holding that summary judgment is not available in Board proceedings
How later courts described this case
- holding that summary judgment is not available in Board proceedings
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
DONGWOOK LEE, DOCKET NUMBER
Appellant, AT-0752-19-0251-I-1
v.
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DATE: July 3, 2024
Agency.
THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1
Chungsoo J. Lee , Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, for the appellant.
Anne M. Norfolk , Esquire, Fort Benning, Georgia, for the agency.
BEFORE
Cathy A. Harris, Chairman
Raymond A. Limon, Vice Chairman
Henry J. Kerner, Member*
*Member Kerner did not participate in the adjudication of this appeal.
FINAL ORDER
The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which
dismissed his involuntary resignation 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
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A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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
based on an 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
Effective December 14, 2018, the appellant resigned from his position as a
GS-14 Clinical Psychologist (Neuropsychology) in the Traumatic Brain Injury
Clinic (clinic) at Martin Army Community Hospital in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 8 at 4, Tab 11 at 13. In his resignation letter, the
appellant stated that he was resigning due to a “continuous hostile and
discriminatory work environment.” IAF, Tab 8 at 4.
The appellant filed an appeal with the Board and requested a hearing,
alleging that his resignation was involuntary. IAF, Tab 1. On his Board appeal
form, the appellant claimed that he was forced to resign due to an ongoing hostile
work environment, racial discrimination, and retaliation for his whistleblowing
and protected equal employment opportunity (EEO) activities. Id. at 4. He also
stated that he was forced to resign because management was planning on
removing him. Id. at 5.
The administrative judge issued an order informing the appellant that a
resignation is presumed to be voluntary and that he would be granted a hearing
3
only if he made allegations of duress, coercion, or misrepresentation supported by
facts which, if proven, could show that his resignation was involuntary. IAF,
Tab 2 at 2. The administrative judge ordered the appellant to submit evidence
and argument constituting a nonfrivolous allegation that his involuntary
resignation claim is within the Board’s jurisdiction. Id. at 3. Both parties filed
responses on the jurisdictional issue, IAF, Tabs 5, 10, and the agency moved to
dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, IAF, Tab 10.
Without holding a hearing, the administrative judge issued an initial
decision that dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, finding that the
appellant failed to nonfrivolously allege that his resignation was involuntary.
IAF, Tab 18, Initial Decision (ID) at 9.
The appellant has filed a petition for review and a motion to accept the
petition for review as timely or to waive the time limit. 2 Petition for Review
(PFR) File, Tabs 1, 5. The agency has filed a response in opposition to the
petition for review. PFR File, Tab 6.
ANALYSIS
The administrative judge correctly dismissed the appellant’s involuntary
resignation appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Generally, the Board lacks the authority to review an employee’s decision
to resign, which is presumed to be a voluntary act. Brown v. U.S. Postal Service,
115 M.S.P.R. 609, ¶ 9, aff’d sub nom. Brown v. Merit Systems Protection Board ,
469 F. App’x 852 (Fed. Cir. 2011). An involuntary resignation, however, is
tantamount to a removal and is therefore subject to the Board’s jurisdiction.
Vitale v. Department of Veterans Affairs , 107 M.S.P.R. 501, ¶ 17 (2007). An
employee may overcome the presumption of voluntariness by showing that his
resignation was the product of misinformation or deception by the agency, or of
coercive acts by the agency, such as intolerable working conditions or the
2
Because we are denying the appellant’s petition for review on the merits, we find it
unnecessary to consider the timeliness of the petition for review.
4
unjustified threat of an adverse action. SanSoucie v. Department of Agriculture,
116 M.S.P.R. 149, ¶ 14 (2011). The Board addresses allegations of
discrimination and reprisal in connection with an alleged involuntary resignation
only insofar as those allegations relate to the issue of voluntariness and not
whether they would establish discrimination or reprisal as an affirmative defense.
Vitale, 107 M.S.P.R. 501, ¶ 20. If the employee makes a nonfrivolous allegation
of jurisdiction, i.e., an allegation that, if proven, could establish the Board’s
jurisdiction, he is entitled to a hearing at which he must prove jurisdiction by a
preponderance of the evidence. Id., ¶ 18.
When, as here, an employee alleges that the agency took actions that made
working conditions so intolerable that he was forced to resign, the Board will
find his resignation involuntary only if he demonstrates that the agency engaged
in a course of action that made working conditions so difficult or unpleasant that
a reasonable person in his position would have felt compelled to resign.
