Opinion

IN RE TINKER AFSC/DP v. Department of the Air Force

  • 2014 MSPB 51
Court
Merit Systems Protection Board
Filed
Jul 15, 2014
Status
Published
Cited by
1 cases
Authority
More cited than 57.5%

The opinion

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

2014 MSPB 51

Docket No. DA-0752-14-0157-I-1 1

In Re Tinker AFSC/DP,

Appellants,

v.

Department of the Air Force,

Agency.

July 15, 2014

Krista O. Harke, Harrah, Oklahoma; Nicoli D. Frazier, Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma; Lynda J. Arce, Newalla, Oklahoma; Angela Lin Woods,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; LaNeal S. Barger, Midwest City, Oklahoma;

Sarah E. Walker, Edmond, Oklahoma; and Amy B. Noble, Oklahoma

City, Oklahoma, pro se.

Telin W. Ozier, Esquire, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, for the agency.

BEFORE

Susan Tsui Grundmann, Chairman

Anne M. Wagner, Vice Chairman

Mark A. Robbins, Member

OPINION AND ORDER

¶1 This appeal is before the Board on interlocutory appeal from the May 14,

2014 order of the administrative judge staying the proceedings and certifying for

1

The appellants that are included in this consolidation are set forth in Appendix A to

this Opinion and Order.

2

Board review her rulings that: (1) the agency’s decision not to furlough so-called

“safe haven” employees who were evacuated due to a natural disaster should be

analyzed as part of the agency’s burden of proving that its furlough

determinations were made in a fair and even manner; and (2) neither 5 U.S.C.

§ 5523 , nor the Office of Personnel Management’s regulations implementing

that provision, precluded the inclusion of “safe haven” employees in the agency-

wide furlough. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the administrative

judge’s ruling that the agency has the burden of proving that it applied its

determination as to which employees to furlough in a fair and even manner. We

also FIND that whether a statute or regulation precluded the agency from

furloughing “safe haven” employees is not determinative as to whether the

agency treated its employees in a fair and even manner. Accordingly, we

VACATE the stay order and RETURN the appeal to the regional office for

adjudication consistent with this Opinion and Order.

BACKGROUND

¶2 The agency issued decision notices furloughing the appellants for no more

than 11 workdays from their Equal Employment Specialist, Human Resources

Specialist, Human Resources Assistant, and Lead Management Analyst positions

based on the “extraordinary and serious budgetary challenges facing the

Department of Defense (DoD) for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, the

most serious of which is the sequester that began on March 1, 2013.” E.g., Harke

v. Department of the Air Force, MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-13-1340-I-1 (Harke

Appeal File), Tab 1 at 8-14; Frazier v. Department of the Air Force, MSPB

Docket No. DA-0752-13-1386-I-1 (Frazier Appeal File), Tab 1 at 8-15; Woods v.

Department of the Air Force, MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-13-1789-I-1, Tab 1 at

8-13; Walker v. Department of the Air Force, MSPB Docket No.

3

DA-0752-13-2113-I-1, Tab 1 at 7-13. 2 The agency noted that the Budget Control

Act of 2011, as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, made

across-the-board reductions to budgetary resources for the federal government,

and that DoD “must and will protect wartime operations funding for our troops in

harm’s way.” E.g., Harke Appeal File, Tab 1 at 11; Frazier Appeal File, Tab 1 at

10.

¶3 On appeal to the Board, the appellants alleged, among other things, that the

agency did not treat similar employees with fairness and equity because the

agency exempted attorneys from the furlough, but not employees such as Human

Resources Specialists, and exempted Oklahoma tornado victims whose homes

were deemed uninhabitable, but not those employees whose homes received

extensive storm damage but were still deemed “livable,” even though financial

hardship was not supposed be a consideration in effecting the furloughs. See,

e.g., Harke Appeal File, Tab 1 at 6, 8; Frazier Appeal File, Tab 1 at 6.

