Atanus v. Merit Systems Protection Bd.

• Decision Date: 06 January 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-3123.,05-3123.
• Citation: 434 F.3d 1324
• Parties: Susanne ATANUS, Petitioner, v. MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD, Respondent, and General Services Administration, Intervenor.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

Page 1324

434 F.3d 1324

Susanne ATANUS, Petitioner, v. MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD, Respondent, and General Services Administration, Intervenor.

No. 05-3123.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

January 6, 2006.

Barry A. Gomberg, Barry A. Gomberg & Associates, Ltd., of Chicago, Illinois, for petitioner.

Jeffrey A. Gauger, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, United States Merit Systems Protection Board, of Washington, for respondent. With him on the brief were Martha B. Schneider, General Counsel, and Rosa Koppel, Deputy General Counsel.

Before NEWMAN, LOURIE, and SCHALL, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge LOURIE.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge NEWMAN.

DECISION

LOURIE, Circuit Judge.

Susanne Atanus ("Atanus") petitions for review of the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board ("Board") dismissing her appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Atanus v. Gen. Serv. Admin., No. CH-0752-03-0703-I-1 (M.S.P.B. Jan.26, 2004) ("Decision"). Because Atanus elected to grieve her removal, the Board was correct in holding that she had no right of appeal. We therefore affirm.

BACKGROUND

On July 1, 2003, Atanus received a notice of removal from her position of Procurement Analyst due to disorderly conduct charges and failure to follow authorized instructions. Decision, slip op. at 2. The removal letter stated that Atanus could challenge her removal either by filing a grievance or by appealing to the Board, but not both. As far as pursuing a grievance was concerned, the letter stated: "Under the terms of the GSA/NFFE National Agreement, you may be represented and assisted by the union in exercising any of your grievance rights." On July 22, 2003, Atanus sent a letter to the deciding official, Richard Smith, stating that she wished to grieve her removal and asked to be assisted and represented by the union in the grievance procedure. Id. Two days later, she sent a second letter confirming her election of the grievance procedure, expressing her desire to proceed to arbitration, and designating a representative. On July 26, 2003, Atanus sent a third letter withdrawing her grievance. That same day she filed an appeal to the Board. Id.

The General Services Administration ("GSA") filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, arguing that Atanus waived her right to appeal to the Board when she elected to grieve her removal in her first letter. Atanus responded that her election of the grievance procedure was not an informed election because she was misled by her union representative. Atanus claimed that before she elected to grieve her removal, a representative told her that the union would assist her, and that she made her decision to grieve based on the assumption that she would be represented by the union throughout the entire grievance process. After she made the election, however, Atanus alleged, the representative told her that the union was no longer willing to represent her. Based on this information and believing that she would not be represented, Atanus withdrew her grievance and appealed to the Board.

The Administrative Judge ("AJ") granted the GSA's motion to dismiss, stating that Atanus was barred by 5 U.S.C. § 7121(e)(1) from appealing her action to the Board because she had first filed a grievance. The AJ concluded that once Atanus made a knowing and binding election to grieve her removal, she waived her right to appeal to the Board.

The AJ noted that there is an exception to this waiver where the agency fails to inform the employee of her options. However, the AJ determined that the exception did not apply in this case because the agency properly informed Atanus in its removal letter that she could either appeal to the Board or file a grievance. The AJ rejected Atanus's argument that her decision was not an informed one due to alleged misrepresentations by the representative because there was nothing in the record to support her statements. Furthermore, the AJ noted, Atanus did not claim that the union refused to file a grievance on her behalf, but rather alleged that the union told her that, at some point, they would stop representing her. Finally, the AJ found that even if it were assumed that Atanus was misled by her representative, the case would still have to be dismissed because Atanus remained personally responsible for the diligent prosecution of her grievance.

Atanus petitioned for review by the full Board, which denied her petition in January 2005, making the initial decision of the AJ final. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.113. Atanus then timely appealed to this court. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(9).

