NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
2008-3150
DEBORAH G. HARRISON,
Petitioner,
v.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT,
Respondent.
Deborah G. Harrison, of Blackstone, Virginia, pro se.
Maame A.F. Ewusi-Mensah, Trial Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil
Division, United States Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, for respondent. With
her on the brief were Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, Acting Assistant Attorney General; Jeanne E.
Davidson, Director, and Brian M. Simkin, Assistant Director.
Appealed from: Merit Systems Protection Board
NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
2008-3150
DEBORAH G. HARRISON,
Petitioner,
v.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT,
Respondent.
Petition for review of the Merit Systems Protection Board in DC844E070720-I-1.
__________________________
DECIDED: June 10, 2008
__________________________
Before BRYSON, Circuit Judge, ARCHER, Senior Circuit Judge, and PROST, Circuit
Judge.
PER CURIAM.
Deborah G. Harrison appeals an initial decision of the Merit Systems Protection
Board (“Board”), Harrison v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., No. DC844E070720-I-1 (M.S.P.B.
Oct. 2, 2007), which became final after the Board denied Ms. Harrison’s petition for
review, Harrison v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., No. DC844E070720-I-1 (M.S.P.B. Jan. 29,
2008). Because we perceive no error “going to the heart of the administrative process,”
Lindahl v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 470 U.S. 768, 791 (1985), we affirm.
Ms. Harrison was employed by the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) as a
Mail Handler. In April 2006, she filed an application for disability retirement benefits with
the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”). After reviewing the application and the
evidence Ms. Harrison submitted in support, OPM disallowed Ms. Harrison’s application
because it found “no medical basis for any claimed inability to regularly attend work and
perform [her] duties.” After OPM rejected Ms. Harrison’s motion for reconsideration,
she appealed to the Board. In an initial decision, the administrative judge affirmed
OPM’s decision, finding that Ms. Harrison presented insufficient medical evidence to
establish that she is entitled to disability retirement benefits. Ms. Harrison then
petitioned for review of the initial decision. The Board, finding no significant new
evidence or error in interpreting a law or regulation, denied Ms. Harrison’s petition and
made the administrative judge’s initial decision the final decision of the Board.
Our jurisdiction to review a final decision by the Board is limited by statute—we
must affirm that decision unless it is: “(1) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or
otherwise not in accordance with law; (2) obtained without procedures required by law,
rule, or regulation having been followed; or (3) unsupported by substantial evidence.” 5
U.S.C. § 7703(c). Our scope of review is even more limited in cases involving a
decision concerning disability retirement under the Federal Employees’ Retirement
System. In this case, therefore, we do not revisit any of the factual questions related to
Ms. Harrison’s medical situation. Rather, we review the record to determine “whether
there has been a substantial departure from important procedural rights, a
misconstruction of the governing legislation, or some like error going to the heart of the
administrative process.” Gooden v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 471 F.3d 1275, 1278 (Fed.
Cir. 2006) (quoting Lindahl, 470 U.S. at 791) (internal quotations omitted).
2008-3150 2
In her petition for review, Ms. Harrison does not allege any violation of her
procedural rights, misconstruction of legislation, or like error. In fact, Ms. Harrison
declines to provide any reason why she believes the Board erred. Instead, she simply
states that she wants this court to “[a]pprove of [d]isability [r]etirement.” We lack
jurisdiction to give Ms. Harrison this relief and are even “without authority to review the
substantive merits of disability determinations, or the factual underpinnings of such
determinations.” Id. (citing Lindahl, 470 U.S. at 791).
Moreover, our own review of the record reveals no departure from procedural
rights, misconstruction of governing legislation, or like error going to the heart of the
administrative determination. Accordingly, as we perceive no error within our scope of
review, we must affirm the decision of the Board.
COSTS
Each party shall bear its own costs.
2008-3150 3