U.S. Court Upholds “Mixed Case” Whistleblower Lawsuit

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the “mixed case” claim filed by Dr. Kiki Ikossi. KKC partner Michael D. Kohn urged the Appeals Court to uphold the “mixed case” doctrine and permit Dr. Ikossi to bypass the Merit Systems Protection Board and directly challenge her wrongful discharge in federal court. The “mixed case” doctrine permits a federal employee who alleges discrimination based on Title VII (i.e. race, sex, national origin discrimination) and whistleblower retaliation to file one lawsuit in federal court. Instead of having the whistleblower claims decided by the Merit Systems Protection Board (which has a terrible record of protecting whistleblowers) the retaliation case can be decided in federal court.