Markon v. Department of State, 71 M.S.P.R. 574, 577 (1996). The doctrine of
coerced involuntariness is “a narrow one” that applies when a decision to resign
“was the result of improper acts by the agency” and not merely when an employee
resigns because “he does not want to accept [measures] that the agency is
authorized to adopt, even if those measures make continuation in the job so
unpleasant for the employee that he feels that he has no realistic option but to
leave.” Staats v. U.S. Postal Service, 99 F.3d 1120, 1124 (1996). “[T]he fact
than an employee is faced with an unpleasant situation or that his choice is
limited to two unattractive options does not make his decision any
less voluntary.” Id. The touchstone of the voluntariness analysis is whether,
considering the totality of the circumstances, factors operated on the
employee’s decision-making process that deprived him of freedom of choice.
Searcy v. Department of Commerce, 114 M.S.P.R. 281, ¶ 12 (2010).
5
In his response to the jurisdictional order, the appellant recounted a series
of events that purportedly forced him to resign. IAF, Tab 5. In particular, the
appellant alleged as follows:
During a meeting on April 11, 2018, a primary care physician (PCP)
demanded that all of his referrals to Neuropsychology receive a comprehensive
evaluation and that the appellant change the format and content of his
neuropsychology reports. IAF, Tab 5 at 7. The appellant told the PCP that
asking him to write an important clinical document to the PCP’s own liking was
unprofessional and insulting. Id. When the appellant challenged the PCP’s
“clinical practice,” the PCP yelled at the appellant, saying, “You do whatever you
want, and I am not going to talk to you anymore,” and the PCP then left the room.
Id. at 8. The appellant’s supervisor did not intervene on his behalf; instead, she
stated that the appellant should comply with the PCP’s demands. Id.
On August 8, 2018, the appellant discovered that the PCP was sending
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) evaluation requests to a
Caucasian clinical psychologist who was not qualified to perform neurocognitive
evaluation, and whose scope of practice did not include ADHD evaluation,
thereby bypassing and undermining the appellant, who performed neurocognitive
evaluations as his primary service, and whose scope of practice included ADHD
evaluation. Id. at 8-9.
During a meeting on August 29, 2018, the appellant’s supervisor approved
a treatment plan proposed by a Caucasian occupational therapist with no expertise
or training in neurocognitive evaluation over the appellant’s objections that the
plan could result in a waste of resources. Id. at 9-10.
During an October 2, 2018 meeting, the appellant informed his supervisor
and the clinic administrator that a psychology technician (PT), who also attended
the meeting, had erroneously sent treatment notes pertaining to the appellant’s
biofeedback patients to the PCP for signature/approval instead of the appellant,
and had failed to provide the appellant updates on his biofeedback patients, as he
6
had repeatedly requested. Id. at 10-13. The appellant’s supervisor concluded that
the appellant’s dispute with the PT was a matter of miscommunication and
ignored his request to correct the PT’s errors and lack of cooperation. Id. at 13.
On November 5, 2018, six days after the appellant’s supervisor was
interviewed by an EEO counselor regarding the appellant’s EEO claim, she issued
him a Letter of Warning, IAF, Tab 8 at 35-36, citing his conduct during the
August 29 and October 2, 2018 meetings and threatening further disciplinary
action. IAF, Tab 5 at 13-14.
The appellant was not interviewed during a staff assistance visit (SAV)
conducted on November 6-7, 2018, and the hospital commander ignored his
request that the SAV be conducted by staff who had no previous contact with
clinic leadership. Id. at 15.
On several occasions, the appellant notified clinic management that the
PCP had engaged in malpractice; however, they failed to address his concerns.
Id. at 14. He also informed his second-level supervisor that his immediate
supervisor had sided with the PCP against him and that his work environment was
discriminatory and hostile based on his race and national origin. Id.
In his response to the jurisdictional order, the appellant further claimed
that: he felt helpless when he realized that the agency was acting against him and
“tried to get rid of him”; he feared that he could lose his license due to the PT’s
misconduct; two of his colleagues were forced to leave their positions due to
discrimination; and the stressful situation at work caused him to suffer chronic
headaches, insomnia, and chronic fatigue, and was harmful to his family,
spiritual, and emotional life. Id. at 16-17.
In the initial decision, the administrative judge considered the
circumstances described by the appellant and concluded as follows: “I do not
find that the facts as alleged by the appellant made working conditions so
difficult or unpleasant that a reasonable person in his position would have felt
compelled to resign.” ID at 9 (citing Markon, 71 M.S.P.R. at 577-78). In making
7
this finding, the administrative judge observed that the appellant’s complaints
largely result from management’s decisions concerning his field and that he was
“undeniably frustrated” when his coworkers disagreed with his recommendations
as to how the clinic should conduct neurocognitive evaluations. ID at 8.
