Corbin v. Dep't of Justice, 2016-1193

• Decision Date: 09 June 2016
• Docket Number: 2016-1193
• Parties: STEVEN T. CORBIN, Petitioner v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Respondent
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

STEVEN T. CORBIN, Petitioner
v.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Respondent

2016-1193

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

June 9, 2016

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board in No. DC-4324-15-1023-I-1.

STEVEN T. CORBIN, Bethesda, MD, pro se.

IDA NASSAR, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for respondent. Also represented by BENJAMIN C. MIZER, ROBERT E. KIRSCHMAN, JR., REGINALD T. BLADES, JR., MELANIE RUSSELL.

Before MOORE, SCHALL, and O'MALLEY, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

DECISION

Steven T. Corbin petitions for review of the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board ("Board") that denied his request for corrective action following his resignation from the Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "agency"). Corbin v. Dep't of Justice, No. DC-4324-15-1023-I-1 (M.S.P.B. Oct 27, 2015) ("Final Decision"). We affirm.

DISCUSSION I.

On July 27, 2015, Mr. Corbin filed an appeal with the Board alleging that DOJ had discriminated against him on account of his prior military service and had forced him to resign from his position as an accountant (GS-13) in the Justice Management Division ("JMD"), in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 ("USERRA"), 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq. Specifically, Mr. Corbin asserted that he had been accused of theft and that, because of extreme duress put upon him, he was forced to resign on January 6, 2015.¹

On October 14, 2015, at Mr. Corbin's request, the administrative judge ("AJ") to whom the appeal was assigned held a telephonic hearing. At the hearing, Mr. Corbin testified that his resignation came after Christopher C. Alvarez, Deputy Director of the Finance Staff, JMD, his third-level supervisor, accused him of stealing "military money." Final Decision at 3-4.

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Mr. Corbin stated that he was questioned "all night" about the matter and that the agency installed a camera above his desk to watch his activities. Id. at 3. Mr. Corbin further testified that, two weeks after his resignation, he tried to get his job back but was denied entry to the building. Id.

Mr. Alvarez testified that he never accused Mr. Corbin of theft or of stealing from a "military fund" or any other fund. Id. at 4. In fact, Mr. Alvarez stated, he was not aware of the existence of any "military fund" administered by the Finance Staff. See id. Mr. Alvarez also testified that he was not aware of any camera being placed in Mr. Corbin's office, that he had no involvement in Mr. Corbin's resignation, and that, before the instant appeal, he was not aware of any report by Mr. Corbin that he was being treated improperly. Id. Mr. Alvarez stated that it was normal protocol to deny access to anyone who resigned from DOJ and was no longer an employee. Id.

The AJ also received the testimony of Letitia Bing, Assistant Director for JMD's Financial Operations Services Group. Id. Ms. Bing...