Parkinson v. Dep't of Justice, No. 15-3066 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseAgent Parkinson, of the FBI’s Sacramento field office, was the leader of a special operations group, tasked with relocating a previously compromised undercover facility. In 2006, the FBI leased a facility from Rodda, who agreed to contribute $70,000 to “construction, construction documents, permits and fees. Parkinson negotiated the lease on behalf of the FBI, and managed the tenant improvement funds. In 2008, during the work, Parkinson made whistleblower-eligible disclosures, implicating two pilots involved with the group in misconduct. Parkinson’s supervisor issued Parkinson a low-performance rating, removed him as group leader, and reassigned him. Believing this to be retaliation, Parkinson sent a letter to Senator Grassley, who forwarded Parkinson’s allegations to the Department of Justice’s Office of the Investigator General (OIG) for investigation. The OIG sent the FBI its report. Ultimately, the Merit Systems Protection Board upheld Parkinson’s termination for lack of candor under oath and obstruction of process of the Office of Professional Responsibility. The Federal Circuit reversed in part and remanded. The court sustained the obstruction charge and dismissal of Parkinson’s affirmative defense of violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, but found the lack of candor charge unsupported by substantial evidence and that the Board improperly precluded Parkinson from raising an affirmative defense of whistleblower retaliation.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 8, 2016.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 11, 2016.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on November 8, 2016.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 26, 2017.
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