Monday, October 28, 2013

Jackson v. Veterans Administration case brief summary

Jackson v. Veterans Administration case brief summary
768 F.2d 1325 (1985)

CASE SYNOPSIS
Petitioner employee sought review of the decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board to remove him from his position as a supervisor with respondent Veterans Administration on the basis that he sexually harassed a female subordinate.

CASE FACTS
The Veterans Administration (VA) removed the employee for sexually harassing a female subordinate. The employee appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board (Board), and a hearing was held before a hearing officer. The hearing officer determined that none of the five alleged incidents of misconduct were established by a preponderance of the evidence. The VA requested that the Board review that decision, and the Board reversed the presiding official, concluding that two of the alleged incidents were supported by the evidence and that the penalty of removal was not unreasonable given the employee's past disciplinary record. The employee appealed, and the court affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for a determination of a lesser penalty.

DISCUSSION
  • The court found that one of the two incidents the Board had cited was based upon substantial evidence, while the other was not. 
  • However, the employee's past disciplinary record did not include sexual misconduct, and thus removal was not warranted.
OUTCOME

The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for a determination of a lesser penalty, holding that the Merit Systems Protection Board's decision was partly supported by substantial evidence, but that the incident supported by the evidence did not warrant the employee's termination.

Recommended Supplements for Administrative Law Examples & Explanations: Administrative Law, Fourth Edition
Administrative Law and Process: In a Nutshell (Nutshell Series)

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