Postal Employee Kanal Gaston filed an appeal to the the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) alleging that the USPS  Office of Inspector General (OIG) engaged in prohibited personnel practices as a result of his whistleblowing activity under the Whistleblower’s Protection Act (“WPA”), 5 U.S.C. §.  MSPB dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because Postal Service employees cannot appeal violations of the WPA directly to the MSPB under individual right of action (“IRA”) provisions. Gaston asserted that the OIG was not a part of the Postal Service. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the OIG is subject to appointment and removal by the Postal Board of Governors, which serves as the “head of department” for the Postal Service. The Court concluded that the employee was a Postal Service employee and that the MSPB lacked jurisdiction over his appeal.

Therefore, Gaston was a Postal Service employee. Because employees of the Postal Service cannot appeal violations of the WPA directly to the Board under IRA provisions, we affirm the Board’s dismissal because it lacked jurisdiction over Gaston’s WPA appeal.

While Gaston’s appeal was pending before MSPB, he was removed from his position with the OIG for being absent without leave (“AWOL”) for over 280 hours.

Gaston v. Merit Systems Protection Bd. (Fed.Circuit 2006),