Mr. Rivera may need to take DOE back to court

Update: Mr. Rivera may need to take DOE back to the United States District Court

LAW OFFICES OF ANTHONY P. X. BOTHWELL 
558 Presidio Blvd., Ste. B
PO Box 29547
San Francisco, CA 94129-0547
(415) 370-9571
apxb007@msn.com 

August 2, 2018

The Honorable Rick Perry
Secretary 
United States Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585

Re: Anthony T. Rivera v. LLNS
OHA Case No. WBB-17-0010

Dear Secretary Perry:

On January 4, 2018 Anthony Rivera timely filed his Petition to the Secretary seeking review of the case of termination of his employment in 2013, after he had made protected disclosures of safety violations and mismanagement with Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), the contractor that operates Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

It has been seven months since that Petition to the Secretary Perry was filed. I am obliged to advise that Mr. Rivera will feel compelled to bring the Department of Energy back into the United States District Court here unless he receives a favorable Final Agency Decision this month, or by September 4, 2018.

Further delay would appear unreasonable in the circumstances. See Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 555(b); Telecommunications Research & Action Center v. FCC, 750 F.2d 70, 77-78 (D.C. Cir. 1984); Forrest Guardians v. Babbitt, 174 F.3d 1178, 1193 (10th Cir. 1998); In re United Mine Workers of America International Union, 190 F.3d 545, 546 (D.C. Cir. 1999); Charles Evans, Case No. TBU-0026 (June 2, 2004). After all, Secretary Moniz unduly had delayed a decision in this case, which arose from events that occurred more years earlier. And I recall that, when the matter was pending in federal court in 2016, the then-counsel for DOE misrepresented to the court that the litigation was “premature” given a review by the then DOE Deputy Secretary was pending, when in actuality the matter was simply pushed back to the DOE OHA, creating additional unreasonable delays for my client. Mr. Rivera and his family needlessly suffer continued emotional and financial hardship as a result of the failure to remedy the unjustified NNSA/LLNS destruction of Mr. Rivera’s career that occurred more than five years ago. 

Your proclaimed commitment to health and safety in DOE facilities, and to zero tolerance for whistleblower retaliation – now tested in the case of Anthony T. Rivera – is much appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

ANTHONY P. X. BOTHWELL
Attorney for Anthony T. Rivera

cc. Dorothy S. Liu, Esq.