Jones v. Merit Systems Protection Board , 491 F. App'x 185 ( 2012 )


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  •        NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.
    United States Court of Appeals
    for the Federal Circuit
    __________________________
    RODNEY JONES,
    Petitioner,
    v.
    MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD,
    Respondent.
    __________________________
    2012-3085
    __________________________
    Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection
    Board in case no. CH4324101024-I-1.
    __________________________
    Decided: July 24, 2012
    __________________________
    RODNEY JONES, Waterloo, Iowa, pro se.
    SARA B. REARDEN, Attorney, Office of the General
    Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board, Washington,
    DC, for respondent. With her on the brief were JAMES M.
    EISENMANN, General Counsel, and KEISHA DAWN BELL,
    Deputy General Counsel.
    __________________________
    JONES   v. MSPB                                          2
    Before NEWMAN, PROST, and REYNA, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM.
    Rodney Jones appeals from a final order of the Merit
    Systems Protection Board (“Board”), dismissing his peti-
    tion for review as untimely filed. For the reasons set
    forth below, we affirm.
    I. BACKGROUND
    Mr. Jones began work as a letter carrier for the
    United States Postal Service (“USPS”) in Des Moines,
    Iowa, on February 18, 1995. On September 26, 1999, Mr.
    Jones entered active military duty with the Army Active
    Guard Reserve (“AGR”). Mr. Jones served continuously
    with the AGR until his military retirement effective June
    30, 2007.
    After his military retirement, Mr. Jones filed a com-
    plaint under the Uniformed Services Employment and
    Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”) with the
    Department of Labor (“DOL”) concerning USPS’s failure
    to reemploy him as a letter carrier. On October 2, 2008,
    the DOL notified Mr. Jones that he was not eligible for
    USERRA reemployment rights.
    On September 18, 2010, Mr. Jones filed an appeal of
    the DOL’s decision with the Board. In an initial decision
    dated April 5, 2011, an administrative judge denied his
    appeal. Jones v. U.S. Postal Serv., CH4324101024-I-1
    (M.S.P.B. Apr. 5, 2011). In that same initial decision, the
    administrative judge notified Mr. Jones that the initial
    decision would become final on May 10, 2011, unless he
    filed a petition for further review by or before said date.
    Id., slip op. at 8.
    3                                               JONES   v. MSPB
    Mr. Jones petitioned the Board to review the adminis-
    trative judge’s initial decision on August 12, 2011, several
    months after the decision had become final. While Mr.
    Jones conceded that he was aware of the May 10, 2011
    deadline, he asserted that he had made attempts to meet
    that date. He claimed that he contacted the administra-
    tive judge’s clerk about obtaining a Form SF8, which he
    had not received from USPS, and that she advised him to
    contact USPS’s representative. Mr. Jones further claimed
    that he left a message with the USPS’s representative but
    that he never received a reply.
    The Board was ultimately not persuaded by Mr.
    Jones’s argument and on December 20, 2011, issued a
    final order dismissing Mr. Jones’s petition for review as
    untimely filed.       Jones v. U.S. Postal Serv.,
    CH4324101024-I-1 (M.S.P.B. Dec. 20, 2011). Specifically,
    the Board noted that Mr. Jones could have asked for an
    extension from the Board if he was indeed waiting to
    receive a Form SF8. And even if his inability to access
    the Form SF8 was beyond his control, the Board found
    that Mr. Jones did not explain how the said form related
    to the merits of his USERRA claim. Thus, the Board
    found that Mr. Jones failed to show good cause for his
    filing delay.
    This appeal followed. We have jurisdiction pursuant
    to 
    28 U.S.C. § 1295
    (a)(9).
    II. DISCUSSION
    Our review of the Board’s decisions is narrow and lim-
    ited by statute. Under 
    5 U.S.C. § 7703
    (c), we may only
    set aside the Board’s decision if it is “(1) arbitrary, capri-
    cious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accor-
    dance with law; (2) obtained without procedures required
    JONES   v. MSPB                                          4
    by law, rule, or regulation having been followed; or (3)
    unsupported by substantial evidence.” Substantial evi-
    dence is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind
    might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Con-
    sol. Edison Co. v. NLRB, 
    305 U.S. 197
    , 229 (1938).
    The waiver of a regulatory time limit based on a
    showing of good cause “is a matter committed to the
    Board’s discretion and this court will not substitute its
    own judgment for that of the Board.” Mendoza v. Merit
    Sys. Prot. Bd., 
    966 F.2d 650
    , 653 (Fed. Cir. 1992) (en
    banc). The petitioner bears the burden in demonstrating
    an excusable delay by showing an exercise of due dili-
    gence or ordinary prudence under the circumstances. 
    Id.
    When evaluating whether the petitioner’s burden is met,
    several factors are considered including “the length of the
    delay, whether the appellant was notified of the time
    limit, the existence of circumstances beyond the appel-
    lant’s control that affected his ability to comply with the
    deadline, the appellant’s negligence, if any, and any
    unavoidable casualty or misfortune that may have pre-
    vented timely filing.” Zamot v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 
    332 F.3d 1374
    , 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2003). The Board also consid-
    ers whether a petitioner is proceeding pro se. See Marti-
    nez v. Broad. Bd. of Governors, 
    115 M.S.P.R. 44
    , 49 (Sept.
    10, 2010).
    Having considered his arguments, we conclude that
    Mr. Jones has not carried the heavy burden of establish-
    ing that the Board abused its discretion in finding that he
    failed to show good cause for the delay in filing his peti-
    tion for review. Although Mr. Jones is a pro se petitioner,
    he never claimed that he did not understand the clear
    direction provided in the initial decision as to when a
    petition for review was due. Yet his petition for review
    was filed more than three months after the deadline.
    5                                             JONES   v. MSPB
    Moreover, Mr. Jones has not presented evidence of cir-
    cumstances beyond his control that prevented him from
    filing a timely petition for review. To be sure, Mr. Jones
    asserts that he was late in filing a timely petition because
    he was waiting for a Form FS8. He also asserts that he
    did not know that asking the Board for additional time
    was an option. Mr. Jones, however, fails to explain why
    he believed instead that delay was an acceptable option.
    Even more to the point, Mr. Jones does not explain how
    the Form SF8 is related to the merits of his USERRA
    claim. Thus, the Board’s determination that the evidence
    weighed against excusing Mr. Jones’s delay is supported
    by substantial evidence. Because the Board acted within
    its discretion in finding that Mr. Jones failed to show good
    cause for his delay and dismissing his appeal as untimely,
    we affirm.
    COSTS
    Each party shall bear its own costs.
    AFFIRMED
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2012-3085

Citation Numbers: 491 F. App'x 185

Judges: Newman, Per Curiam, Prost, Reyna

Filed Date: 7/24/2012

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/5/2023