Court Opinion

ID: 9373277
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-22 16:03:53.975636+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:40.673334
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                        MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

     DAVID K. CASSIDY,                               DOCKET NUMBER
                   Appellant,                        DC-3443-17-0666-I-1

                  v.

     DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,                         DATE: October 28, 2022
                 Agency.

             THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

           David K. Cassidy, Lacey, Washington, pro se.

           Richard L. Schwartz, APO, AE, 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 pay disparity appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 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

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        A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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

     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 and
     AFFIRM the initial decision, which is now the Board’s final decision. 5 C.F.R.
     § 1201.113(b).

                                        BACKGROUND
¶2         The appellant filed the initial appeal alleging that he            was paid
     approximately $13,000 less annually than his younger female subordinate who
     has less service. Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 1 at 3. The appellant alleged this
     was a personnel action or decision by the agency and that the agency failed to
     follow merit pay principles. Id.
¶3         In an Order to Show Cause, the administrative judge notified the appellant
     of his burden of proof to establish Board jurisdiction over an adverse action
     appeal under chapter 75. IAF, Tab 3. The appellant did not respond to this order.
     IAF, Tab 6, Initial Decision (ID) at 2. Because the appellant failed to raise a
     nonfrivolous allegation of jurisdiction, the administrative judge determined that
     he was not entitled to a hearing and dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
     ID at 1.
¶4         The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, and the
     agency has responded. Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tabs 1, 4. In his petition
     for review, the appellant asserts that he did not timely receive the Order to Show
                                                                                        3

     Cause or the initial decision due to mail delays and his deployment to temporary
     active duty.     PFR File, Tab 1 at 1.   The appellant further asserts that “[t]he
     Board’s jurisdiction in this case is clearly outlined in 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1).” Id.
     Lastly, the appellant lists various scenarios in which the Board may review pay
     issues, apparently asserting that this establishes Board jurisdiction over his
     appeal. Id. at 2.

                         DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW
¶5         The Board’s jurisdiction is limited to areas specifically granted by law, rule,
     or regulation. Todd v. Merit Systems Protection Board, 55 F.3d 1574, 1576 (Fed.
     Cir. 1995). An appellant has the burden to establish jurisdiction over his appeal .
     5 C.F.R. § 1201.56(b)(2)(i)(A).
¶6         Although the appellant indicates that he received the administrative judge’s
     jurisdictional order and the initial decision late, we find that his petition for
     review was timely filed. PFR File, Tab 1 at 1. Further, because jurisdiction may
     be raised at any time during Board proceedings, we consider the appellant’s
     arguments on review, regardless of his failure to respond to the order below.
     Morgan v. Department of the Navy, 28 M.S.P.R. 477, 478 (1985); ID at 2.
¶7         Nonetheless, we find that the administrative judge properly dismissed the
     appeal for lack of jurisdiction. A claim under the Equal Pay Act, such as this
     one, does not fall within the Board’s original or appellate jurisdiction.
     See 5 C.F.R. §§ 1201.2-1201.3 (listing claims over which the Board has
     jurisdiction).   The appellant’s reference to three circumstances in which pay
     issues may come before the Board, seemingly arguing that this establishes Board
     jurisdiction over all pay issues, misses the mark. The appellant first notes that an
     Equal Pay Act claim may be raised as an affirmative defense in a mixed case
     before the Board in which the Board has jurisdiction over an adverse action. PFR
     File, Tab 1 at 2 (citing 5 U.S.C. §§ 2302(b)(1)(C) and 7702(a)(1)(B)(ii)).
     However, the appellant did not allege that he suffered from an adverse action
                                                                                        4

     under chapter 75. IAF, Tab 1 at 3. Adverse actions are limited to removals,
     suspensions exceeding 14 days, reductions in grade, reductions in pay, and
     furloughs of 30 days or less. 5 U.S.C. § 7512(1)-(5). The Board generally lacks
     jurisdiction over discrimination claims in the absence of an otherwise appealable
     action. Rosario-Fabregas v. Department of Army, 122 M.S.P.R. 468, ¶ 20 (2015),
     aff’d, 833 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
¶8         The appellant additionally states that pay issues may come before the Board
     in situations where the Board has ordered corrective action for employees. PFR
     File, Tab 1 at 2 (citing Kerr v. National Endowment for the Arts, 726 F.2d 730,
     733 (Fed. Cir. 1984)). This situation is not applicable here, however, as there is
     no such order in this matter.
¶9         Finally, the appellant states that pay issues may come before the Board in
     whistleblower reprisal cases because “a decision concerning pay” is a “personnel
     action” as defined by 5 U.S.C. § 2302(a)(2)(A)(ix). PFR File, Tab 1 at 2. This
     too is not applicable here as the appellant has alleged neither that he is a
     whistleblower nor that the decision concerning his pay was made in response to a
     protected disclosure.     The appellant’s language referencing whistleblower
     reprisal, which was copied and pasted from the Board’s webs ite verbatim, 2 does
     not amount to a whistleblowing claim because he does not allege that his pay was
     the result of whistleblower reprisal. Further, the appellant did not suggest in his
     initial appeal that he was filing such a claim. In fact, he left blank the portion of
     the initial appeal form that sought information as to exhaustion of his Office of
     Special Counsel administrative remedy. IAF, Tab 1 at 4. Thus, we discern no
     error in the administrative judge’s lack of specific notice on how to establish
     jurisdiction over an individual right of action appeal.         See Washington v.
     Department of the Navy, 75 M.S.P.R. 150, 153 (1997) (finding that an

     2
       U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, Merit System Principles, MSP3 Q & A, What is
     the MSPB’s adjudicatory role in ensuring equal pay is provided for equal work?,
     https://www.mspb.gov/msp/msp3.htm (last visited Oct. 27, 2022).
                                                                                             5

      administrative judge was not required to infer that an appellant was raising a
      whistleblower reprisal claim when he responded to the question on his initial
      appeal as to whether he was raising such a claim with the response “N/A”).
      When an appellant does not allege that the personnel action at issue is in
      retaliation for whistleblowing, the administrative judge is not required to draw a
      contrary conclusion based on one off-hand reference to whistleblowing. Id.
¶10         For the foregoing reasons, we deny the appellant’s petition for review and
      affirm the initial decision finding that the appellant has failed to make a
      nonfrivolous allegation of Board jurisdiction.

                               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.

      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, t he
      Board cannot advise which option is most appropriate in any matter.
                                                                                          6

      (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.

      (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 acti on
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
                                                                                  7

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 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:
                                                                                      8

                            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).
      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

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

      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.