Opinion

Teodora Garcia v. Department of the Treasury

Court: Merit Systems Protection Board
Filed: May 31, 2022
Status: Unpublished
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 22.6%

The opinion

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

TEODORA GARCIA, DOCKET NUMBER

Appellant, DA-315H-16-0512-I-1

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, DATE: May 31, 2022

Agency.

THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

Teodora Garcia, Austin, Texas, pro se.

Bridgette M. Gibson, Esquire, and Michael L. Salyards, Esquire, Dallas,

Texas, for the agency.

BEFORE

Raymond A. Limon, Vice Chair

Tristan L. Leavitt, Member

FINAL ORDER

¶1 The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which

dismissed her termination 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

A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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

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 agency terminated the appellant from her competitive -service position

as a GS-4 Data Transcriber during her probationary period. Initial Appeal File

(IAF), Tab 7 at 18, 20-22. She timely appealed her termination to the Board.

IAF, Tab 1. The administrative judge issued an order explaining that the

appellant has the burden of proving that the action was within the Board’s

jurisdiction, providing explicit information on what was required to establish an

appealable jurisdictional issue, and directing her to file evidence and argument

proving jurisdiction. IAF, Tab 2; see Burgess v. Merit Systems Protection Board,

758 F.2d 641, 643-44 (Fed. Cir. 1985).

¶3 After receiving the parties’ submissions, the administrative judge issued an

initial decision dismissing the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without holding the

requested hearing. IAF, Tab 8, Initial Decision (ID). The appellant has filed a

petition for review of the initial decision, and the agency has responded in

opposition. Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tabs 1, 3.

DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW

¶4 Generally, the Board lacks jurisdiction over a probationary employee ’s

appeal from a termination during the probationary period. Hurston v. Department

of the Army, 113 M.S.P.R. 34, ¶ 8 (2010). To establish Board jurisdiction under

5 U.S.C. chapter 75, an individual must, among other things, show that she

satisfies one of the definitions of “employee” in 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1). 5 U.S.C.

§ 7513(d); see Walker v. Department of the Army, 119 M.S.P.R. 391, ¶ 5 (2013).

For an individual in the competitive service, like the appellant, this means that

she must either: (1) not be serving a probationary or trial period under an initial

appointment; or (2) have completed 1 year of current, continuous service under

other than a temporary appointment limited to 1 year or less. 5 U.S.C.

§ 7511(a)(1)(A). Individuals in the competitive service who do not satisfy either

definition may nevertheless have a regulatory right to appeal a termination to the

Board when: (1) the employee was discriminated against based on her marital

status; (2) the agency action was based on partisan political reasons; or (3) the

agency action was based (in whole or in part) on preappointment reasons , and the

agency did not follow the procedures of 5 C.F.R. § 315.805. 5 C.F.R.

§ 315.806(a)-(c); see Walker, 119 M.S.P.R. 391, ¶ 5. Absent a nonfrivolous

allegation of jurisdiction by an appellant, there is no right to a hearing on the

threshold issue of jurisdiction. See Campion v. Merit Systems Protection Board,

326 F.3d 1210, 1215 (Fed. Cir. 2003).

¶5 On review, the appellant does not challenge the administrative judge ’s

determinations that she was not an “employee” within the meaning of 5 U.S.C.

§ 7511(a)(1) and that she did not nonfrivolously allege or show that the

termination was based on partisan political reasons, marital status discrimination,

or conditions arising before her appointment. PFR File, Tab 1; see ID at 2-5.

Rather, the appellant challenges on review the merits of her termination and

alleges that her Individual Performance Report, explaining her scores during her

probationary period, was overlooked. PFR File, Tab 1. She submits for the first

time on review several documents supporting these arguments. Id. at 6-12.

However, none of the appellant’s arguments constitute a nonfrivolous allegation

of any of the exceptions to the general rule discussed above, and she has not

shown that the evidence she submits on review was unavailable before the record

closed despite her due diligence and was material to the jurisdictional issues in

this case. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.115(d). Thus, even if true, nothing the appellant

alleges on review would establish Board jurisdiction ove r her probationary

termination.

¶6 Accordingly, we affirm the administrative judge’s initial decision

dismissing this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

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 seekin g 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 dec ision, 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

Since the issuance of the initial decision in this matter, the Board may have been

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.

about whether a particular forum is the appropriate one to review your case, you

should contact that forum for more information.

(1) Judicial review in general. As a general rule, an appellant seeking

judicial review of a final Board order must file a petition for review with the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which must be received by the court

within 60 calendar days of the date of issuance of this decision. 5 U.S.C.

§ 7703(b)(1)(A).

If you submit a petition for review to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the

Federal Circuit, you must submit your petition to the court at the

following address:

U.S. Court of Appeals

for the Federal Circuit

717 Madison Place, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20439

Additional information about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal

Circuit is available at the court’s website, www.cafc.uscourts.gov. Of particular

relevance is the court’s “Guide for Pro Se Petitioners and Appellants,” which is

contained within the court’s Rules of Practice, and Forms 5, 6, 10, and 11.

If you are interested in securing pro bono representation for an appeal to

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, you may visit our website at

http://www.mspb.gov/probono for information regarding pro bono representation

for Merit Systems Protection Board appellants before the Federal Circuit. The

Board neither endorses the services provided by any attorney nor warrants that

any attorney will accept representation in a given case.

(2) Judicial or EEOC review of cases involving a claim of

discrimination. This option applies to you only if you have claimed that you

were affected by an action that is appealable to the Board and that such action

was based, in whole or in part, on unlawful discrimination. If so, you may obtain

judicial review of this decision—including a disposition of your discrimination

claims—by filing a civil action with an appropriate U.S. district court ( not the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), within 30 calendar days after you

receive this decision. 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2); see Perry v. Merit Systems

Protection Board, 582 U.S. ____ , 137 S. Ct. 1975 (2017). If you have a

representative in this case, and your representative receives this decision before

you do, then you must file with the district court no later than 30 calendar days

after your representative receives this decision. If the action involves a claim of

discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or a disabling

condition, you may be entitled to representation by a court-appointed lawyer and

to waiver of any requirement of prepayment of fees, costs, or other 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

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:

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.