Adria Gharati v. Department of the Army

2022 MSPB 16
CourtMerit Systems Protection Board
DecidedJune 22, 2022
DocketAT-1221-13-4692-C-1
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2022 MSPB 16 (Adria Gharati v. Department of the Army) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Merit Systems Protection Board primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adria Gharati v. Department of the Army, 2022 MSPB 16 (Miss. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD 2022 MSPB 16 Docket No. AT-1221-13-4692-C-1

Adria Gharati, Appellant, v. Department of the Army, Agency. June 22, 2022

Peter C. Lown, Esquire, Stockbridge, Georgia, for the appellant.

Randall W. Bentley, Esquire, Forest Park, Georgia, for the agency.

BEFORE

Cathy A. Harris, Vice Chairman Raymond A. Limon, Member Tristan L. Leavitt, Member

OPINION AND ORDER

¶1 The agency has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which granted in part the appellant’s petition for enforcement. For the reasons set forth below, we GRANT the agency’s petition for review, find the agency in compliance, and DISMISS the appellant’s petition for enforcement.

BACKGROUND ¶2 In January 2011, the agency’s Defense Forensic Science Center hired the appellant as a Fingerprint Specialist for a term appointment not to exceed 4 years. Gharati v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. AT-1221-13-4692-W-1, Appeal File (W-1 AF), Tab 51, Initial Decision (ID) at 5. Shortly after being hired, she deployed for 6 months to an agency laboratory in Kandahar, 2

Afghanistan. Id. In May 2012, the agency selected the appellant from a referral list for a GS-0072-12 Fingerprint Specialist position, effective May 20, 2012. Gharati v. Department of the Army, MSPB Docket No. AT-1221-13-4692-C-1, Compliance File (CF), Tab 5 at 17-18. This appointment entitled the appellant to a new 4-year term. Id. ¶3 In 2013, the appellant filed an individual right of action (IRA) appeal with the Board, alleging that the agency reassigned her from Afgh anistan to Fort Gillen, Georgia, and constructively removed her in reprisal for certain protected disclosures she had made. W-1 AF, Tab 1. The administrative judge held a hearing in that matter, and on April 21, 2016, issued an initial decision finding that the appellant made a prima facie case of whistleblower reprisal and tha t the agency failed to meet its burden of proving that it would have taken the personnel actions in the absence of the appellant’s protected disclosures. ID at 4-35. The administrative judge ordered corrective action, which, among other things, included requiring the agency to “cancel the reassignment and removal and to retroactively restore the appellant effective November 30, 2012.” Id. at 35-36. Neither party petitioned for review of the initial decision, which became final on May 26, 2016. Id. at 38. ¶4 On June 19, 2016, the appellant filed a petition for enforcement alleging that the agency failed to return her to active employment in violation of the corrective action ordered by the administrative judge. CF, Tab 1 at 8 -11. She argued that, on the date on which the administrative judge ordered her to be retroactively restored, she had 42 months remaining on her 4 -year term, and, that to comply with the administrative judge’s order, the agency should have restored her to that position to serve out the remaining months. Id. ¶5 In response, the agency asserted that the 4-year appointment became effective on May 20, 2012, and expired on May 20, 2016. CF, Tab 5 at 6 -7. Thus, the agency argued that it was not required to place her into an active position because the term position that she held as of November 20, 2012, had expired. Id. at 8. The agency also provided the appellant with back pay for the 3

unserved remainder of her 4-year appointment that included a promotion from the initial appointment grade, annual pay rate adjustments, and step increases to which she was entitled. CF, Tab 20 at 5-9, 15, Tab 25 at 7. It also included constructive credit for overtime and danger pay. CF, Tab 25 at 8. ¶6 In her petition for enforcement, the appellant also claimed that had she continued in active employment status, she would have been selected for one of several permanent positions that became available after her constructive removal. CF, Tab 1 at 9. The agency argued that there were at least 10 vacancies for permanent positions in the appellant’s line of work that were announced between October 2014, and May 2016, but that she failed to apply for any of them. CF, Tab 1 at 18, Tab 5 at 9. The appellant testified that she did not apply for the positions because she felt her efforts would have been futile, given her ongoing litigation with the agency concerning her whistleblowing activ ity. Hearing Compact Disc (testimony of the appellant). She further asserted that, but for the agency’s unlawful actions, she would have applied for the positions and likely would have been selected. Id. ¶7 In an order to the agency to produce additional evidence of compliance, the administrative judge stated that the purpose of the relief order in the now-final initial decision was to place the appellant as nearly as possible in the position that she would have been in but for the agency’s unlawful personnel actions. CF, Tab 16 at 2. The administrative judge found plausible the appellant’s assertion that the pending litigation caused her not to apply for any of the vacancies, but also found merit in the agency’s argument that it would be speculative to assume that the appellant would have been hired for any of the vacancies. Id. Thus, the administrative judge ordered the agency to reconstruct the selection process for the 10 vacancies. Id. The AJ also ordered the appellant to provide the agency with an application for each position for which she would have applied. Id. ¶8 The agency informed the administrative judge that it would take a significant period of time to reconstruct the selection process for the 10 vacancies, and that, regardless, it believed that it complied with the order. CF, 4

Tab 17 at 4-7. The agency did not submit any evidence that it attempted to reconstruct the selection process for any of the vacancies, but it did submit the vacancy announcements. 1 CF, Tabs 40-45. The administrative judge imposed sanctions on the agency in the form of an adverse infere nce that, had the agency reconstituted the selection process for the first permanent Latent Patent Examiner position that arose during the appellant’s constructive removal period and considered the appellant’s application, it would have selected her. CF, Tab 28. ¶9 After holding a hearing at which the appellant was the only witness, 2 the administrative judge issued a compliance initial decision finding that , although the agency completed several of the corrective actions that she had ordered previously, it failed to establish its compliance with the order in its entirety by failing to reinstate the appellant to a permanent position, CF, Tab 49, Compliance Initial Decision, (CID) at 3-12. Specifically, the administrative judge reasoned that the appellant’s claim of entitlement to a permanent position was analogous to a claim for a promotion as a part of a status quo ante order. CID at 10. She relied on Dow v. General Services Administration, 117 M.S.P.R. 616 (2012), to place the burden on the appellant to “clearly establish” that , but for the agency’s improper actions, she would have applied for the vacancies and would have been selected. CID at 10-12; see Dow, 117 M.S.P.R. 616, ¶ 18. ¶10 Based on the record evidence and the appellant’s testimony, the administrative judge found the appellant’s belief that she did not have a reasonable chance of being hired by the agency for any of the 10 vacancies to be

1 The agency filed a motion for certification of an interlocutory appeal on the question of whether the administrative judge had the authority to order the reconstruction of the 10 vacancy announcements and selections. CF, Tabs 19-20. The administrative judge denied the motion, CF, Tab 27, and it does not appear that the agency challenged that ruling in its petition for review, Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 1.

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Bluebook (online)
2022 MSPB 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adria-gharati-v-department-of-the-army-mspb-2022.