¶4 The agency asserted in response that the appellants were ultimately

furloughed for 6 workdays, see, e.g., Harke Appeal File, Tab 3 at 18; Frazier

Appeal File, Tab 3 at 18, and that five agency attorneys were exempted because

an ethical conflict would exist for the attorneys if they could appeal the same

furlough they would have to defend before the Board, Harke Appeal File, Tab 3

at 5. The agency also asserted that, under 5 U.S.C. §§ 5522 -23, the Secretary of

the Air Force exercised “continuation of salary” in the form of evacuation

payments to offset direct added expenses incurred by employees who were

ordered to evacuate and were prevented from performing their duties because of

2

Under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended, see

2 U.S.C. § 901a(5)(A), Congress required the Office of Management and Budget to

calculate and the President to order a “sequestration” on March 1, 2013, for FY 2013,

that would reduce each spending account within certain security and nonsecurity

categories by a uniform percentage to achieve certain reduction goals. See Chandler v.

Department of the Treasury, 120 M.S.P.R. 163, ¶ 4 (2013).

4

an imminent danger to their lives as a result of a severe weather condition or

emergency situation, such as the tornadoes that affected an area of Oklahoma that

included Tinker Air Force Base on May 19, May 20, and May 31, 2013. Frazier

Appeal File, Tab 2 at 17.

¶5 The administrative judge consolidated the appeals, MSPB Docket No.

DA-0752-14-0157-I-1, Consolidated Appeal File (CAF), Tab 2 at 1-2, and found

that the appellants did not request a hearing, id., Tab 3 at 1. In a summary of the

close of record conference, the administrative judge identified the following

issues in the case, namely whether: (1) the agency had a legitimate reason for the

furlough; (2) the furlough promoted the efficiency of the service; (3) the agency

applied the furlough in a fair and even manner; and (4) the agency committed

harmful error in deciding to furlough the appellants. CAF, Tab 7 at 1. The

administrative judge noted that the agency bore the burden of proving that there

was a factual basis for the furlough, that the furlough promoted the efficiency of

the service, and that the agency applied the furlough to the appellants in a fair

and even manner. Id. at 2. The administrative judge informed the parties that an

agency may establish that a furlough promotes the efficiency of the service by

showing that the furlough was a reasonable management solution to the financial

restrictions placed on it and that the agency applied its determination as to which

employees to furlough in a “fair and even manner,” which means that the agency

applied the adverse action furlough uniformly and consistently. Id.

¶6 The administrative judge further notified the parties that the appellants had

the burden of proving by preponderant evidence that the agency committed

harmful error in deciding to furlough them. Id. In this regard, the administrative

judge noted that the appellants had alleged that the agency committed harmful

error by not treating similarly-situated employees the same when it exempted

some agency employees from the furlough based on the May 2013 tornadoes that

struck the Moore, Oklahoma area. Id. at 2-3. The administrative judge indicated

that, although 5 C.F.R. § 752.404 (b)(2) provides that a proposal notice must state

5

the basis for selecting a particular employee for furlough when some but not all

employees in a given competitive level are being furloughed, the proposal notices

in these cases did not indicate that any employees would be exempt from the

furlough based on the impact of the May 2013 tornadoes. Id. at 3. Thus, the

administrative judge ordered the parties to provide, among other things,

information regarding whether any employees were exempt from the furlough

based on the impact of the May 2013 tornadoes and, if so, evidence regarding

whether any of the exempt employees were in the same competitive level as the

appellants, as well as a detailed explanation of the basis for determining which

employees were not subject to furlough. Id. at 3-4.

¶7 In its response to the summary of the close of record conference, the

agency asserted that there was no harmful error because “safe haven” employees

who received evacuation payments, including continuation of salary, until they

returned to permanent housing in the evacuation area were “excluded” from the

furlough by operation of law before the agency issued its furlough proposal

notice, and thus did not need to fall under any of the stated exemptions for those

subject to the furlough. CAF, Tab 8 at 5-9; see, e.g., id. at 16-21. Alternatively,

the agency asserted that, even if there was an error in the application of its

procedures, the appellants did not show that the error likely caused the agency to

reach a conclusion different from the one it would have reached in the absence or

cure of the error. CAF, Tab 8 at 10; see 5 C.F.R. § 1201.56 (c)(3). The agency

asserted that it applied the “safe haven” procedures in a uniform and consistent

manner because “any employee whose home was rendered ‘uninhabitable’ could

apply for and take advantage of the Safe Haven program.” CAF, Tab 8 at 13.

The agency asserted that because it was statutorily prohibited from reducing the

pay of an employee under the protection of the “safe haven” program, and

because keeping such “safe haven” employees in the pool of employees subject to

the furlough would reduce their pay, removing those employees from the pool of

employees subject to the furlough was a reasonable decision. Id.

