegations of agency noncompliance with a settlement agreement to
     the Washington Regional Office for docketing as a petition for enforcement.

                             BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
¶2        On February 14, 2014, the appellant filed a Board appeal of the agency’s
     February 11, 2014 decision to remove him for alleged misconduct. Hambrick v.
     U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket No. DC-0752-14-0454-I-1, Initial Appeal File
     (0454 IAF), Tab 1. On November 6, 2014, the parties entered into a settle ment
     agreement that resolved that appeal. 0454 IAF, Tab 24. The following day, the
     administrative judge issued an initial decision that dismissed the appeal as settled
     and informed the parties that the settlement agreement had been entered into the
     record for enforcement purposes. 0454 IAF, Tab 25, Initial Decision. The initial
     decision became final when neither party filed a petition for review.
¶3        On September 17, 2015, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement of the
     settlement agreement.      Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket
     No. DC-0752-14-0454-C-1, Compliance File (0454 C-1 CF), Tab 1. On October
     21, 2015, the administrative judge issued a compliance initial decision, finding
     the agency in compliance and denying the petition for enforcement.         0454 C-1
     CF, Tab 6, Compliance Initial Decision. The appellant filed a petition for review,
     in which he made additional allegations of noncompliance, and on March 8, 2016,
     the full Board issued a final order denying the appellant’s petition for review and
     forwarding   to   the   regional   office   the   appellant’s   new   allegations   of
     noncompliance, contending that, among other things, the agency had failed to pay
     him $156 and failed to restore all of the annual leave to which he was entitled .
     Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket No. DC-0752-14-0454-C-1, Final
     Order (Mar. 8, 2016). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed
     the Board’s decision on appeal. Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, 662 F. App’x
     938 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
                                                                                      3

¶4         After docketing the forwarded compliance matter and affording the parties
     an opportunity to submit evidence and argument, the administrative judge issued
     an initial decision, denying the appellant’s second petition for enforcement on
     June 8, 2016. Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket No. DC-0752-14-
     0454-C-2, Compliance File, Tab 6, Compliance Initial Decision. The appellant
     petitioned for review.     Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket
     No. DC-0752-14-0454-C-2, Petition for Review File, Tab 1. The Board denied
     the petition, finding that the agency was in compliance regarding the payment of
     $156 and the restoration of annual leave. Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB
     Docket No. DC-0752-14-0454-C-2, Final Order, ¶ 5 (Jan. 6, 2017). Regarding
     the appellant’s contention that he was entitled to compensatory damages because
     of the agency’s delay in complying, the Board found that it lacked the authority to
     award damages for the breach of a settlement agreement. Id., ¶ 6. The Board
     found further that, to the extent the appellant was contending that the agency
     miscalculated his back pay, that matter was decided on the merits in his first
     petition for enforcement, and the appellant was precluded from relitigating the
     issue. Id.
¶5         On May 1, 2017, the appellant filed a new submission with the regional
     office, alleging that the agency had breached the settlement agreement by
     improperly reporting his income for 2014 to the Internal Revenue Service,
     causing him to suffer penalties that he learned of by notice dated April 10, 2017,
     and caused his medical and life insurance policies to be ca ncelled. Hambrick v.
     U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket No. DC-3443-17-0481-I-1, Initial Appeal File
     (0481 IAF), Tabs 1-2, 5.     The regional office did not docket the filing as a
     petition for enforcement, however. 0481 IAF, Tab 3. The administrative judge
     dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, noting that the appeal was not
     docketed as a petition for enforcement in light of the Board’s prior compliance
     decisions. 0481 IAF, Tab 15, Initial Decision (0481 ID) at 1 n.1.
                                                                                            4

¶6         The appellant has petitioned for review, rearguing the issues that he raised
     below regarding his tax liability and asserting that the agency is in violation of
     the settlement agreement because it did not contribute matching funds to his
     Thrift Savings Plan account or deposit breakage, the difference between the value
     of shares of the applicable investment fund that would have been purchased had
     the contribution been made on the “as of” date and the value of the shares of the
     same investment fund on the date the contribution was posted to the account.
     Hambrick v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket No DC-3443-17-0481-I-1,
     Petition for Review File (0481 PFR File), Tab 1 at 4-5; see 5 C.F.R. § 1605.1(b);
     see also 5 C.F.R. § 1605.13.      The agency has responded in opposition to the
     petition. 0481 PFR File, Tab 3.
¶7         The appellant’s submissions below and on petition for review are clearly
     related to alleged noncompliance by the agency with the settlement agreement
     that the parties entered into in 2014.      0481 IAF, Tabs 1-2, 5; 0481 PFR File,
     Tab 1.   Thus, the administrative judge should have processed the matter as
     another petition for enforcement of the settlement agreement.            Moreover, the
     issues that the appellant raises in his filing do not appear to be identical to those
     adjudicated by the Board in his prior petitions for enforcement. 2 It is premature
     to make any findings on the appellant’s allegation of noncompliance with the
     settlement agreement because the parties have not been afforded the opportunity
     to submit evidence and argument on the compliance issues raised.

     2
        The administrative judge’s footnote attempting to explain his reasons for not
     adjudicating the appeal as a petition for enforcement merely sets forth the case history
     and does not justify his approach to the case. 0481 ID at 1 n.1. To the extent that
     issues raised by the appellant have been adjudicated in prior petitions for enforcement,
     the Board has found that such a situation is properly addressed under the doctrine of res
     judicata. See Senyszyn v. Department of the Treasury, 113 M.S.P.R. 453, ¶¶ 9, 12
     (2010).
                                                                                           5

                                            ORDER
¶8         Accordingly, we vacate the initial decision’s dismissal of the appeal for
     lack of jurisdiction and forward the matter to the Washington Regional Office for
     docketing as a petition for enforcement of the settlement agreement in Hambrick
     v. U.S. Postal Service, MSPB Docket No. DC-0752-14-0454-I-1, and for further
     adjudication in accordance with this Order.

                              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

     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.
                                                                                         6

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
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. ____ , 137 S. Ct. 1975 (2017).                 If you have a
representative in this case, and your representative receives this decision before
                                                                                  7

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
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
                                                                                      8

      (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. 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.

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.
                                                                              9

      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.
      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.