John G. Van Werry, Jr. v. Merit Systems Protection Board

995 F.2d 1048, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 13172, 1993 WL 188768
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedJune 4, 1993
Docket92-3560
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 995 F.2d 1048 (John G. Van Werry, Jr. v. Merit Systems Protection Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John G. Van Werry, Jr. v. Merit Systems Protection Board, 995 F.2d 1048, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 13172, 1993 WL 188768 (Fed. Cir. 1993).

Opinion

SKELTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Petitioner John G. .Van Werry, Jr., petitions for review of the decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or board) in Docket No. DC1221920200-W-1, dated March 5,1992, dismissing for lack of jurisdiction his- appeal of his performance rating of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Petitioner alleged that he was given a low rating by the DIA in retaliation for a whistle-blowing complaint that he had made against another employee. We affirm.

DISCUSSION

Petitioner is a Senior Intelligence Technician in the DIA. He has worked for the federal government for over 29 years, and has received many military decorations and outstanding government ratings and promotions for his services.

On October 23, 1989, petitioner reported that a co-worker, a Major Rhea, had committed a security violation. Thereafter, Major Rhea became openly hostile toward petitioner, and on January 1,1990, he filed a performance appraisal of petitioner’s services that resulted in petitioner’s performance being rated by the DIA at a level lower than that of any other Intelligence Technician with whom petitioner worked. This appraisal was the lowest that petitioner had ever received during his entire federal service career.

Being dissatisfied with the performance rating, petitioner filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. § 1213 alleging that the action was in retaliation for his whistle-blowing report of the security violation of his co-worker. He alleged further that the DIA action violated the whistleblowing provisions of section 1213. The OSC notified petitioner that it was not going to take any action regarding petitioner’s complaint. Thereafter, the petitioner filed an appeal to the MSPB under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. §§ 1214 and 1221 seeking a reversal of the decision of the DIA that lowered his performance rating.

The board assigned the case to an Administrative Judge (AJ) who ruled that the board

*1050 did not have jurisdiction of petitioner’s appeal because a performance rating is not appealable to the board under any law, rule or regulation. He ruled further that the board lacked jurisdiction because the petitioner was not an employee in a “covered position” in a “covered” agency, as required by 5 U.S.C. § 2302 for an appeal of a prohibited personnel practice under the whistle-blowing provisions of sections 1213, 1214 and 1221. The petitioner petitioned the full board for review, which was denied making the decision of the AJ the board’s final decision. The appeal of petitioner to this court followed.

The board has jurisdiction of only those actions made appealable by statute or regulation. 5 U.S.C. §§ 7512, 7513 and 7701(a); 5 C.F.R. §§ 1201.2 and 1201.3; and Cowan v. United States, 710 F.2d 803 (Fed. Cir.1983). An employee seeking review by the board of a personnel action by an agency has the burden of showing that the board has jurisdiction of the appeal. 5 C.F.R. § 1201.-56(a)(2)(i) and Stem v. Dep’t. of the Army, 699 F.2d 1312 (Fed.Cir.), cert. denied, 462 U.S. 1122, 103 S.Ct. 3095, 77 L.Ed.2d 1354 (1983). For reasons below, the petitioner has not met this burden in the instant case.

A performance rating, without more, is not appealable to the board, as it is not listed as an appealable action in sections 7512, 7513 or 7701(a) or the above regulations. The petitioner admits in his brief that it is not within the appellate jurisdiction of the board. However, he contends that the board has jurisdiction of his performance rating appeal under the provisions of sections 1213, 1214, 1221 and 2302 that relate to whistleblowing appeals to the board. We now consider these sections.

Section 1213 deals with a disclosure of information by an employee to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) that he reasonably believes evidences a violation of a law, rule or regulation or gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, and the Special Counsel’s obligations and duties to investigate such alleged abuses. It makes no reference to personnel actions taken by an agency because of such disclosures. Nowhere does it provide that such an employee has a right to appeal to the board from a decision of the Special Counsel that he would take no action with respect to the disclosures, which is what happened here. Consequently, it is our view that section 1213 confers no right on petitioner to appeal to the board in this case.

Unlike section 1213, the provisions of section 1214 do authorize an appeal to the board under section 1221, subject to certain requirements. Relevant parts of section 1214 are as follows:

(a)(3) Except in a case in which an employee, former employee, or applicant for employment has the right to appeal directly to 'the Merit Systems Protection Board under any law, rule, or regulation, any such employee, former employee, or applicant shall seek corrective action from the Special Counsel before seeking corrective action from the Board. An employee, former employee, or applicant for employment may seek corrective action from the Board under section 1221, if such employee, former employee, or applicant seeks corrective action for a prohibited personnel practice described in section 2302(b)(8) from the Special Counsel and—
(A)(i) the Special Counsel notifies such employee, former employee, or applicant that an investigation concerning such employee, former employee, or'applicant has been terminated; ....

Two of the requirements of the statute have been complied with by the petitioner, namely, (1) Petitioner did seek prior corrective action from the Special Counsel, and, (2) The Special Counsel notified petitioner that his investigation of petitioner’s request for corrective action had been terminated. However, before petitioner can seek corrective action from the board, he must also show that he meets the requirements of section 2302.

Relevant portions of section 2302, as applied to this case, that specify the requirements that an employee must meet before he can seek corrective action of a prohibited personnel practice from the board under section 1221, are as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
995 F.2d 1048, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 13172, 1993 WL 188768, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-g-van-werry-jr-v-merit-systems-protection-board-cafc-1993.