(DOWNLOAD) "Vidal v. United States Postal Service" by Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Vidal v. United States Postal Service
- Author : Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Release Date : January 14, 1998
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 62 KB
Description
In this appeal, Arturo Vidal challenges a decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board (the ""Board"") affirming as modified a decision by an Administrative Judge (the ""AJ""). See Vidal v. United States Postal Serv., No. DC-0752-96-0310-I-1 (Opinion & Order June 4, 1997). The AJ upheld the decision by the United States Postal Service (the ""agency"") to remove Vidal for failure to satisfy job qualification requirements for an upgraded machine operator position to which he was reassigned. See Vidal v. United States Postal Serv., No. DC-0752-96-0310-I-1 (Initial Decision Mar. 19, 1996). Vidal argued that he should not have been removed but instead should have been returned to his prior part-time position operating a different machine for which he was qualified. We conclude that the Board applied an incorrect legal standard concerning whether Vidal's removal promoted the efficiency of the Postal Service. The Board considered efficiency in isolation and failed to apply the comparative analysis required by settled Board law. We hold, therefore, that the Board's decision to affirm Vidal's removal was an abuse of discretion as not in accordance with law. The appropriate legal test for considering removal actions in these circumstances had previously been settled by the Board, and the agency therefore had ample opportunity to present evidence to meet its burden of proof under this test; we note, however, that the Federal Circuit has never explicitly adopted the Board's test before today. Thus, we vacate the decision and remand this case to the Board for further fact-finding, based on the existing evidentiary record, in accordance with this opinion. BACKGROUND