Federal whistleblower claim is dismissed because plaintiff did not file administrative complaint

The Court of Appeals holds that a plaintiff who wants to sue the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for retaliation over his whistleblowing cannot do so because he did not initially file an administrative complaint under the Whistleblower Protection Act.

The case is Chinniah v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, issued on March 15. Plaintiff says he was fired shortly after he told management that a coworker was signing in for work but not actually working. Under the Whistleblower Protection Act, federal civil servants cannot suffer retaliation for reporting certain forms of rulebreaking or mismanagement, wasted money, or substantial and specific dangers to public health. Time theft might not be as serious as threats to public health, but it looks like plaintiff is arguing that that kind of rule-breaking falls within the WPA's protections. 

If plaintiff has a legitimate case, we will never know, because other Circuits have held that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 requires that whistleblower file an administrative complaint with the Office of Special Counsel and then to the Merit Systems Protection Board before they can proceed in court. The WPA is part of the Civil Service Reform Act and the Ninth Circuit held in 2016 that both statures "are integrated into a single statutory scheme." Other Circuits have already held that cases like this must first be litigated administratively before you can file in court.  The Second Circuit adopts the reasoning in those cases and holds the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case.