Kirby A. Faciane, former USPS District Manager for the Oakland (now Bay-Valley) District appealed his removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). After MSPB sustained the charges and removal, Mr. Faciane appealed to the Federal Circuit of Appeals. Faciane v. U.S Postal Service, No. 05-3209 2 (non-precedential), 3/10/06

The court found that …

 The board properly considered the relevant evidence before it and did not abuse its discretion in making its credibility determinations. Substantial evidence supports the board’s findings that the agency proved its charges against Faciane by a preponderance of the evidence 

PR note: “Preponderance of the evidence is defined as” ‘[t]he degree of relevant evidence that a reasonable person, considering the record as a whole, would accept as sufficient to find that a contested fact is more likely to be true than untrue.’

And that there was a

nexus between Faciane’s removal and promoting the efficiency of the agency’s operations, and that the penalty imposed was not an abuse of the agency’s discretion.

The court also ruled that it was not required for USPS to show Faciane violated “a specific rule, regulation, or policy.”

Additionally, Mr. Faciane waived his claims for

disability discrimination and violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act by not presenting them to the board. Furthermore, his claims for procedural defects that allegedly occurred before the board and during the agency’s disciplinary proceedings are not applicable to the disciplinary proceedings at hand.

In short, the court affirmed Mr. Faciane’s removal by the Postal Service and MSPB’s decision upholding that removal.