Court Opinion

ID: 9373196
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-22 16:03:21.593628+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:39.990382
License: Public Domain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                        MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

     SHAEON O. GODWIN,                               DOCKET NUMBER
                  Appellant,                         AT-0752-16-0209-I-1

                  v.

     SOCIAL SECURITY                                 DATE: November 28, 2022
       ADMINISTRATION,
                   Agency.

            THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1*

           Shaeon O. Godwin, Deerfield Beach, Florida, pro se.

           Natalie Liem and Richard H. Winters, Atlanta, Georgia, 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
     affirmed her removal for failure to follow management directives and conduct
     unbecoming a Federal employee. For the reasons set forth below, the appellant’s

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        A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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

     petition for review is DISMISSED as untimely filed without good cause shown.
     5 C.F.R. § 1201.114(e), (g).
¶2         The agency removed the appellant from her position as a GS-4 Claims
     Assistant based on charges of conduct unbecoming a Federal employee and
     failure to follow management directives. Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 1 at 2-3,
     Tab 9 at 73-78. She appealed her removal to the Board, disputing the agency’s
     charges and alleging harassment and discrimination based on race. Id. at 3. The
     appellant did not request a hearing. Id. at 2.
¶3         Based on the party’s written submissions, the administrative judge issued an
     initial decision affirming the appellant’s removal. IAF, Tab 25, Initial Decision
     (ID). The initial decision, issued on July 18, 2016, informed the appellant that
     any petition for review must be filed with the Board by August 22, 2016, or, if the
     appellant proved that she received the initial decision more than 5 days after the
     date it was issued, then she could file a petition for review within 30 days of the
     date that she received the initial decision. ID at 18.
¶4         The appellant filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which the
     Board received on September 6, 2016. Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 1. In
     a September 8, 2016 acknowledgment letter, the Clerk of the Board (Clerk)
     informed the appellant that her petition for review appeared to be untimely filed
     and afforded her the opportunity to file a motion to accept the filing as timely
     and/or waive the time limit for good cause. PFR File, Tab 2. The Clerk further
     informed the appellant of the requirements for filing the motion and indicated that
     it must be postmarked, if mailed, or sent by facsimile on or before September 23,
     2016. Id. On September 23, 2016, the appellant faxed a document to the Board
     requesting an extension and stating that she had not been receiving he r mail in a
     timely manner, that her attorney had withdrawn from her case without telling her,
     and that she did not know that she could ask for an extension. PFR File, Tab 3
     at 2. The Board granted the appellant an extension, allowing her until October 7,
                                                                                        3

     2016, to file a motion to accept her petition for review as timely filed or to waive
     the time limit. PFR File, Tab 4. The appellant, however, did not file anything
     further with the Board. The agency has responded in opposition to the appellant’s
     petition for review, arguing that it should be dismissed as untimely filed without
     good cause shown or, alternatively, for failing to meet the standards for obtaining
     review. PFR File, Tab 5 at 4.
¶5         A petition for review must be filed within 35 days after the date of issuance
     of the initial decision or, if the petitioner shows that the initial decision was
     received more than 5 days after the date of issuance, within 30 days after the date
     the petitioner received the initial decision. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.114(e). Here, the
     Board received the appellant’s petition for review of the July 18, 2016 initial
     decision on September 6, 2016—more than 2 weeks after the August 22, 2016
     filing deadline. PFR File, Tab 1 at 1. Although the appellant alleged mailing
     delays in connection with the Board’s September 8, 2016 acknowledgment letter,
     PFR File, Tab 3 at 2, she has not alleged that she did not timely receive the initial
     decision. Therefore, the appellant’s petition for review is untimely filed.
¶6         The Board will waive the time limit upon a party’s showing of good cause
     for the delay in filing. Palermo v. Department of the Navy, 120 M.S.P.R. 694, ¶ 4
     (2014). To establish good cause for an untimely filing, a party must show that
     she exercised due diligence or         ordinary prudence under the particular
     circumstances of the case. Id.; Alonzo v. Department of the Air Force, 4 M.S.P.R.
     180, 184 (1980). To determine whether an appellant has shown good cause, the
     Board will consider the length of the delay, the reasonableness of her excuse and
     her showing of due diligence, whether she is proceeding pro se, and whether she
     has presented evidence of the existence of circumstances beyond her control that
     affected her ability to comply with the time limits or of unavoidable casualty or
     misfortune which similarly shows a causal relationship to her inability to timely
     file her petition. Palermo, 120 M.S.P.R. 694, ¶ 4.
                                                                                        4

¶7           As noted above, the appellant alleges that her attorney withdrew from her
     case without informing her and appears to contend that this precluded her from
     filing a timely petition for review. PFR File, Tab 3 at 2. However, an appellant’s
     inability to retain an attorney does not justify a delay in filing a petition for
     review. Perry v. Department of the Navy, 56 M.S.P.R. 159, 161 (1992), aff’d,
     6 F.3d 787 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (Table).           Furthermore, an appellant remains
     personally liable for the timely prosecution of her appeal, and a representative
     withdrawing does not demonstrate good cause for an untimely filing. DeGraaff v.
     Department of the Navy, 55 M.S.P.R. 343, 346 (1992). Therefore, we find that
     the appellant’s allegations regarding her attorney do not demonstrate good cause
     for waiving the filing deadline.
¶8           The appellant also alleges that she has been suffering from emotional stress,
     physical ailments, and hypertension. PFR File, Tab 1 at 2, Tab 3 at 2. Insofar as
     the appellant seeks to rely on her illness to show good cause for her untimely
     petition for review, she must demonstrate that she was unable to file her petition
     due to illness or mental or physical incapacity. Coleman v. U.S. Postal Service,
     91 M.S.P.R. 469, ¶ 5 (2002). To establish that an untimely filing was the result
     of an illness, a party must do the following: (1) identify the time period during
     which she suffered from the illness; (2) submit medical evidence showing that she
     suffered from the alleged illness during that time period; and (3) explain how the
     illness prevented her from timely filing her appeal or a request for an extension of
     time.    Id.   Here, the appellant has not explained how any of her conditions
     prevented her from filing her petition for review on time or from timely
     requesting an extension. PFR File, Tabs 1, 3; see Williams v. Office of Personnel
     Management, 109 M.S.P.R. 237, ¶ 10 (2008) (finding that an appellant with
     hypertension and other ailments failed to meet standards for good cause because
     he did not allege, among other things, how his ailments prevented him from
                                                                                           5

     timely filing his petition for review). Therefore, we find that the appellant has
     failed to establish good cause for her filing delay based on illness.
¶9         Accordingly, we dismiss the appellant’s petition for review as untimely
     filed. This is the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board regarding
     the timeliness of the petition for review. The initial decision remains the final
     decision of the Board regarding the removal appeal.

                                 NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS 2
           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 app licable 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.

     2
       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

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 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
                                                                                  7

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. 3 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

3
   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 w ebsite 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.