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Derek T. Williams v. Merit Systems Protection Board, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2017-1535 · judgment June 11, 2018

Certiorari denied · April 1, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has jurisdiction to hear appeals of certain adverse employment actions by certain federal employees. An “employee” includes “a preference eligible in the excepted service who has completed 1 year of current continuous service in the same or similar positions” in the United States Postal Service (USPS). 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1)(B). The questions presented are:

  1. Whether a preference-eligible veteran maintains “current continuous service in the same or similar positions” under § 7511(a)(1)(B) when the agency and employee engage in a continuing employment relationship through a series of consecutive appointments.

  2. Whether due process requires federal agencies to inform federal employees they will lose vested appeal rights by accepting a different appointment within the agency.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Paul Michael Schoenhard
McDermott Will & Emery LLP

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Apr 01 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Mar 13 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/29/2019.
  3. Mar 12 2019
    Reply of petitioner Derek T. Williams filed. (Distributed)
  4. Feb 27 2019
    Brief of respondents Merit Systems Protection Board, et al. in opposition filed.
  5. Jan 24 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 27, 2019.
  6. Jan 23 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 28, 2019 to February 27, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Dec 19 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 28, 2019.
  8. Dec 18 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 27, 2018 to January 28, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Nov 26 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 27, 2018)