Opinion

Bettey Craft v. Department of Defense

Court: Merit Systems Protection Board
Filed: May 20, 2024
Status: Unpublished
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 16.1%

The opinion

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

BETTEY S. CRAFT, 1 DOCKET NUMBER

Appellant, AT-3443-19-0366-I-1

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DATE: May 20, 2024

Agency.

THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 2

Bettey S. Craft , McDonough, Georgia, pro se.

Eric Y. Hart , Indianapolis, Indiana, for the agency.

BEFORE

Cathy A. Harris, Chairman

Raymond A. Limon, Vice Chairman

FINAL ORDER

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

dismissed her initial appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Generally, we grant petitions

such as this one only in the following circumstances: the initial decision contains

During the proceedings below, the appellant requested that the case caption be

modified to reflect her correct middle initial, and we have modified the case caption

accordingly. Initial Appeal File, Tab 6.

A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add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 Parties may cite nonprecedential orders,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 findings of material fact; the initial decision is 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).

On petition for review, the appellant makes numerous arguments, all of

which concern the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation

Programs (OWCP) decisions that she challenged below. Petition for Review

(PFR) File, Tab 1. Specifically, the appellant argues that OWCP erroneously

determined that it had made an overpayment of her benefits and improperly

terminated her benefits in proceedings that violated her due process rights and

were the result of an erroneous medical opinion. Id. at 8-24. Additionally, the

appellant alleges that she was subjected to a reduction in grade, that she has a

mixed case appeal under 29 C.F.R. § 1614.302, and that the agency violated her

reemployment rights, but she has not submitted evidence that any such actions

occurred outside of the OWCP proceedings. Id. at 1-5. As set forth in the initial

decision, OWCP decisions are final regarding an employee’s entitlement to

workers’ compensation benefits, and the Board does not have jurisdiction over

such claims. Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 8; see Lee v. Department of Labor,

76 M.S.P.R. 142, 146 (1997).

The appellant also argues, for the first time on review, that she was

subjected to whistleblower reprisal. PFR File, Tab 1 at 1, 3-4. The Board

generally will not consider evidence or argument submitted for the first time with

the petition for review absent a showing that it was unavailable before the record

was closed despite the party’s due diligence. 3 5 C.F.R. § 1201.115; see

Avansino v. U.S. Postal Service, 3 M.S.P.R. 211, 214 (1980). The appellant has

not explained why she failed to raise this claim below; thus, we decline to

consider it. Accordingly, we affirm the initial decision. 4

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

To the extent the appellant believes that she has suffered a personnel action as defined

in 5 U.S.C. § 2302(a)(2)(A) in reprisal for a protected disclosure described under

5 U.S.C.§ 2302(b)(8) or protected activity described under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9)(A)(i),

(B), (C), or (D), she may wish to file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, if

she has not already done so. After exhausting her administrative remedies before that

agency, she may file an individual right of action appeal with the regional office

consistent with the Board's regulations. 5 C.F.R. part 1209. We make no findings

regarding any issues concerning such an appeal in this decision.

The appellant’s initial appeal also appears to be untimely; however, because we find

that the Board lacks jurisdiction over the appellant’s claims, we do not reach the issue

of timeliness. IAF, Tab 1. Additionally, the appellant’s motion to accept as timely

filed her reply to the agency’s response to the petition for review is denied for failure to

show good cause to waive the time limit. PFR File, Tab 6.

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.

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).

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

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. 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).

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.

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