Halsey v. Nitze
| Decision Date | 23 January 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 11359.,11359. |
| Citation | 390 F.2d 142 |
| Parties | George W. HALSEY, Appellant, v. Paul H. NITZE, Secretary of the Navy, Department of the Navy, Robert E. Hampton, Commissioner, United States Civil Service Commission, L. J. Andolsek, Commissioner, United States Civil Service Commission, and John W. Macy, Jr., Commissioner, United States Civil Service Commission, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Howard I. Legum, Norfolk, Va. (Fine, Fine, Legum & Fine, Norfolk, Va., on the brief), for appellant.
Alfred D. Swersky, Asst. U. S. Atty. (C. V. Spratley, U. S. Atty., on the brief), for appellees.
Before WINTER, Circuit Judge, MARVIN JONES, Senior Judge, U. S. Court of Claims,* and BUTZNER, Circuit Judge.
The appellant George W. Halsey, a veterans' preference eligible, claims he was illegally discharged from his position as a laborer in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia. Halsey was given notice of the proposed adverse action on October 10, 1963, based on the following charges: (1) failure to carry out orders of his superior; (2) inducing a group of employees to leave their assigned work and to assemble without authority; and (3) disrespectful conduct toward his superior. The charges included detailed specifications.
He was given a hearing before the Hearing Advisory Committee designated by the Commander of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Appellant was represented by his counsel, Joseph A. Jordan; several witnesses testified. All three charges were sustained by the Committee, and the discharge of appellant became effective December 27, 1963.
Appellant, through his attorney, appealed to the Civil Service Commission. He waived personal appearance before the Commission. Following its customary procedure, the Regional Office of the Civil Service Commission at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, fully reviewed the evidence and findings. The Regional Office found that the procedural requirements had been complied with and that "the agency action was taken for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service within the meaning of that language in the Civil Service Regulations."
Appeal was taken to the Board of Appeals and Review which, after "full consideration of the entire appellate record," including the fact of Mr. Halsey's 20 years of service, found that all three charges were sustained by the record and that the removal action was not inappropriate in his case. The Board of Appeals concluded that "the decision of the Commission's Philadelphia Regional Office issued on March 13, 1964, to uphold the removal of Mr. Halsey is correct."
The appellant filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where for the first time he charged that he had been discharged by reason of racial discrimination. The district judge issued an order remanding the case to the Civil Service Commission with instructions to conduct hearings and make findings on this question.
In accord with the customary procedure, the Regional Office at Philadelphia conducted hearings and heard a number of witnesses on both sides. Mr. Halsey attended with his legal counsel, Howard I. Legum. On March 29, 1966, the Regional Office, in a 10-page "Analysis and Findings," found that the record did not support Mr. Halsey's complaint of racial discrimination. Accordingly, the appeal was denied.
The case was then appealed to the Board of Appeals and Review which, in an 11-page report, analyzed the record and found "that Mr. Halsey's allegation of racial discrimination is not...
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