Farrell v. Reno

983 F. Supp. 1099, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18712, 1997 WL 725984
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 27, 1997
DocketNo. 95-187-CIV-FTM-17D
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 983 F. Supp. 1099 (Farrell v. Reno) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farrell v. Reno, 983 F. Supp. 1099, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18712, 1997 WL 725984 (M.D. Fla. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KOVACHEVICH, Chief Judge.

This cause is before the Court on Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt.51) and the Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt.49) of Defendant Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, Defendant’s Memorandum of Law (Dkt.50), and the par[1101]*1101ties’ respective Responses in Opposition to Summary Judgment (Dkt.55, Dkt.56).

I. Factual Background.

The facts are presented as stated in Plaintiffs Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and all attached exhibits, which incorporate a substantial record from previous related matters heard by the . Merit Systems Protection Board, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the final decision of a Department of Justice adjudication officer.

As a general rule, a court must read a . pro se plaintiffs allegations in a liberal fashion. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 596, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972). In its consideration of this matter, this Court has endeavored to read all of Plaintiffs allegations and submissions of facts in as liberal a manner as is possible.

Plaintiff was employed by the United States Marshal Service (hereinafter “USMS”) beginning in 1977. He eventually advanced to the position of Criminal Investigator (Deputy U.S. Marshal), which carries the USMS classification of GS-1811-11. Thereafter, Plaintiff became disabled with a back injury suffered on the job, and, on November 11, 1985, retired, electing to take disabled status. Plaintiff began to collect disability benefits and workman’s compensation. At the time of his injury, Plaintiff lived and worked in the Madison, Wisconsin area. However, in April, 1986, Plaintiff sought reinstatement with the USMS, claiming that he had partially recovered from his injury. The USMS denied this request.

Plaintiff took no further action until May 12, 1988, when he filed a petition for appeal of the USMS decision not to reinstate him. See Farrell v. Department of Justice, 50 M.S.P.R. 504 (M.S.P.B.1991). Plaintiffs challenge alleged, inter alia, that Plaintiff had been involuntarily separated from his position by disability retirement, and that Plaintiff was partially recovered and, therefore, entitled to immediate restoration. Id. at 508. Although numbered differently prior to 1986, 5 C.F.R. Parts 353.302 and 353.304 require an agency to restore only fully recovered employees to service. Id. at 509. Consequently, the Merit Systems Protection Board (hereinafter “MSPB”) administrative judge found that Plaintiff was not entitled to restoration. Id. However, the Board did find that the Department of Justice (hereinafter “DOJ”) did not make every effort to restore the plaintiff to limited duty as an employee who was only partially recovered from an injury pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 353.306 (1986). Id. The Board further held that Plaintiff was entitled to consideration for restoration to Criminal Investigator within the entire DOJ and within his local commuting area of Madison, Wisconsin, and appointment to a Reemployment Priority List’, (hereinafter “RPL”) retroactive to his request.

5 C.F.R. § 330.201 ' (1986) governs all RPLs and provides:

“(A) The re-employment priority list (RPL) is the mechanism.federal agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by reduction in force or fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than 1 year. The RPL is a required component of agency positive placement programs. In filling vacancies, the agency must, give RPL registrants priority consideration over certain outside job applicants and, if it chooses, also may consider RPL registrants before considering internal candidates.
(B) Each agency is required to establish and maintain a reemployment priority list for each commuting area in which it separates eligible competitive service employees by reduction in force or when a former employee recovers from a compensable injury after more than 1 year____ For purposes of this subpart, agency means Executive agency as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105. All components of an agency within the commuting area utilize a single RPL and are responsible for giving priority consideration to the RPL registrants.”

Accordingly, Plaintiff completed the required registration form for the USMS Priority Placement and Referral System (PPRS) on May 31,1989. The PPRS was the USMS [1102]*1102version of the RPL.1 On his registration form, Plaintiff designated Washington, D.C. as the location in which he was available for the positions of DOJ, GS-1811-11.

Subsequently, the DOJ/USMS filed a compliance report with the MSPB in regard to the MSPB decision requiring agency-wide consideration of the Plaintiff for reinstatement. The report stated that'the DOJ1 had considered Plaintiff for restoration, department-wide within the local commuting area of Madison, Wisconsin, that no positions were available, and that, therefore, no award of back pay and benefits was appropriate. An administrative judge found that the DOJ appropriately used the period from May 1986, when the Plaintiff: submitted his request for restoration, through May 1989. Both parties agree that Plaintiff was fully recovered from his compensable injury in May, 1989. On June 1, 1989, a medical examination conducted by a USMS doctor officially established that Plaintiff had fully recovered from his job-related back injury, and that with consideration of his age, Plaintiff was fit for the position of Criminal Investigator, as well as the U.S. Marshal positions. On June 26, 1989 the DOJ notified Plaintiff that his registration in the PPRS as a fully recovered employee had been accepted. Enclosed therewith was a DOJ memorandum explaining the workings of the PPRS.

Two days later on June 28, 1989, the DOJ offered Plaintiff the position of Deputy United States Marshal (Criminal Investigator), GS-1811-11, in Washington D.C. Plaintiff declined this offer, claiming that the GS-11 Criminal Investigator position was a demotion and alleging that his last position had been upgraded to a Grade 12 or 13, and communicated his fear of re-injuring himself. The DOJ, in response, explained to Plaintiff that the position was, in fact, equivalent to the one he had last held, and that if he did not accept the offer, he would be removed from the PPRS in accordance with applicable federal regulations.

Plaintiff never challenged the DOJ^ compliance report and, it seems, abandoned his complaints based upon partial recovery. Instead, the record shows, Plaintiff asserted a new complaint alleging that the DOJ failed to consider him for placement as a fully recovered employee. On January 4, 1993, the MSPB sent Plaintiffs new claim to its Chicago regional office to be docketed as a separate appeal. See Farrell v. Department of Justice, 56 M.S.P.R. 188 (M.S.P.B.1993).

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983 F. Supp. 1099, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18712, 1997 WL 725984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farrell-v-reno-flmd-1997.