Court Opinion

ID: 9378376
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-10 08:00:17.599465+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:20.854842
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                   MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

MARIA DE LA CRUZ MAGOWAN,                       DOCKET NUMBER
              Appellant,                        DC-1221-15-0671-B-1

             v.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION                        DATE: March 9, 2023
  AGENCY,
            Agency.

        THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

      Maria de la Cruz MaGowan, Bethesda, Maryland, pro se.

      Alexandra Meighan and Edward O. Sweeney, Washington, D.C., 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   A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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         The appellant has filed a petition for review of the remand initial decision,
     which denied her request for corrective action in this individual right of action
     (IRA) appeal. Generally, we grant petitions such as this one only in the following
     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 adm inistrative
     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 and AFFIRM the initial decision,
     which is now the Board’s final decision. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113(b).

                                      BACKGROUND
¶2         The Board remanded this IRA appeal because we found that the appellant
     had exhausted her administrative remedies before the Office of Special Counsel
     and made nonfrivolous allegations that she had made a protected disclosure that
     was a contributing factor in a personnel action, thus establishing jurisdiction over
     the appeal.    MaGowan v. Environmental Protection Agency, MSPB Docket
     No. DC-1221-15-0671-W-1, Remand Order (June 7, 2016) (Remand Order).
¶3         On remand, the appellant confirmed that she did not wish to request a
     hearing in the matter.    MaGowan v. Environmental Protection Agency, MSPB
     Docket No. DC-1221-15-0671-B-1, Remand File (RF), Tab 3, Tab 18 at 5, Tab 19
     at 1. In keeping with the appellant’s wishes, the administrative judge canceled
                                                                                        3

     the hearing and scheduled a close-of-record conference at which he enumerated
     the issues presented in this appeal, set forth the relevant burdens of proof, and set
     a date by which the parties were required to submit their evidence and argument
     before the record closed. RF, Tabs 19, 23. In his summary of the close-of-record
     conference, the administrative judge identified the following issues: (1) whether
     the appellant made a protected disclosure under             5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8);
     (2) whether the appellant’s protected disclosure was a contributing fa ctor in the
     alleged personnel action—the creation of a hostile work environment; and (3) if
     so, whether the agency can show by clear and convincing evidence that it would
     have taken the same action absent the protected disclosure.       RF, Tab 23 at 1.
     Both parties made close-of-record submissions and neither party objected to the
     administrative judge’s recitation of the issues presented in the appeal.         RF,
     Tabs 24-25.
¶4         In a remand initial decision based on the written record, the administrative
     judge found that, although the appellant established that she made a protected
     disclosure, she failed to establish by preponderant evidence that the agency took
     or failed to take a personnel action against her.     RF, Tab 26, Remand Initial
     Decision (RID) at 6-17. As to the personnel action, he determined that each of
     the appellant’s allegations, considered both individually and collectively, lacked
     the severity to constitute a hostile work environment. RID at 7-17. He further
     found that, even if the appellant had met her burden as to the personnel action,
     she failed to establish that her protected disclosure was a contributing factor in
     the alleged personnel action. RID at 17-19.
¶5         The appellant has filed a petition for review. Remand Petition for Review
     (RPFR) File, Tab 1 at 1. On review, she contends that the administrative judge
     either ignored or did not accept her witnesses and evidence, and also denied her
     right to discovery. She argues that the administrative judge arbitrarily considered
     events other than the three instances that she alleged she suffered from her
     supervisor’s violent behavior, and she asserts that he abused his discretion in
                                                                                       4

     conducting the appeal. Id. at 2-3. She also contends that the administrative judge
     failed to require the agency to establish by clear and convincing evidence that it
     took similar actions against employees who are not whistleblowe rs but are
     similarly situated, and challenges his interpretation of the evidence. Id. at 3-5.
     The agency has filed a response in opposition to the appellant’s petition for
     review. RPFR File, Tab 3.

                       DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW
¶6        When reviewing the merits of an IRA appeal, the Board must determine
     whether the appellant has established by preponderant evidence that she made a
     protected disclosure that was a contributing factor in the agency’s decision to take
     or fail to take a personnel action.    E.g., Aquino v. Department of Homeland
     Security, 121 M.S.P.R. 35, ¶ 10 (2014). A preponderance of the evidence is the
     degree of relevant 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. Id. If the appellant meets that burden, the Board must order
     corrective action unless the agency can establish by clear an d convincing
     evidence that it would have taken the same personnel action in the absence of the
     disclosure. Id.

