Robin Wilson-Sauls v. Michelle Curtis

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Robin R. Wilson-Sauls appeals the district court’s dismissal of her complaint. We affirm.

The district court correctly held that it did not have jurisdiction over Wilson-Sauls’s action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The Department of Labor had already awarded compensation under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) for claims arising from the same facts. When FECA applies, it is an exclusive remedy, see Moe v. United States, 326 F.3d 1065, 1068 (9th Cir.2003), and a determination by the Secretary of Labor that FECA applies is generally un-reviewable by the courts, see 5 U.S.C. § 8128 (b); Staacke v. U.S. Sec’y of Labor, 841 F.2d 278, 281 (9th Cir.1988).

We have recognized “two narrow exceptions” to FECA’s “absolute jurisdictional bar”: “[cjourts retain jurisdiction to consider constitutional challenges or claims for violation of a clear statutory mandate or prohibition.” Markham v. United States, 434 F.3d 1185, 1187 (9th Cir.2006). Wilson-Sauls does not argue that either exception applies. She contends she did not waive her tort claim by accepting benefits under FECA because she did not initially apply for FECA benefits; instead, her…