6

¶8 The administrative judge thereafter issued an “Order and Certification of

Interlocutory Appeal” finding that a question had arisen as to whether the

agency’s “safe haven” decision should be analyzed as part of the agency’s burden

of proving that it treated employees in a fair and even manner or whether the

“safe haven” decision should be considered under a harmful error analysis with

the appellants having the burden of proof. CAF, Tab 9 at 5. The administrative

judge found that the Board had jurisdiction to review the agency’s decision to

“exempt ‘safe haven’ employees from the agency-wide furlough” and that the

agency’s “safe haven” decision should be analyzed as part of the agency’s burden

of proving that its furlough determinations were made in a fair and even manner.

Id. at 5-6. The administrative judge further held that “neither 5 U.S.C. § 5523

nor the Office of Personnel Management’s regulations implementing that

provision, precluded the inclusion of the ‘safe haven’ employees in the

agency-wide furlough.” Id. at 6. In this regard, the administrative judge noted

that, under 5 C.F.R. § 550.407 , evacuation payments were to terminate when the

employee resumed his or her duties at the duty station from which he or she was

evacuated, and it appeared that the employees covered under the “safe haven”

program had returned to work at their duty stations and their inclusion in the

“safe haven” program was based on the loss of their homes. Id. at 6 n.8.

¶9 The administrative judge held that the question of whether “safe haven”

employees were properly excluded from the furlough was appropriate for

certification of an interlocutory appeal because the allocation of the burden of

proof concerning the agency’s “safe haven” decision was an important question

of law about which there was substantial ground for difference of opinion and an

immediate ruling would materially advance the completion of more than 1,200

Tinker Air Force Base furlough appeals pending in the regional office. Id. at 6-7.

¶10 The agency thereafter filed a motion requesting certification of the

administrative judge’s rulings that the Board had jurisdiction to review the

agency’s decision to exclude “safe haven” employees from the furlough and that

7

the agency was not required to exclude the “safe haven” employees from the

furlough, which it viewed as distinct issues from the certified question regarding

allocation of the burden of proof. CAF, Tab 10 at 4-8; see CAF, Tab 11 at 4-5.

ANALYSIS

The administrative judge properly certified her ruling for interlocutory appeal.

¶11 An interlocutory appeal is an appeal to the Board of a ruling made by a

judge during a proceeding. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.91 . Upon motion from either party,

or by an administrative judge’s own motion, an administrative judge may certify

an interlocutory appeal to the Board. Id. The Board’s regulations provide for

certification of a ruling for review when “(a) [t]he ruling involves an important

question of law or policy about which there is substantial ground for difference of

opinion; and (b) [a]n immediate ruling will materially advance the completion of

the proceeding, or the denial of an immediate ruling will cause undue harm to a

party or the public.” 5 C.F.R. § 1201.92 .

¶12 The criteria for certifying an interlocutory appeal are met in this case. The

issue of which party bears the burden of proof concerning the agency’s “safe

haven” decision is an important question of law about which there is substantial

ground for difference of opinion and an immediate ruling on that question will

materially advance the completion of this proceeding. Therefore, the

administrative judge properly certified her ruling for interlocutory appeal. See

Shenwick v. Department of State, 92 M.S.P.R. 289 , ¶¶ 7, 19 (2002) (addressing

an administrative judge’s burden-of-proof ruling following a certification of the

issue for interlocutory appeal); Link v. Department of the Treasury, 56 M.S.P.R.

254 , 256 (1993) (same).

¶13 To the extent that the issues raised by the agency in its motion were not

included in the certification for interlocutory appeal issued by the administrative

judge, we GRANT the agency’s motion and consider these additional issues in

8

deciding this interlocutory appeal. See MacLean v. Department of Homeland

Security, 112 M.S.P.R. 4 , ¶ 6 (2009).

The agency’s “safe haven” decision should be analyzed as part of the agency’s

burden of proving that it treated employees in a fair and even manner.

