Phyllis Taylor v. Social Security Administration

I.

Plaintiff-appellant Phyllis Taylor appeals from the district court order denying her request to transfer this action to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. We reverse.

II.

Taylor, an employee of the Social Security Administration, was demoted from claims representative to service representative because of allegedly unsatisfactory job performance. Taylor appealed her demotion to the Voluntary Labor Arbitration Tribunal (VLAT). On July 27, 1984, the VLAT denied Taylor’s appeal upon finding that substantial evidence supported the Social Security Administration’s position that Taylor had failed to meet reasonable performance standards. On August 27, 1984, Taylor appealed the VLAT’s order to the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

On March 18, 1985, the district court ordered Taylor to show cause why her claim should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In its order, the court directed Taylor’s attention to 5 U.S.C. §§ 7121 (f) and 7703(b)(1) (1982) which indicate that appeals from decisions of the VLAT are to be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Taylor filed a…