DISCUSSION

The scope of our review in an appeal from a decision of the Board is limited. We must affirm the Board's decision unless it was: "(1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; (2) obtained without procedures required by law, rule, or regulation having been followed; or (3) unsupported by substantial evidence." 5 U.S.C. § 7703(c) (2000); see Briggs v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 331 F.3d 1307, 1311 (Fed.Cir.2003). Whether the Board has jurisdiction to adjudicate an appeal is a question of law that we review de novo. See Campion v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 326 F.3d 1210, 1213 (Fed.Cir.2003).

On appeal, Atanus contends that the removal letter was misleading and incomplete because it failed to inform her that she needed to inquire whether the union would represent her before electing to grieve her removal. Furthermore, the letter stated that under the terms of the National Agreement between GSA and the National Federation of Federal Employees, Atanus "may be represented and assisted by the union" during the grievance procedure. Atanus understood that language to mean that if the union assisted her, it would also represent her during the entire grievance process. Moreover, according to Atanus, the union representative further misled her by stating that he would "assist" her in the grievance procedure and later deciding not to represent her.

The Board responds that GSA expressly notified Atanus of her options in the removal letter, which is all that is required of the agency. According to the Board, the union's actions do not implicate the agency. Furthermore, the Board argues, the union did not mislead Atanus because the union indicated that it would "assist" her, and "assist" does not mean "represent." Finally, even if the union decided it would not represent Atanus, it was Atanus's responsibility to determine whether the union would represent her before electing the grievance procedure.

We conclude that the Board properly decided that it did not have jurisdiction over Atanus's appeal because she made an informed decision to grieve her removal, thereby waiving her right to appeal to the Board. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7121(e)(1), an aggrieved employee may raise his or her grievance by timely filing a written grievance under the negotiated grievance procedure or by filing a notice of appeal under the applicable appellate procedures, "but not both":

Matters covered under sections 4303 and 7512 of this title which also fall within the coverage of the negotiated grievance procedure may, in the discretion of the aggrieved employee, be raised either under the appellate procedures of section 7701 of this title or under the negotiated grievance procedure, but not both.

5 U.S.C. § 7121(e)(1). "[O]nce a timely filing is made to pursue a path, the other is forever waived." Rodriguez v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 804 F.2d 673, 675 (Fed.Cir.1986). In order to comply with the statute, the agency must properly inform an employee of her choices. See Johnson v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, 26 M.S.P.R. 447, 450 (1985).

In this case, the agency expressly informed Atanus in its removal letter that she had the option to pursue a grievance procedure or appeal to the Board, but not both. Although Atanus alleges that her election was not properly informed, that is not correct. While a few Board decisions have held that an election of a grievance was not binding, in such cases the Board found that the employee's decision was not fully informed because the agency had only notified the employee of one available avenue of recourse when others were available. See Johnson v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, 26 M.S.P.R. at 450; Miyai v. Dep't of Transp., 32 M.S.P.R. 15 (1986); Blanshan v. Dep't of the Air Force, 23 M.S.P.R. 84 (1984). That is not the case here. The agency clearly notified Atanus in her letter of both options and that she could only pursue one option.

Atanus also contends that her election was uninformed because the letter did not completely notify her of the scope of her union representation and the union representative misled her. However, these are allegations of union misconduct, and are not the fault of the agency. Moreover, there is nothing in the record from which to ascertain what the union representative may or may not have told Atanus. Thus, we can only evaluate Atanus's undisputed actions, which are that she opted for the grievance procedure having been previously told by the agency that grieving would preclude an appeal.

Atanus clearly elected to pursue the grievance procedure. Although she later changed her mind, irrespective of the reason, as long as the agency clearly expressed to Atanus that she had two options, and that one would exclude the other, and Atanus exercised one option, Atanus is precluded from withdrawing her option to pursue the other. It was incumbent upon Atanus to inquire into the extent of the union's...