Hayden v. Dep’t of the Air Force

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Hayden, a member of the Air Force Reserves, has worked as a protocol specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base since 2002. The Base is geographically divided into Areas A and B: each has a protocol office. Hayden worked in B Flight, classified as GS-9, until 2010. Because he acquired new duties in transferring to Area A, the agency upgraded Hayden’s position to GS-11. In 2012, Hayden’s supervisor requested to upgrade his position to GS-12, “based on accretion of duties.” Hayden received orders to begin active service in April, 2012. In May, a human resources position classifier notified Hayden’s supervisor that she needed to interview Hayden in person. As a result, his upgrade was cancelled because he was in nonpay status. In July, protocol support duties for AFSAC were transferred to another unit, reducing the need for GS-12 level employees. Hayden’s supervisor did not resubmit the upgrade request. In May 2013, Hayden received a performance feedback memorandum which stated that he was no longer working at the GS-12 level. Hayden filed a request for corrective action alleging Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. 4301, violations. The Federal Circuit agreed with the Merit Systems Protection Board in rejecting his reemployment and retaliation claims, but vacated its rejection of his claim of discrimination based on military service and remanded.. View "Hayden v. Dep't of the Air Force" on Justia Law