     The appellant met her burden of establishing that she made a protected
     disclosure.
¶7        In the remand initial decision, the administrative judge fo und that the
     appellant met her burden of establishing by preponderant evidence that she made
     a protected disclosure when, in April 2003, she disclosed to the agency’s Office
     of Inspector General (OIG) alleged agency wrongdoing.                RID at 6 -7.
     Specifically, the administrative judge found that a disinterested observer with
     knowledge of the essential facts known to and readily ascertainable by that
     individual could reasonably conclude that the agency’s actions described by the
     appellant to its OIG in April 2003 evidenced a violation of law or gross waste of
                                                                                         5

     funds. RID at 7. Neither party contests these findings on review, and we discern
     no basis to disturb them.

     The appellant did not meet her burden of establishing that she was subjected to a
     personnel action.
¶8        Under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), 3 a “personnel action” is
     defined to include, among other enumerated actions, “any other significant
     change   in   duties,   responsibilities,   or   working   conditions.”   5     U.S.C.
     § 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii). The legislative history of the 1994 amendment to the WPA
     indicates that “any other significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working
     conditions” should be interpreted broadly, to include “any harassment o r
     discrimination that could have a chilling effect on whistleblowing or otherwise
     undermine the merit system and should be determined on a case -by-case basis.”
     140 Cong. Rec. H11,419, H11,421 (daily ed. Oct. 7, 1994) (statement of
     Rep. McCloskey); see Skarada v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2022 MSPB
     17, ¶ 14; Savage v. Department of the Army, 122 M.S.P.R. 612, ¶ 23 (2015),
     overruled in part by Pridgen v. Office of Management and Budget, 2022 MSPB
     31, ¶¶ 23-25; Shivaee v. Department of the Navy, 74 M.S.P.R. 383, 388 (1997).
¶9        However, notwithstanding the broad interpretation accorded to the term
     “significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions,” not every
     agency action is a “personnel action” under the WPA. Skarada, 2022 MSPB 17,
     ¶ 15; see King v. Department of Health and Human Services, 133 F.3d 1450,
     1452-53 (Fed. Cir. 1998).         Rather, an agency action must have practical
     consequence for the employee to constitute a personnel action.                Skarada,
     2022 MSPB 17, ¶ 15.         In determining whether an appellant has suffer ed a
     “significant change” in her duties, responsibilities, or working conditions, the
     Board must consider the alleged agency actions both collectively and

     3
      The WPA has been amended several times, including by the Whistleblower Protection
     Enhancement Act. The references herein to the WPA include those amendments, which
     do not affect any issue pertinent to this appeal.
                                                                                               6

      individually.   Id., ¶ 16; see Holderfield v. Merit Systems Protection Board,
      326 F.3d 1207, 1209 (Fed. Cir. 2003). A number of agency action s may amount
      to a covered “significant change” personnel action collectively, even if they are
      not covered personnel actions individually. Skarada, 2022 MSPB 17, ¶ 18. In
      sum, only agency actions that, individually or collectively, have practical and
      significant effects on the overall nature and quality of an employee’s working
      conditions, duties, or responsibilities will be found to constitute a personnel
      action covered by section 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii). Id., ¶ 16.
¶10         Here, the administrative judge found that the appellant’s claim of a hostile
      work environment involved three separate episodes. RID at 8. In the first of
      these episodes, the appellant made general and conclusory allegations of
      harassment by her supervisor, but she provided few details of the particular
      incidents involved except for a June 2010 incident when the appellant alleged that
      the supervisor called her stupid and threw a telephone at her. RID at 8-9; RF,
      Tab 24 at 15. Given the lack of details regarding this episode in the record, the
      administrative judge determined that it was insufficiently severe to comprise a
      hostile work environment, finding that the episode amounted , at most, to the
      appellant’s supervisor yelling at her, calling her stupid, and shoving an office
      telephone in her direction. RID at 14. On that basis, he found that a reasonable
      person would not find that the terms and conditions of her employment changed
      as a result of this encounter.       Id.   We agree.     Given the lack of detail and
      corroboration in the record, 4 we find that this does not amount to a significant
      agency action that, in and of itself, could give rise to an alleged hostile work
      environment.     See, e.g., Shivaee, 74 M.S.P.R. at 388-89 (finding that only a

      4
        For example, the account of this incident in the declaration of a union steward that the
      appellant submitted at the close of the record is merely a recitation of the appellant’s
      allegations and does not indicate that the declarant witnessed any of th is episode herself
      or that she spoke with anyone besides the appellant who was present during the
      incident. RF, Tab 24 at 23-25.
                                                                                          7

      significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions may
      constitute a personnel action under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii)).
¶11         Second, the appellant identified a November 21, 2014 incident in which her
      supervisor called her into the supervisor’s office to discuss an email that the
      appellant sent to a colleague. RID at 9-10; RF, Tab 24 at 15. In that episode, the
      appellant alleged that her supervisor yelled at her, invaded her personal space,
      and then moved the interaction outside the supervisor’s office, where the
      appellant alleged that the supervisor assumed a pose that frightened her, and she
      concluded that her supervisor wished to engage in a physical fight . RID at 10-11;
      RF, Tab 24 at 17-18. The administrative judge found that, despite the appellant’s
      assertions of violent behavior and assault, the record failed to show that any
      physical contact took place.    RID at 12.     He again found that the appellant’s
      contentions were uncorroborated in the record, observing that her most
      contemporaneous account of the episode, set forth in an email to her second-level
      supervisor, failed to address the incident, despite the fact that it had allegedly
      taken place just an hour earlier, and she instead raised it for the first time several
      days later in a complaint to the OIG. RID at 13; RF, Tab 23 at 13, 22-23, Tab 25
      at 30, 32-33. Thus, the administrative judge found the appellant’s supervisor’s
      contemporaneous account of the incident more credible and, by contrast, found
      that the appellant’s assertion that her supervisor essentially adopted a fighter’s
      pose in a public area of the office was implausible. RID at 13-14. Although the
      appellant contests the administrative judge’s description of the physical space in
      which this episode occurred, as well as the conclusions drawn by the agency’s
      investigation of it, the only evidence she cites to substantiate her disagreement
      with these conclusions is the declaration of a union steward who the appellant
      consulted after the June 2010 incident recounted above. RPFR File, Tab 1 at 4;
      RF, Tab 24 at 23-25. The steward’s declaration not only fails to specifically
      address this episode, but also fails to provide any reason to upset the
      administrative judge’s conclusions. RF, Tab 24 at 23-25. Again, given the scant
                                                                                        8

      evidence supporting the appellant’s version of this episode, we also find that she
      has not shown that it amounts to a significant agency action that could establish a
      hostile work environment. See, e.g., Shivaee, 74 M.S.P.R. at 388-89.
¶12        Third, the administrative judge considered the appellant’s allegation that, in
      September 2010, her supervisor wrongfully denied her 2 days of annual leave.
      RID at 11-12; RF, Tab 24 at 15. Although the appellant did not include this in
      her iteration of what she called the “current issue” and the administrative judge
      questioned the relevance of this allegation to the appellant’s contentions of
      harassment and a violent work setting, he nevertheless included it in his analysis
      of the appellant’s claims, noting the Board’s instruction to consider this claim on
      remand as part of his analysis of the appellant’s allegations of a hostile work
      environment.   RID at 12; RF, Tab 24 at 15-16; Remand Order, ¶ 5 n.4.          The
      administrative judge found that this “discrete non-physical act” lacked the
      requisite severity and was unrelated to the other events the appellant cited in
      alleging a hostile work environment.       RID at 15.     The appellant does not
      challenge this finding on review, and we find no reason to upset the
      administrative judge’s findings on this point. Thus, we find that none of these
      three episodes amounts to a significant agency action that, in and of itself, might
      give rise to an alleged hostile work environment. See, e.g., Shivaee, 74 M.S.P.R.
      at 388-89.
¶13        In addition to finding that these three episodes did not individually amount
      to a significant change in the appellant’s duties, responsibilities, or working
      conditions, the administrative judge also found that, even when considered
      collectively, these three events were not so severe that a reasonable person would
      believe they altered the terms and conditions of her employment with the agency.
      RID at 15-16. Instead, he found them typical of common interaction between a
      supervisor and an employee regarding typical workplace issues involving
      expressions of frustration. RID at 16. Although the appellant’s relationship with
      her supervisor is unmistakably contentious, we agree with the administrative
                                                                                      9

      judge that such isolated incidents, even when viewed collectively, cannot aptly be
      described as serious or significant enough to establish a hostile work
      environment. Id. We also agree that the incidents did not alter the terms and
      conditions of the appellant’s employment.      Id.   These three incidents were
      unrelated to each other and happened over a reasonably long period of time,
      around 4 years, such that the record simply does not support the appellant’s
      general contention that she suffered “relentless retaliation as a result of the
      agency’s actions,” RPFR File, Tab 1 at 1, or that she experienced a significant
      change in working conditions as contemplated under secti on 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii)
      by virtue of the incidents described in the record, see Skarada, 2022 MSPB 17,
      ¶ 29 (finding that the appellant’s allegations, collectively and individually,
      although indicative of an unpleasant and unsupportive work environment, did not
      establish, by preponderant evidence, that he suffered a significant change in his
      working conditions under the WPA).
¶14        Further, we agree with the administrative judge’s alternate finding that,
      even if the appellant had shown that the agency subjected her to a personnel
      action under section 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii), she failed to show that her protected
      disclosure was a contributing factor in that personnel action.     RID at 17-19.
      Specifically, he found that the appellant’s 2003 disclosure was completely
      unrelated to her supervisor, who was in no way involved with the budget
      irregularities the appellant disclosed, and the record fails to show that the
      appellant showed any relationship between her protected disclosure and the
      events surrounding each of the three episodes she alleged comprised a hostile
      work environment.    Id. Although the appellant’s assertions were sufficient to
      comprise a nonfrivolous allegation of contributing factor, Remand Order, ¶ 7,
      without more, they do not establish by preponderant evidence that her protected
      disclosure had anything to do with the three episodes analyzed by the
      administrative   judge.    Concerning    the   appellant’s   argument   that   the
      administrative judge failed to require the agency to show by clear and convincing
                                                                                       10

