Court Opinion

ID: 9373212
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-22 16:03:27.994887+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:40.121949
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                       MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

     MIGUEL PEREZ,                                   DOCKET NUMBER
                         Appellant,                  NY-0752-15-0183-X-1

                  v.

     DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS                          DATE: November 17, 2022
       AFFAIRS,
                 Agency.

             THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

           Alan E. Wolin, Jericho, New York, for the appellant.

           Michael J. Berger, Esquire, Brooklyn, New York, for the agency.

                                           BEFORE

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

                                       FINAL ORDER

¶1         This case was referred to the Board after the administrative judge issued an
     April 4, 2017 compliance initial decision granting the appellant’s petition for
     enforcement of an October 19, 2016 settlement agreement, which resolved 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        A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential ord ers,
     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 Boa rd
     as significantly contributing to the Board’s case law. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.117(c).
                                                                                      2

     underlying appeal and was entered into the record for enforcement by the Board.
     Perez v. Department of Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket No. NY-0752-15-0183-
     X-1, Compliance Referral File (CRF), Tab 1; Perez v. Department of Veterans
     Affairs, MSPB Docket No. NY-0752-15-0183-C-1, Compliance File (C-1 CF),
     Tab 12, Compliance Initial Decision (C-1 CID). As discussed below, while the
     case was pending, the appellant obtained a resolution of his claims in another
     proceeding, and we therefore DISMISS this petition for enforcement as
     superseded and constructively withdrawn.

                                      DISCUSSION
¶2        After the appellant filed an appeal of his removal by the agency, the parties
     entered into a written settlement agreement on October 19, 2016, that resolved the
     issues in the appeal, and the agreement was entered into the record for
     enforcement. C-1 CID at 2. On February 2, 2017, the appellant filed a petition
     for enforcement alleging that the agency failed to show that it had complied with
     certain terms of the agreement. C-1 CF, Tab 1. In the April 4, 2017 compliance
     initial decision, the administrative judge found that the agency had not taken all
     the actions required to be in full compliance and ordered the agency to take
     specific actions.   C-1 CID at 4-5.   The case was transferred to the Board for
     enforcement of the administrative judge’s order. CRF, Tab 1.
¶3        Subsequently, on October 4, 2017, while the case was pending at the Board
     and after the agency had taken most of the actions required, the appellant filed a
     “renewed” petition for enforcement, by which he sought to “renew his original
     petition for enforcement” with the administrative judge, rather than waiting for a
     decision from the Board. Perez v. Department of Veterans Affairs, MSPB Docket
     No. NY-0752-15-0183-C-2, Compliance File (C-2 CF), Tab 1. While this second
     petition for enforcement was pending, the parties resolved all but one outstanding
     issue concerning the agency’s compliance with the October 19, 2016 settlement
     agreement—namely, the appellant’s salary upon restoration. C-2 CF, Tabs 9-10,
                                                                                           3

     Tab 13 at 6.     On March 12, 2018, the administrative judge issu ed a second
     compliance initial decision finding the agency in compliance with the settlement
     agreement. C-2 CF, Tab 16, Compliance Initial Decision (C-2 CID) at 3-6. 2           On
     April 16, 2018, the administrative judge’s decision became the final decision of
     the Board on the appellant’s second petition for enforcement. Id. at 6.
¶4         In view of this resolution, we find that the appellant has waived further
     continuance of this proceeding, and we therefore dismiss his first petition for
     enforcement as superseded and constructively withdrawn.             This is the final
     decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board in this compliance proceeding.
     Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 1201.183(c)(1) (5 C.F.R.
     § 1201.183(c)(1)).

                              NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS 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 wit hin 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

     2
       On the single outstanding compliance issue, the administrative judge found that the
     agency properly paid the appellant the salary of the GS-6, Step 10 position he was
     placed in prospectively under the settlement agreement and that nothing in the
     agreement supported his entitlement going forward to saved pay at the higher salary of
     his former Police Officer position. C-2 CID at 5-6.
     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.
                                                                                        4

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
Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that
any attorney will accept representation in a given case.
                                                                                  5

      (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
to waiver of any requirement of prepayment of fees, costs, or other secur ity. 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:
                                                                                       6

                            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. 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).

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 compete nt jurisdiction.
The All Circuit Review Act is retroactive to November 26, 2017. Pub. L. No. 115 -195,
132 Stat. 1510.
                                                                                 7

      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.
      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.