¶14 Under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7512 (5) and 7513(a), an agency may furlough an

employee for 30 days or less “only for such cause as will promote the efficiency

of the service.” An agency “meets its burden” of proving that a furlough

promotes the efficiency of the service by showing, in general, that the furlough

was a reasonable management solution to the financial restrictions placed on it

and that the agency applied its determination as to which employees to furlough

in a fair and even manner. Chandler, 120 M.S.P.R. 163 , ¶ 8. A “fair and even

manner” means that the agency applied the adverse action furlough uniformly and

consistently just as it is required to apply in a reduction in force (RIF). Id. This

does not mean that the agency is required to apply the furlough in such a way as

to satisfy the Board’s sense of equity. Id. Rather, it means that the agency is

required to treat similar employees similarly and to justify any deviations with

legitimate management reasons. Id.

¶15 The administrative judge properly ruled that the burden of proof is on the

agency to show that it applied its determination as to which employees to

furlough, including its determination not to furlough “safe haven” employees, in

a fair and even manner. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7701 (c)(1)(B) and 5 C.F.R.

§ 1201.56 (a)(1)(ii), the decision of the agency shall be sustained only if the

decision is supported by a preponderance of the evidence. As the Board held in

Chandler, 120 M.S.P.R. 163 , ¶ 8, the agency is always responsible for proving

that an adverse action promotes the efficiency of the service. Although the

agency correctly contends that the Board does not have the authority to determine

when the agency may implement and terminate “safe haven” procedures, see

CAF, Tab 10 at 7, the Board can review whether the agency applied its

determination as to which employees to furlough in a fair and even manner, see

9

Chandler, 120 M.S.P.R. 163 , ¶ 8, and the agency’s determination not to furlough

certain employees because of the “safe haven” program falls within that

authority.

¶16 If the Board were to analyze this issue as one involving a claim of harmful

error, the burden of proof would be on the appellants. See 5 C.F.R.

§ 1201.56 (a)(2)(iii), (b)(1), (c)(3). Harmful error is error by the agency in the

application of its procedures that is likely to have caused the agency to reach a

conclusion different from the one it would have reached in the absence or cure of

the error. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.56 (c)(3). Some of the appellants have alleged that the

agency did not treat similar employees with fairness and equity because the

agency exempted tornado victims whose homes were deemed uninhabitable but

not those employees whose homes received extensive storm damage but were still

deemed “livable,” even though financial hardship was not supposed to be a

consideration in effecting the furloughs and the permanent duty station was

intact. See, e.g., Harke Appeal File, Tab 1 at 6, 8; Frazier Appeal File, Tab 1

at 6; Arce v. Department of the Air Force, MSPB Docket No. DA-0752-13-1740-

I-1, Tab 4 at 4. We find that this assertion constitutes an allegation that the

agency did not meet its burden of proving that its action promoted the efficiency

of the service, rather than a claim of harmful error. The appellants have not

argued, for example, that in the absence or cure of the agency’s allegedly

erroneous decision not to furlough the “safe haven” employees, the agency likely

would have reached a different conclusion regarding their furloughs. Moreover,

the appellants have not alleged that any error by the agency concerning 5 C.F.R.

§ 752.404 (b)(2) likely caused the agency to reach a conclusion different from the

one it would have reached in the absence or cure of the error. See 5 C.F.R.

§ 1201.56 (c)(3). Thus, we find that it would be inappropriate in this case to

address these issues in terms of whether the agency committed harmful error in

deciding not to furlough the “safe haven” employees.

10

¶17 As set forth above, the primary issue in this case is whether the agency

applied the adverse action furlough uniformly and consistently, and thereby

treated similar employees similarly and justified any deviation with legitimate

management reasons. Chandler, 120 M.S.P.R. 163 , ¶ 8. Thus, the efficiency of

the service determination encompasses whether the agency used a furlough to

target employees for personal reasons or attempted to exempt certain employees

from the furlough without legitimate management reasons. Id., ¶ 9. Here, even

assuming that the appellants and the “safe haven” employees are held to be

similarly situated in terms of RIF principles, see id., ¶ 8, the agency has alleged

that its legitimate management reason for the difference in treatment was that the

individuals who were not furloughed applied for and were granted evacuation

payments, and that the agency could not, as a result, reduce the pay of these “safe

haven” employees by means of a furlough.

¶18 Under 5 U.S.C. §§ 5523 (a) and 5522(a)(2), the head of each agency may

provide for the payment of monetary amounts to each employee whose departure

is authorized or ordered from any place where there is imminent danger to the life

of the employee or the lives of the dependents or immediate family of the

employee. Evacuation payments of pay, allowances, and differentials may

therefore be made to an employee during an evacuation. 5 C.F.R. § 550.403 (b).