      evidence that it would have taken any of the alleged personnel actions in the
      absence of her protected disclosure, RPFR File, Tab 1 at 3, because she failed to
      meet her burden of proof to establish that the agency subjected her to a personnel
      action under section 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii), or that it was a contributing factor in
      those alleged personnel actions, we do not reach that stage of the analysis, see
      Aquino, 121 M.S.P.R. 35, ¶ 10.

      The appellant failed to show that the administrative judge abused his discretion.
¶15        An administrative judge has broad discretion in ruling on discovery matters ,
      and, absent a showing of abuse of discretion, the Board will not find reversible
      error in such rulings.   See, e.g., Tinsley v. Office of Personnel Management,
      34 M.S.P.R. 70, 73-74 (1987). The administrative judge’s acknowledgment order
      instructed the parties that, under the Board’s discovery procedures, initial
      requests or motions must be served on the other party within 30 calendar days of
      the date of the acknowledgment order. MaGowan v. Environmental Protection
      Agency, MSPB Docket No. DC-1221-15-0671-W-1 (IAF), Tab 2 at 1, 4-5; see
      5 C.F.R. § 1201.73(d).
¶16        The record reflects that the appellant served her first discovery request after
      the 30-day deadline. IAF, Tab 9. Because she served it on the Board rather than
      on the agency, as required, the administrative judge returned the discovery
      request to the appellant. Id.; see 5 C.F.R. § 1201.71. In a subsequent submission,
      the appellant conceded that her discovery request was untimely served, and she
      moved for the administrative judge to ask the agency to reconsider its apparent
      refusal to respond to her discovery. IAF, Tab 10. The agency responded, noting
      the appellant’s admission that her discovery request was untimely, and asserting
      that she had failed to contact the agency’s representative before filing her motion,
      as is required for a motion to compel discovery under 5 C.F.R. § 1201.73(c)(1).
      IAF, Tab 11 at 5. The appellant filed a response, but the administrative judge
      dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without ruling on the appellant’s
      request. IAF, Tabs 12-13.
                                                                                     11

¶17        In her petition for review of that decision, the appellant did not raise the
      issue of discovery or the administrative judge’s failure to rule on her motion.
      MaGowan v. Environmental Protection Agency, MSPB Docket No. DC-1221-15-
      0671-W-1, Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 1.          On remand, the appellant
      renewed her request for discovery, RF, Tab 9, but the administrative judge denied
      her motion, noting that the Board had remanded the same issues as those
      presented in the initial appeal, such that no discovery not already contemplated
      was required to adjudicate the appeal. RF, Tab 14 at 2.
¶18        Now, in her petition for review of the remand initial decision, the appellant
      alleges that the administrative judge ignored or did not accept her witnesses and
      denied her discovery, including the right to depose witnesses. RPFR File, Tab 1
      at 1. However, the record is clear that the appellant did not request a hearing at
      which she could call witnesses and, by her own admission, failed to initiate
      discovery in a timely fashion. IAF, Tab 10. She then failed to raise the discovery
      issue in her petition for review of the initial decision dismissing her IRA appeal
      for lack of jurisdiction.   PFR File, Tab 1.   Thus, we find that the appellant
      requested discovery in an untimely fashion, and then failed to preserve the
      discovery issue in her petition for review of that initial decision, such that the
      record does not show that the administrative judge abused his discretion in
      denying the appellant’s motion to reopen discovery on remand. RF, Tab 14 at 2;
      see e.g., Vores v. Department of the Army, 109 M.S.P.R. 191, ¶ 14 (2008)
      (finding that, because the appellant failed to preserve an objection to the
      administrative judge’s discovery rulings, the alleged error was not preserved for
      the Board’s review and that, absent a showing of an abuse of discretion, the
      Board will not find reversible error in such rulings on discovery), aff’d, 324 F.
      App’x 883 (Fed. Cir. 2009).
¶19        Accordingly, we affirm the initial decision.
                                                                                       12

                           NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS 5
      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 rev iew 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:

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.
                                                                                    13

                             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
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
                                                                                14

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, th e
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
                                                                                     15

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
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.

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.
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      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.