DuPage Regional Office of Education v. U.S. Dept. of Education

Record did not support ALJ’s finding that plaintiff-employer violated National Defense Authorization Act by issuing petitioner’s employee five reprisals, including his termination, after employee made two protected disclosures. Record showed that employee filed whistleblower complaint with respondent Dept. of Education after his termination, and ALJ, in awarding employee $210,000, found that all five reprisals were related to his protected disclosures that included denial of $10,000 invoice for breakfast expenses and denial of request for approval of contract’s application to certain grant. Ct. of Appeals rejected petitioner’s claim that 11th Amendment precluded respondent from adjudicating employee’s whistle blowing complaint. However, with respect to five reprisals identified by employee, ALJ either: (1) failed to consider whether another entity was responsible for said reprisal; (2) failed to consider evidence indicating that petitioner had valid concerns about employee’s job skills to support withdrawal of duties and issuance of job performance plan regardless of whether employee had made protected disclosures; (3) failed to link employee’s protected disclosures to certain reprisals; and (4) failed to sufficiently consider employee’s poor job performance when determining propriety of employee’s termination. Accordingly, remand was required for new determination of whistle blowing complaint.