Purifoy v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, No. 15-3196 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePurifoy missed two days of work as a housekeeping aid in a Milwaukee VA medical facility without authorization. That week, he sought treatment for substance abuse at the facility where he worked. He was admitted and transferred to Madison for treatment. Purifoy verbally informed his VA supervisor that he would miss work, but did not fill out leave paperwork. Nor did he inform his parole officer that he would miss upcoming supervision visits. His parole officer issued an arrest warrant. Purifoy agreed to report to the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for treatment as an alternative to parole revocation. He entered the program, but was terminated after an altercation with another inmate; he remained as an inmate at MSDF for 38 more days. Following his release, Purifoy returned to work. The VA removed him from employment as a penalty for his unexcused absences, having first sent him a notice of proposed removal while he was at MSDF. A second notice cited two instances of extended unauthorized absence. Although an ALJ ordered Purifoy reinstated, the Merit Systems Protection Board upheld the termination. The Federal Circuit vacated, finding that the Board’s analysist improperly omitted relevant mitigation factors and discarded the ALJ’s credibility determinations without adequate rationale.
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