Case Summary:

Marcus L. Swearengen was a civilian Electronics Mechanic Leader for the Department of the Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, who was removed from his position based on two agency charges: making inappropriate remarks to a coworker and creating a disruption in the workplace during a loud verbal exchange in the shop bay that other employees could hear. He appealed his removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, where an administrative judge initially sustained both charges and the penalty of removal, and the full Board later modified that outcome by finding the “inappropriate remarks” charge unproven while still sustaining the “creating a disruption in the workplace” charge and upholding his removal, after which Swearengen petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for review.