Saeed Tavakkol, an Operations Industrial Engineer with the U.S. Postal Service in the Seattle NDC, filed this appeal after a denial by the Merit Systems Protection Board. Mr. Tavakkol asserted that intolerable working conditions caused him to suffer anxiety, depression, and physical pain and coerced him to resign.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wrote:
We have adopted the Fruhauf test for establishing involuntary coercion by an agency. To establish involuntariness on the basis of coercion this court requires an employee to show:
(1) the agency effectively imposed the terms of the employee’s resignation or retirement;
(2) the employee had no realistic alternative but to resign or retire; and
(3) the employee’s resignation or retirement was the result of improper acts by the agency.
The record therefore indicates that Mr. Tavakkol had two alternatives in front of him, resign or stand and fight, and he chose the former. Our precedent holds that choosing between standing and fighting–i.e., challenging the agency conduct while still employed–or resigning demonstrates a freedom of choice between alternatives rather than an involuntary resignation.
REF: Case Number 2024-1514.Decision.5-14-2026.pdf
Petitioner: Saeed Tavakkol
Tribunal: US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
MSPB Docket No. SF-0752-19-0587-I-1
Issuance Date: May 14, 2026
My comment: It is nearly impossible to win an involuntary resignation argument against the USPS. Mr. Tavakkol might have had better luck if he had applied for a federal employee disability retirement.
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Decision – May 14, 2026:
First Name: Don
Last Name: Cheney
Email: doncheney@live.com
Union/Local: APWU Auburn WA Local
Office held if any: President