However, the administrative judge found that the agency has the right to make
these decisions and the appellant’s strong disagreement with these decisions does
not make his resignation involuntary. Id.
In addition, the administrative judge found unpersuasive the appellant’s
arguments that he was forced to resign because his supervisor was “trying to get
rid of” him or that he “could lose his license.” Id. The administrative judge
found that both of these allegations were based on mere supposition. Id.
Moreover, the administrative judge explained that, if the agency had taken an
actual removal action against him, he could have appealed that action to the
Board. Id. (citing Garcia v. Department of Homeland Security, 437 F.3d 1322,
1329 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (en banc) (stating that a resignation is not involuntary if the
employee had a choice of whether to resign or contest the validity of the agency
action)).
As for the appellant’s allegations of discrimination, the administrative
judge found that most of these allegations were based on suppositions that
minority coworkers were subjected to discriminatory animus and the mere fact
that some of the neurocognitive evaluation work was sent to a Caucasian. ID
at 8. The administrative judge concluded that these facts alone do not show that
the appellant was subjected to intolerable working conditions. ID at 8-9. The
administrative judge also found that, although the appellant did not like working
at the clinic, his allegations did not show that his resignation was the result of
improper pressure, intimidation, or coercion by the agency. ID at 9.
Accordingly, the administrative judge found that the appellant failed to make a
nonfrivolous allegation of facts which, if proven, could show that his resignation
was involuntary. Id.
8
The appellant challenges this finding on review and reiterates his argument
from below that he was forced to resign due to intolerable working conditions. 3
PFR File, Tab 1 at 10-25; IAF, Tab 5 at 6-18. He alleges that, in addressing his
allegations of intolerable working conditions, the administrative judge omitted or
mischaracterized several relevant facts 4 and failed to consider the totality of the
circumstances from April to December 2018, which culminated in his resignation,
in order to conclude: “While I understand that the appellant was increasingly
frustrated with the clinic’s policy and processes in neuropsychology, I do not find
that the facts as alleged left him no choice but to resign.” PFR File, Tab 1 at 18
(quoting ID at 7-8).
The appellant argues that, by characterizing the circumstances that
precipitated his resignation as mere “policy and process” issues, the
administrative judge grossly misrepresented the facts while entirely ignoring
“incompetence, mismanagement, mishandling of patients[,] and medical
treatments bordering on medical malpractice and seriously posing a risk to [the]
[a]ppellant’s own medical license and professional reputation.” Id. at 19.
The gist of the appellant’s arguments regarding the jurisdictional issue is
that, by omitting some facts and mischaracterizing others, the administrative
judge minimized the difficulty and unpleasantness of his working conditions so
that she could find that he failed to nonfrivolously allege that his working
conditions were so difficult or unpleasant that a reasonable person in his position
would have felt compelled to resign. Id. at 10-24.
These arguments provide no basis to disturb the initial decision. It is well
settled that the administrative judge’s failure to mention all of the evidence of
3
The portion of the petition for review challenging the administrative judge’s
jurisdictional determination is largely the same as the appellant’s response to the
jurisdictional order. Compare PFR File, Tab 1 at 11-18, 20-24, with IAF, Tab 5 at 7-17.
4
For example, the appellant asserts that the administrative judge “entirely neglected” to
mention the “medical deterioration [and] the social and emotional degradation [he]
suffered as a result of the intolerable working conditions.” PFR File, Tab 1 at 22.
9
record does not mean that she did not consider it in reaching her decision.
Marques v. Department of Health and Human Services, 22 M.S.P.R. 129, 132
(1984), aff’d, 776 F.2d 1062 (Fed. Cir. 1985) (Table).
Moreover, based on our review of the record, we agree with the
administrative judge that the appellant failed to make a nonfrivolous allegation of
Board jurisdiction over this appeal. ID at 9. An employee is not guaranteed a
working environment free of stress. Dissatisfaction with work assignments, a
feeling of being unfairly criticized, or difficult or unpleasant working
conditions are generally not so intolerable as to compel a reasonable person to
resign. Miller v. Department of Defense, 85 M.S.P.R. 310, ¶ 32 (2000).
Further, as the administrative judge correctly found, the appellant’s
allegation that management officials were planning to remove him at the time he
resigned does not render his resignation involuntary. ID at 8. The appellant did
not allege that the agency had even proposed such an action when he resigned.
Thus, instead of resigning based on his speculation that such an action might
occur in the future, the appellant clearly had an option of contesting an action he
thought was invalid if and when it did occur. See Garcia, 437 F.3d at 1329.
