Manuel v. Office of Personnel Management — dismissed an untimely benefits appeal for lack of jurisdiction

Unreported / Non-Citable

Background

Jacqueline R. Manuel, a former U.S. Postal Service employee, alleged that an on-the-job injury led USPS to force her to retire. She applied through the Office of Personnel Management for disability-retirement benefits, but OPM denied the application, and its review board affirmed that denial on April 15, 2022.

Manuel sought judicial review and asserted claims including disparate treatment, disability discrimination, retaliation, reemployment-rights violations, and breach of contract. She initially filed in the Federal Circuit, which transferred the case to the Southern District of Texas because her discrimination allegations made the district court the proper forum under 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2). OPM moved for summary judgment, arguing both claim preclusion and lack of jurisdiction.

The Court’s Holding

The district court granted OPM’s motion and dismissed Manuel’s petition without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court did not address OPM’s claim-preclusion argument.

The court held that § 7703(b)(2), rather than the 60-day deadline in § 7703(b)(1)(A), governed because Manuel’s case involved discrimination claims. Manuel acknowledged receiving notice of the final decision on April 18, 2022, but the Federal Circuit did not receive her appeal until June 15, 2022—58 days later and beyond § 7703(b)(2)’s 30-day deadline. Manuel did not present an equitable-tolling argument, so the court declined to undertake that analysis.

Key Takeaways

• A federal employee’s appeal involving discrimination claims must be filed in federal district court under 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(2).
• The court applied § 7703(b)(2)’s 30-day filing period, measured from the employee’s receipt of notice of the reviewable decision.
• Because Manuel filed after that deadline and did not brief equitable tolling, the court dismissed her petition without prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Why It Matters

The decision underscores that the filing route and deadline for judicial review of federal-employment decisions depend on whether discrimination claims are involved. Employees pursuing such mixed claims must file in district court within the applicable 30-day period, and any basis for equitable tolling should be supported with case-specific facts and expressly presented to the court.