Gloria Bunch v. Department of Veterans Affairs

Opinion

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

GLORIA A. BUNCH, DOCKET NUMBER Appellant, AT-3443-21-0482-I-1

v.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS DATE: May 29, 2024 AFFAIRS, Agency.

THIS FINAL ORDER IS NONPRECEDENTIAL 1

Gloria A. Bunch , Little Rock, Arkansas, pro se.

Johnston B. Walker , Esquire, and LaTasha C. Clark , Jackson, Mississippi, for the agency.

BEFORE

Cathy A. Harris, Chairman Raymond A. Limon, Vice Chairman

FINAL ORDER

¶1 The appellant has filed a petition for review of the initial decision, which dismissed her nonselection appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 2 On petition for

1 A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add significantly to the body of MSPB case law. Parties may cite nonprecedential orders, but such orders have no precedential value; the Board and administrative judges are not required to follow or distinguish them in any future decisions.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 appellant attached a number of exhibits to her petition for review, all of which were included in the record below, so we have not considered them. Compare Petition for Review (PFR) File, Tab 1 at 10-31, with Initial Appeal File, Tab 7 at 14-37; see Okello v. Office of Personnel Management, 112 M.S.P.R. 563, ¶ 10 (2009) (noting that 2

review, the appellant reasserts that the agency engaged in discrimination in connection with her nonselection and that she was not selected for the position in retaliation for protected whistleblowing activity. 3 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 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). ¶2 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. 4 Therefore, we DENY the petition for review and AFFIRM

under 5 C.F.R. § 1201.115(d), the Board will not consider evidence submitted for the first time with a petition for review absent a showing that it is both new and material); Meier v. Department of the Interior, 3 M.S.P.R. 247, 256 (1980) (explaining that evidence that is already a part of the record is not new). 3 The appellant alleges, for the first time on review, that she “filed Complaints with the Office of Special Counsel [OSC],” and requests that the Board refer her complaint to OSC if it determines that her administrative remedies “have not been properly exhausted.” PFR File, Tab 1 at 8. If the appellant desires to file an individual right of action appeal, she may do so with the Board’s regional office in accordance with the Board’s procedures. See 5 C.F.R. §§ 1209.5-1209.6. 4 In her reply to the agency’s response in opposition to the petition for review, the appellant alleges that the agency falsely certified that it filed its response to the petition for review on September 13, 2021, even though the response was not sent by mail via the U.S. Postal Service until September 16, 2021, and requests that the agency’s response be “quashed” and the agency be sanctioned for its false statement. PFR File, Tab 4 at 2-4. As an initial matter, the appellant filed her reply to the agency’s response on October 6, 2021, which was more than 10 days after the date she acknowledges that she received the agency’s response on September 23, 2021, so her reply is untimely and we need not consider it. Id. at 1, 3. Regardless, the appellant has not shown that she was harmed by the agency’s service, so any error in the agency’s service does not provide a basis for reversing the initial decision. See Kukish v. U.S. Postal Service, 3

the initial decision, which is now the Board’s final decision. 5 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113(b).

NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS 6 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 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.

68 M.S.P.R. 360, 362 (1995) (concluding that the agency’s error in service provided no basis for granting employee’s petition for review because no harm accrued, and employee made no showing in support of his claim that he was harmed by the failure of service). 5 Following the close of the record on review, the appellant submitted a motion for leave to file an additional pleading, requesting to submit medical records demonstrating that she was “incapacitated” due to various conditions and therefore was unable to understand and timely respond to Board orders in prosecuting her appeal. PFR File, Tab 6. The appellant has not provided any indication of what new medical record evidence she would like to submit and how any new evidence would have any bearing on her nonselection appeal, which was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Accordingly, the motion is denied. See 5 C.F.R. §§ 1201.114(k), 1201.115(d). 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. 4

(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 5

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: 6

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. 7 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: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 717 Madison Place, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20439

7 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. 7

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. Contact information for the courts of appeals can be found at their respective websites, which can be accessed through the link below: http://www.uscourts.gov/Court_Locator/CourtWebsites.aspx .

FOR THE BOARD: ______________________________ Gina K. Grippando Clerk of the Board Washington, D.C.