Also, even if the appellant genuinely felt that he had no alternative but to
resign, in part due to his medical conditions, he failed to make a sufficient
allegation of a coercive or improper act on the part of the agency that could have
left a reasonable person in his position with no other choice but to resign. See
Brown, 115 M.S.P.R. 609, ¶ 17 (finding that, even if the appellant’s medical
condition left her no alternative but to retire, she failed to tie her circumstances to
an improper agency act that could have left a reasonable person in her position
with no choice but to resign). Therefore, we find that the administrative judge
properly dismissed this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. ID at 9.
10
The appellant’s remaining arguments on review provide no basis to disturb the
initial decision.
The appellant’s petition for review contains several other arguments that
are unavailing. For example, the appellant argues that the administrative judge
erred by allowing the agency to file pleadings without designating its
representative. PFR File, Tab 1 at 6-7. However, he has failed to articulate how
this purported error relates to his jurisdictional burden in the instant appeal.
For the first time on review, the appellant objects to the deadlines set forth
in the acknowledgement and jurisdictional orders dated February 15, 2019. Id.
at 5-9; IAF, Tabs 2-3. In particular, the appellant contends that the administrative
judge abused her discretion by requiring him to submit evidence and argument
establishing a nonfrivolous allegation of Board jurisdiction by February 25, 2019,
yet affording the agency until March 7, 2019, to submit the agency file and
respond to the jurisdictional order. PFR File, Tab 1 at 5-7. The appellant asserts
that not having the opportunity to review the agency file before responding to the
jurisdictional order “gravely prejudiced” him because, without knowing the
agency’s position regarding the circumstances that allegedly forced him to resign,
his response to the order was not as effective as it could have been had he been
allowed to obtain the agency file before submitting his response. Id. at 7.
The Board will not consider an argument raised for the first time in a
petition for review absent a showing that it is based on new and material evidence
not previously available despite the party’s due diligence. Banks v. Department
of the Air Force, 4 M.S.P.R. 268, 271 (1980). The appellant did not raise any
objection below to the deadlines set by the administrative judge and presents no
evidence, let alone new and material evidence, to support his argument that he
was prejudiced by those deadlines. PFR File, Tab 1. Therefore, we do not
consider the appellant’s new argument. See Banks, 4 M.S.P.R. at 271.
The appellant also reiterates his argument from below that the agency file
is untimely because it was due on March 7, 2019, but the Board did not receive it
11
until March 11, 2019. PFR File, Tab 1 at 6; IAF, Tab 15. The agency file was
submitted by mail and we are unable to determine the postmark date because
the record does not include a copy of the envelope in which the agency’s file was
mailed. IAF, Tab 11 at 1. Therefore, the agency’s file is timely under
5 C.F.R. § 1201.4(l) (providing that the date of a filing by mail is the postmark
date and, if no legible postmark date appears on the mailing, the submission is
presumed to have been mailed 5 days before its receipt (excluding days on which
the Board is closed for business)).
The appellant argues that the administrative judge’s statement that “there is
no factual dispute bearing on the jurisdictional issue” suggests that she dismissed
the appeal by summary judgment, which the Board does not allow. PFR File,
Tab 1 at 9; see Crispin v. Department of Commerce, 732 F.2d 919, 922 (Fed. Cir.
1984) (holding that summary judgment is not available in Board proceedings).
The initial decision clearly shows that the administrative judge dismissed the
appeal for lack of jurisdiction based on her finding that the appellant failed to
make a nonfrivolous allegation of facts which, if proven, could show that his
resignation was involuntary. ID at 1, 9.
The appellant further alleges that the administrative judge erred by
dismissing his hearing request without providing him an adequate opportunity to
engage in discovery, and he contends that the jurisdictional questions could have
been better resolved by conducting a hearing. PFR File, Tab 1 at 8. An appellant
is not entitled to a hearing on the issue of Board jurisdiction over an appeal of an
alleged involuntary resignation unless he makes a nonfrivolous allegation casting
doubt on the presumption of voluntariness. Searcy, 114 M.S.P.R. 281, ¶ 12. The
Board has also found that an appellant is not entitled to discovery when he fails to
raise a nonfrivolous allegation of the Board’s jurisdiction. See Sobczak v.
Environmental Protection Agency, 64 M.S.P.R. 118, 122 (1994) (finding that the
administrative judge properly denied discovery because the appellant failed to
plead facts sufficient to establish jurisdiction). As discussed above, the appellant
12
failed to make a nonfrivolous allegation of Board jurisdiction regarding his
involuntary resignation claim. Thus, the appellant was not entitled to either a
jurisdictional hearing or discovery based on that claim.
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 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).
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
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. 420 (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
14
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
(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
15
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. 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
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.
16
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: ______________________________
Gina K. Grippando
Clerk of the Board
Washington, D.C.