The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has dismissed a complaint
filed by a “dual status” military technician, stemming
from her allegation that gender was a reason she did not
receive a $10,000 signing bonus promised to her when she
took a job in the Georgia National Guard. The court found
that it did not have jurisdiction because she was not
technically a “civilian” in that role.
A major in the Army National Guard and a GS-12 excepted
service federal employee, the plaintiff was hired by the
Georgia National Guard as a dual status military
technician and assigned to an army facility as a
supervisory maintenance test pilot, according to the
decision.
It said she was promised a bonus but never got it despite
the fact that the other test pilots, all male and working
in substantially similar positions were getting them.
She complained to her supervisors that she thought gender
might be a factor and after filing a discrimination charge
with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission she began
receiving “negative performance evaluations and
accusations regarding her abilities as a technician,”
though prior to her complaints about not receiving the
bonus, the plaintiff earned excellent performance
evaluations, the decision said.
