Diane Y. WASHINGTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. H. Lawrence GARRETT, III, Secretary of the Navy, Defendant-Appellee

Diane Washington appeals pro se the district court’s order granting partial summary judgment to the government and dismissing the remainder of her suit asserting claims of unlawful personnel practices and employment discrimination against the Navy. Because Washington alleges triable claims with respect to her separation from the Navy, we reverse in part the district court’s grant of summary judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1

From November 1986 to July 1988, Diane Washington, an honorably discharged Vietnam veteran, was employed as a Public Affairs Specialist at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. It was her job to edit The Hoist, the base newspaper. In that capacity, she distributed wilting and photographic assignments and oversaw the layout and printing of the paper. Washington’s civilian editorial position was classified as GS-9.

Initially, Washington worked with five other employees in the Public Affairs Office: Barton D. Buechner, Public Affairs Officer; Deborah Browning, Assistant Public Affairs Officer; Patricia Neal, Chief Journalist; Steven Hendrickson, Staff Writer; and Shannon Trahan, Secretary. Washington was the only black employee. She…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent from the portion of the majority opinion that reverses the Merit System Protection Board’s affirmance of the ALJ’s finding that the Navy’s “RIF action was based on a legitimate management reason.” ALJ Decision, Washington v. Navy, Docket No. SFO3518910016 filed Feb. 2, 1989, pp. 4-5 (ER 43-44). On this issue, we must apply a deferential standard of review.

It is our obligation as a reviewing court to affirm the Board’s decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. Young v. Sullivan, 911 F.2d 180, 183 (9th Cir.1990). Substantial evidence means more than a mere scintilla but less than a preponderance of the evidence. Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir.1991); see also Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 , 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1427 , 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971) (substantial evidence means “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion”) (citation omitted).

Substantial evidence need not convince us; it merely “must be enough to justify, if the trial were to a jury, a refusal to direct a verdict when the conclusion sought to be drawn from it is one of fact for the jury.” Consolo v. Federal…

10 F.3d 1421 63 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 540 , 63 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,860 Diane Y. WASHINGTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. H. Lawrence GARRETT, III, Secretary of the Navy, Defendant-Appellee. No. 92-55124. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 11, 1993. Decided Nov. 5, 1993. As Amended on Denial of Rehearing Jan. 26, 1994. Diane Y. Washington, pro se. Katheryn A. Snyder, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Diego, CA for defendant-appellee. Before FLETCHER, POOLE, and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge: 1 Diane Washington appeals pro se the district court's order granting partial summary judgment to the government and dismissing the remainder of her suit asserting claims of unlawful personnel practices and employment discrimination against the Navy. Because Washington alleges triable claims with respect to her separation from the Navy, we reverse in part the district court's grant of summary judgment. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1 2 From November 1986 to July 1988, Diane Washington, an honorably discharged Vietnam veteran, was employed as a Public Affairs…