This case law update was written by Victoria E. Grieshammer, an attorney at the law firm of Shaw Bransford & Roth, where since 2021 she has represented federal officials and employees in all aspects of federal personnel employment law. Ms. Grieshammer also advises federal agencies and employers on employment issues, such as proposed disciplinary actions and other employment-related litigation.
The appellant, an administrative law judge with the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearing Operations, filed this appeal challenging the final decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board denying his request for differential pay for his military service. While employed at the agency, the appellant was also a First Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the Army Reserve. From January to May 2017, he was activated under 10 U.S.C. § 12301(d) to perform military service and, during this period, he conducted basic trainings for new Judge Advocates.
The appellant requested differential pay from the agency to make up the difference between his military pay and what he would have been paid as an employee of the agency during his service. The agency denied this request, determining that he was not entitled to differential pay under 5 U.S.C. § 5538(a) because he was called to active duty pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 12301(d). The appellant appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and an administrative judge issued an initial decision denying his request. He did...
federal government to resolve False Claims Act claims with a price tag of $1. 5 billion, part of a settlement it said "provides the only viable pathway" to resolution and moving forward with a reor...