Eric Jones v. John E. Potter, Postmaster General

OPINION

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge.

Following a verbal, on-the-job altercation with a female coworker in March of 2002, Eric Jones was discharged from his post as a torn-mail handler with the United States Postal Service (USPS). An arbitrator subsequently determined that Jones’s dismissal was disproportionately harsh, which resulted in the USPS returning him to active duty in July of 2003. His reinstatement included backpay for all but 30 days of wages and benefits lost during the period of his unemployment. Despite having thus been “made whole,” Jones filed the instant suit in federal…