Kelley v. Merit Systems Protection Board

379 F. App'x 983
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit·Decided June 10, 2010·No. 2009-3250·Unpublished·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

DECISION

The appellant, Tina M. Dequin (formerly known as Tina M. Kelley), challenges the final decision of the Merit Systems Protec *984 tion Board dismissing her appeal for lack of jurisdiction. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

On March 18, 2007, Ms. Dequin received a temporary appointment, not to exceed April 17, 2008, to an excepted service position as Social Worker with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Standard Form 50 (SF-50) documenting her appointment stated that the appointment was “subject to completion of [a] one-year initial probationary/trial/period” beginning March 18, 2007. It further stated that she had no creditable military service and was not eligible for veterans’ preference status.

On April 18, 2008, Ms. Dequin’s temporary appointment was converted to a permanent excepted service appointment. The SF-50 that documented that conversion stated that the appointment was “subject to completion of [a] one-year initial probationary/trial/period” beginning April 18, 2008. Like the earlier SF-50, it also indicated no military seiwice or eligibility for veterans’ preference status.

On February 4, 2009, the agency issued Ms. Dequin a notice of Termination During Probationary Period, effective March 4, 2009, for failure to function as an independent provider. Six days later, the agency issued a second termination notice, which rescinded the original notice and amended the effective date to February 10, 2009. Ms. Dequin was terminated on that date.

Ms. Dequin appealed her termination to the Board. In her appeal, she alleged that her termination was improper because she had already successfully completed the one-year probationary period required for her initial appointment. The administrative judge who was assigned to the appeal issued an order advising Ms. Dequin of the Board’s limited jurisdiction to hear appeals from employees in the excepted service and ordering her to demonstrate that the Board had jurisdiction over her appeal. In response, Ms. Dequin argued that she was “not serving a trial period on an initial appointment” and that she therefore qualified as an employee under 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(l)(C)(i), with the attendant right to appeal from an adverse action to the Board.

The administrative judge dismissed Ms. Dequin’s appeal, holding that the Board lacked jurisdiction over the matter because Ms. Dequin did not show that she qualified as an “employee” under 5 U.S.C. § 7511. After the full Board denied Ms. Dequin’s petition for review, Ms. Dequin petitioned for review by this court.

DISCUSSION

The Board’s jurisdiction over appeals from adverse agency actions is limited to matters for which a right to appeal is granted by law, rule, or regulation. See 5 U.S.C. § 7701(a); Todd v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 55 F.3d 1574, 1576 (Fed.Cir.1995). The appellant in an adverse action appeal bears the burden of establishing jurisdiction. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.56(a)(2)(i); Maddox v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 759 F.2d 9, 10 (Fed.Cir.1985).

Because Ms. Dequin’s appointment as a Social Worker is covered by 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3), her appeal rights are governed by title 5 of the United States Code. See 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)(3). The Board therefore has jurisdiction over this appeal only if Ms. Dequin qualifies as an “employee” under 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1). For individuals serving in the excepted service, 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1) defines “employee” in two ways:

(B) a preference eligible in the excepted service who has completed 1 year of current continuous service in the same or similar positions—
(i) in an Executive agency; or
(ii) in the United States Postal Service or Postal Regulatory Commission; and
*985 (C) an individual in the excepted service (other than a preference eligible)—
(i) who is not serving a probationary or trial period under an initial appointment pending conversion to the competitive service; or
(ii) who has completed 2 years of current continuous service in the same or similar positions in an Executive agency under other than a temporary appointment limited to 2 years or less;

Ms. Dequin does not argue that she is a preference eligible employee, as she has no creditable military experience or veterans’ preference status. Therefore, 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1)(B) is inapplicable to her. With respect to 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1)(C), an individual qualifies as an “employee” by satisfying the requirements of either clause (1)(C)(i) or clause (1)(C)(ii) of subsection 7511(a). See Van Wersch v. Department of Health & Human Services, 197 F.3d 1144, 1151 (Fed.Cir.1999). Thus, Ms. Dequin must demonstrate that at the time of her termination she was either “not serving a probationary or trial period under an initial appointment pending conversion to the competitive service” or had “completed 2 years of current continuous service in the same or similar positions in an Executive agency under other than a temporary appointment limited to 2 years or less.” Id.; 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1)(C).

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Kelley v. Merit Systems Protection Board, 379 F. App'x 983 (Fed. Cir. 2010).

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