Thompson v. District of Columbia

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of an employee’s Superior Court action challenging a 90-day suspension from employment with DC Public Schools. The court held that the employee was required to appeal the final agency decision to the Office of Employee Appeals before seeking judicial review, and that the agency’s delay in issuing its decision did not confer Superior Court jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. The Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act requires a DCPS employee challenging a qualifying adverse personnel action, including a suspension of ten days or more, to appeal to the Office of Employee Appeals before seeking judicial review in the Superior Court.
2. The regulation did not permit Thompson to bypass OEA by appealing to the Superintendent or Chancellor. It is most naturally read to mean that an employee who elects another statutory appeal route waives the right to appeal to the Superintendent, not that an appeal to the Superintendent substitutes for an OEA appeal.
3. An agency's failure to comply with a regulatory deadline for issuing a final decision does not confer Superior Court jurisdiction over an appeal that is required to proceed first to OEA.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a DCPS employee challenging a suspension of ten days or more must appeal to the Office of Employee Appeals before filing a complaint in the Superior Court.
2. Whether Thompson's appeal to the Superintendent of Schools exhausted his administrative remedies or allowed him to bypass the OEA.
3. Whether the agency's failure to issue a timely final decision conferred jurisdiction on the Superior Court.

Disposition

affirmed