Such payments shall be based on the rate of pay to which the employee was

entitled immediately before the issuance of the order of evacuation. 5 C.F.R.

§ 550.404 (a). An order to evacuate means an oral or written order to evacuate

from an assigned area. 5 C.F.R. § 550.402 . Evacuation payments shall cover the

period of time during which the order to evacuate remains in effect, unless

terminated earlier, but shall not exceed 180 days. 5 C.F.R. § 550.404 (b)(2).

Evacuated employees at safe havens may be assigned to perform any work

considered necessary or required to be performed during the evacuation without

regard to the grades or titles of the employees. 5 C.F.R. § 550.406 (a). A “safe

haven” is a designated area to which an employee or dependent will be or has

11

been evacuated. 5 C.F.R. § 550.402 . Not later than 180 days after the effective

date of the order to evacuate or when the emergency or evacuation situation is

terminated, whichever is earlier, an employee must be returned to his or her

regular duty station or appropriate action must be taken to reassign him or her to

another duty station. 5 C.F.R. § 550.406 (c). Evacuation payments terminate

when “the agency determines that,” among other things, the employee resumes

duties at the duty station from which he or she was evacuated or “[t]he agency

determines that payments are no longer warranted.” 5 C.F.R. § 550.407 .

¶19 Here, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force issued the

evacuation orders in question. CAF, Tab 8 at 16-33. The evacuation orders

indicated that they would remain in effect until November 14, 2013, or until

revoked by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, whichever

occurred first. E.g., id. at 16. Allowances from the order were to be terminated

“upon return to permanent housing in the evacuation area or acceptance of

alternate permanent housing outside the mandatory area or in accordance with”

joint federal travel regulations. Id. The agency defined “permanent housing” as

a residence (from which the employee regularly commutes to and from the duty

location) that the employee and the dependents who resided with them at the time

of the evacuation intend to occupy permanently beyond expiration of the

evacuation order. Id. at 40. The agency asserted that the “permanent housing”

standard was developed and used by the Department of the Air Force in a prior

“safe haven” situation involving floods at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota

in 2011, and was based on a management determination that the use of

“permanent housing” protected employees from having to pay two housing

payments (mortgage and rent) without “safe haven” allowances to offset those

expenditures. Id. at 6, 35. Once allowances for “safe haven” were terminated for

any one particular employee, such as an employee who returned to permanent

housing in the evacuation area, the employee would receive a furlough notice

from the agency depending on whether there was sufficient time left in the fiscal

12

year to accomplish a meaningful furlough, with the number of furlough days

pro-rated based on the number of weeks remaining in the furlough period. Id. at

40. The agency furloughed 64 of the 172 employees who qualified for “safe

haven” and signed up for the entitlements after those 64 employees found

permanent housing and returned to duties before August 13, 2013. Id. at 94.

¶20 In addition, the Secretary of the Air Force received a memorandum from

the Department of the Air Force’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) opining

that “the use of the statutory provision in question, 5 U.S.C. § 5523 , once

exercised by the Secretary of the Air Force (or his designee), prohibits the Air

Force from reducing the affected employees’ rate of pay by furloughing the

affected employees during the period such employees fall within the Safe Haven

protections.” CAF, Tab 8 at 46. The OGC appears to have based this opinion on,

among other things, language from section 5523 suggesting that payments shall

be based on the same rate of pay to which the employee was entitled immediately

before the issuance of the order of evacuation, and a determination that

employees invoking protections under “safe haven” provisions are deemed by

statute to have performed work (even if they have not) and must be paid at the

same rate of pay for the entire work period as if they were at work. CAF, Tab 8

at 47.

¶21 In an adverse action furlough, as in a RIF and in a directed reassignment,

the Board’s general review is to assure that such actions are used for legitimate

reasons; therefore, the Board’s focus is on the legitimacy of the reasons for the

furlough, RIF, or reassignment. See Shenwick, 92 M.S.P.R. 289 , ¶ 11; Ketterer v.

