James R. Bankston v. Thomas E. White, Secretary of the Army United States of America

James Bankston appeals from the district court’s dismissal of his Age Discrimination in Employment Act claim for lack of jurisdiction. The district court held that Bankston had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies because he voluntarily dismissed an appeal he had filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board. We reverse the district court’s dismissal of Bankston’s complaint.

Bankston was fired from his job as OSHA officer for the Department of the Army on February 25, 1999. He filed an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board on March 24, 1999, but then withdrew it on May 25, 1999, sixty-one days after filing. On May 26, the Board granted his motion to withdraw, which became the final decision of the Board on June 30, 1999. On July 14, 1999, Bankston notified the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the EEOC, of his intent to file suit in federal court. He filed suit on September 23, 1999. The government moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that Bankston had to exhaust his administrative remedies and that he had not done so. The district court stayed the suit for 90 days to permit Bankston to try to reopen his appeal before the Board. Bankston tried…