Amy J. Nugent v. Department of the Navy

CourtMerit Systems Protection Board
DecidedNovember 21, 2025
DocketDC-0752-24-0005-I-1
StatusUnpublished

This text of Amy J. Nugent v. Department of the Navy (Amy J. Nugent v. Department of the Navy) 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
Amy J. Nugent v. Department of the Navy, (Miss. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

AMY J. NUGENT, DOCKET NUMBER Appellant, DC-0752-24-0005-I-1

v.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, DATE: November 21, 2025 Agency.

THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

Neil Curtis Bonney , Esquire, Virginia Beach, Virginia, for the appellant.

Evan Gordon , Quantico, Virginia, for the agency.

Kate Sullivan and Zenon Keske , Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for the agency.

BEFORE

Henry J. Kerner, Vice Chairman James J. Woodruff II, Member

FINAL ORDER

The agency has filed a petition for review and the appellant has filed a cross petition for review of the initial decision, which, among other things, found that the agency proved the disrespectful conduct charge, concluded that the agency retaliated against the appellant for her whistleblowing activity, and reversed the removal action. Generally, we grant petitions such as these only in 1 A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add significantly to the body of MSPB case law. Parties may cite nonprecedential orders, but such orders have no precedential value; the Board and administrative judges are not required to follow or distinguish them in any future decisions.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

the following circumstances: the initial decision contains 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 neither party has established any basis under section 1201.115 for granting the petition or cross petition for review. Therefore, we DENY the petition for review, and cross petition for review and AFFIRM the initial decision, which is now the Board’s final decision. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113(b).

DISCUSSION OF ARGUMENTS ON REVIEW In the initial decision, the administrative judge sustained specifications 2-4 and the disrespectful conduct charge, he concluded that the appellant proved her claim of whistleblower reprisal but she did not prove her claims of sex discrimination, due process violations, and harmful procedural error, and he reversed the removal action. Initial Appeal File (IAF), Tab 33, Initial Decision (ID). We have considered the appellant’s assertions regarding the administrative judge’s decision to sustain specifications 2-4 and the disrespectful conduct charge. 2 Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 5 at 5-10. However, a different outcome is not warranted. The Board has held that an agency must prove only the essence of a specification, and it need not prove each factual element contained

2 Neither party challenges the administrative judge’s analysis of specification 1 or the appellant’s claims of sex discrimination, due process violations, and harmful procedural error. ID at 9-10, 15-17. We discern no error with the administrative judge’s analysis in this regard, and we affirm the initial decision. 3

within the specification. See Prather v. Department of Justice, 117 M.S.P.R. 137, ¶ 29 (2011) (finding an agency met its burden by proving the essence of a specification in a conduct unbecoming charge without requiring it prove each fact set forth in the specification). For example, in specification 2, we find that the appellant stated to a Corporal something to the effect of he was “letting [his] Marines down,” and we find that, under the circumstances, such a statement was disrespectful. Regarding specification 3, we agree with the agency that the appellant did not offer an explanation or instruction to the Sergeant in her November 28, 2022 email or the in-person incident discussed in the initial decision, ID at 12, and that this conduct constituted disrespectful conduct. We need not decide whether the agency proved specification 4 because we find that the disrespectful conduct charge can be sustained based on specifications 2 and 3. See Burroughs v. Department of the Army, 918 F.2d 170, 172 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (stating that, when more than one event or factual specification supports a single charge, proof of one or more, but not all, of the supporting specifications is sufficient to sustain the charge). Regarding the whistleblower reprisal claim, we agree with the administrative judge that the appellant’s Inspector General (IG) complaint constituted activity protected by 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9)(C), ID at 18, and we affirm the initial decision in this regard. The agency challenges the administrative judge’s contributing factor analysis and his conclusion that the appellant satisfied the knowledge/timing test. PFR File, Tab 1 at 14-15; 5 U.S.C. § 1221(e). We agree with the administrative judge that the appellant satisfied the knowledge/timing test because the deciding official knew about her IG complaint at the time that he made the decision and the removal occurred within 7 months of the complaint. ID at 5, 18; IAF, Tab 4 at 158-64, Tab 31 at 326 (testimony of the deciding official); 5 U.S.C. § 1221(e); see, e.g., Easterbrook v. Department of Justice, 85 M.S.P.R. 60, ¶ 10 (2000) (finding that personnel actions, which occurred within slightly more than 7 months from the disclosure, satisfied the 4

timing component of the knowledge/timing test). Because we affirm the administrative judge’s contributing factor findings based on the deciding official’s actual knowledge, we need not address his other findings regarding constructive and/or imputed knowledge. Because we agree with the administrative judge that the appellant satisfied her prima facie burden, we must evaluate whether the agency has shown by clear and convincing evidence 3 that it would have taken the same personnel action in the absence of whistleblowing. In evaluating whether the agency has met this burden, the Board will consider all the relevant factors, including the following: (1) the strength of the agency’s evidence in support of its action; (2) the existence and strength of any motive to retaliate on the part of the agency officials who were involved in the decision; and (3) any evidence that the agency takes similar actions against employees who are not whistleblowers but who are otherwise similarly situated. Carr v. Social Security Administration, 185 F.3d 1318, 1323 (Fed. Cir. 1999). We have considered the agency’s assertions on review regarding the administrative judge’s analysis of the Carr factors, but a different outcome is not warranted.

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Amy J. Nugent v. Department of the Navy, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amy-j-nugent-v-department-of-the-navy-mspb-2025.