Background
Rhonda Owens Caracciolo appealed her removal by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the Merit Systems Protection Board. She alleged that the removal resulted from discrimination based on race, age, and prior equal employment opportunity activity.
The Board rejected Caracciolo’s discrimination claims and affirmed the FDIC’s action. She then sought review in the Federal Circuit, and her filings indicated that she intended to continue pursuing those discrimination claims. After the court issued an order to show cause, the FDIC urged dismissal or transfer to a federal district court; Caracciolo did not respond.
The Court’s Holding
In a nonprecedential per curiam order, the Federal Circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction over Caracciolo’s mixed case. Because she challenged an action appealable to the MSPB while also alleging prohibited discrimination—and did not abandon those allegations—judicial review belonged in federal district court rather than the Federal Circuit.
The court determined that transfer was appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1631. It transferred the matter and all case filings to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, where the employment action appeared to have occurred.
Key Takeaways
- A federal employee’s MSPB case remains a mixed case when the employee continues to pursue discrimination allegations on judicial review.
- Federal district courts, rather than the Federal Circuit, hear mixed cases involving appealable personnel actions and covered discrimination claims.
- The Federal Circuit transferred the entire matter instead of dismissing it.
Why It Matters
The order reinforces the jurisdictional path for federal employees seeking review of MSPB decisions involving discrimination claims. Even when the MSPB rejects those claims, an employee who continues to pursue them generally must seek judicial review in federal district court.
For practitioners, the decision highlights the importance of identifying whether discrimination or retaliation claims remain part of an MSPB appeal before selecting the reviewing court.