Department of Agriculture, 2 M.S.P.R. 294 , 298 (1980) (finding directed

reassignments to be analogous to RIFs, which are equally susceptible to misuse to

effect any employee’s separation, and noting that agencies must prove that the

RIF regulations were properly invoked due to appropriate management

considerations). In determining the legitimacy of the reasons for a decision not

to furlough certain employees when the agency asserts that it was precluded from

13

doing so by law, rule, or regulation, the Board need not determine, after the fact,

whether a decision not to furlough certain employees was actually permissible

under applicable law, rule, and regulation. Cf. Cooke v. U.S. Postal Service,

67 M.S.P.R. 401 , 406-07 (the Board’s review of a directed reassignment centers

on the legitimacy of the reasons for the reassignment, not on whether the action

was reversed on technical, procedural, or other grounds), aff’d, 73 F.3d 380 (Fed.

Cir. 1995) (Table); Garrison v. Department of Justice, 67 M.S.P.R. 154 , 162 (an

agency manager is not required, in making a decision affecting the employment

of one of his employees, to consider facts as he believes that an adjudicator might

after the fact imagine them to be; rather, an agency manager is entitled to rely on

his professional experience to consider facts as he reasonably believes them to be

at the time he makes his decision), aff’d, 72 F.3d 1566 (Fed. Cir. 1995). Rather,

in deciding whether the agency’s decision was based on legitimate management

reasons or, conversely, based on reasons “personal” to an employee or a group of

employees, the question is whether the agency reasonably and genuinely believed

that it was precluded from furloughing that group of employees. Thus, in Cross

v. Department of Transportation, 127 F.3d 1443 , 1446 (Fed. Cir. 1997), the

appellants asserted that the RIF could not have been conducted for a proper

purpose because the legislation abolishing the Interstate Commerce Commission

(ICC) had not yet been enacted at the time the RIFs were initiated, and so there

could not have been a lack of funding at the agency until the appropriations bill

“sunsetting” the ICC had passed. The court rejected that argument, holding that

“[w]here agency officials reasonably and genuinely believe that the agency’s

abolition is inevitable and its funding is to be terminated, initiation of a RIF is

proper.” Id. at 1447. The court noted that conducting a RIF because of an

anticipated shortage of funds does not require that the shortage exist at the time

of the RIF and that agency officials who are aware of imminent legislation

progressing through Congress need not wait until the legislation is enacted before

taking appropriate action. Id. The court held that a significant delay by agency

14

officials could have risked leaving insufficient time to accomplish an orderly

sunset of the agency and an orderly transfer of those functions being preserved

and that initiating an agency-wide RIF before enactment of the actual legislation

was prudent given the short time frame within which the agency had to deal with

the problem. Id. The court held that whether the agency officials honestly and

reasonably anticipated a budgetary shortfall is a question of fact that depends, in

part, on whether the legitimate management reason proffered by the agency

officials was credible. Id. at 1447-48.

¶22 Similarly, we find that the issue in this case is whether the agency officials

who made the decision not to furlough the “safe haven” employees reasonably

and genuinely believed that they were precluded from doing so by law, rule, or

regulation. The appellants may attempt to cast doubt on the existence of a

reasonable and genuine belief, and thus a legitimate management reason, in this

regard. See Richard v. Department of Defense, 66 M.S.P.R. 146 , 159 (1995),

modified on other grounds by Buckler v. Federal Retirement Thrift Investment

Board, 73 M.S.P.R. 476 , 496-97 (1997). Nevertheless, as set forth above, in

order to prove that the furloughs in this case met the statutory efficiency of the

service standard, the burden is on the agency to prove by preponderant evidence

that the relevant agency officials reasonably and genuinely believed that they

were precluded from furloughing the “safe haven” employees.

15

ORDER

¶23 Accordingly, we VACATE the stay order and RETURN the appeal to the

regional office for adjudication consistent with this Opinion and Order.

FOR THE BOARD:

______________________________

William D. Spencer

Clerk of the Board

Washington, D.C.

16

APPENDIX A

IN RE TINKER AFSC/DP

DA-0752-14-0157-I-1

Amy B. Noble DA-0752-13-2564-I-1

Angela Lin Woods DA-0752-13-1789-I-1

Krista O. Harke DA-0752-13-1340-I-1

LaNeal S. Barger DA-0752-13-1794-I-1

Lynda J. Arce DA-0752-13-1740-I-1

Nicoli D. Frazier DA-0752-13-1386-I-1

Sarah E. Walker DA-0752-13-2113-I-1

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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