In Dokes v Department of Agriculture (CAFC No. 2024-1535 (nonprecedential) 12/9/2024), the fired employee attempted to win his job back following his removal by the agency. The reported facts are taken from the appeals court opinion.
Dokes was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after being shot and injured in a burglary incident. Subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he started receiving disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2005, he also began receiving Social Security disability benefits, which were paid out until 2013. (Opinion p. 2)
In October 2014, Mr. Dokes was hired by the USDA as a Program Specialist in the Food and Nutrition Service, managing retailer participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A year later, Mr. Dokes and his wife were indicted on charges of Social Security fraud for the period between 2006 and 2013, prior to his USDA employment. Apparently he had become a real estate agent, started various companies including an investment company, authored books, served as a Missouri public official and ran for the Missouri House of Representatives. Mr. Dokes pled guilty to all four counts of fraud, admitting that he had fraudulently claimed disability benefits while engaging in these various professional activities including real estate, company ownership, and authorship. (p. 3)
Mr. Dokes did not tell his agency about his criminal conviction following his guilty plea. However, a coworker heard the local news and reported Mr. Dokes’s legal troubles to USDA officials. Dokes was placed on administrative leave. In the criminal case, he was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution totaling $45,835.60. Shortly after his sentencing, the USDA terminated Mr. Dokes’s employment on a single charge of “Conduct Unbecoming a Federal Employee,” citing the position’s requirement for public trust. The agency pointed to his actions as reflecting “poorly on the Agency’s reputation…[and] calling into question [Dokes’] fundamental credibility and trustworthiness. The agency cited the adverse effect his actions had on the agency’s reputation. Further, the fact that Dokes did not inform the agency and instead it had to learn about his conviction from public news broadcasts was “pertinent” to the agency’s decision. (P.3)
The deciding official noted she had considered Mr Doke’s PTSD. Notwithstanding his serious health condition, it did not “change the fact that [Dokes] was convicted of fraudulently obtaining ..benefits…by making false statements.” (p. 3)
Mr. Dokes appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which upheld the USDA’s decision. The MSPB found sufficient evidence of misconduct and deemed termination an appropriate response.
Mr. Dokes went to court to challenge the MSPB decision. The court explained it does not defer to the Board’s legal determinations but affirms the factual findings if backed by substantial evidence, which the court found it had in this case.
Mr. Dokes argued that his PTSD was not adequately considered by the agency or the MSPB as a mitigating factor for his misconduct. The court reviewed the evidence presented by the government and disagreed with this argument. The appeals court affirmed the MSPB’s decision, confirming that Mr. Dokes’s termination was justified. The court found no procedural errors or insufficient consideration of his health condition that could have influenced the outcome in his favor. (P. 5)
This case underscores the accountability of federal employees to uphold trust and integrity in their positions.
