John J. Harter v. United States of America

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge SILBERMAN.

SILBERMAN, Circuit Judge:

Appellant John J. Harter was involuntarily retired from the Foreign Service in 1983 because he failed to gain promotion to the Senior Foreign Service within the time-frame set by regulation under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, 22 U.S.C. §§ 3901-4226 (1982 & Supp. IV 1986). Harter filed a timely grievance with the Foreign Service Grievance Board (“FSGB”), asserting, inter alia, that unfairly critical statements in his personnel file may have contributed to his “passover.” Following the Board’s initial…