Larry Phillips, Petitioner, v. Office of Personnel Management, Respondent, 852 F.2d 1293 (Fed. Cir. 1988)

DECISION

The decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (board), Docket No. AT08318710553, sustaining Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) reconsideration decision terminating Larry Phillips' disability retirement annuity on the basis that he had recovered from his disability, is affirmed.

OPINION

The issue before the board was whether OPM erred in determining that Phillips had recovered from the back injury for which he was granted a disability annuity. Because Phillips' mental problems are unrelated to that issue, the board properly refused to discuss them. See Reid v. Office of Personnel Management, 26 M.S.P.R. 140, 141 n. * (1985). Thus, Phillips has not established that "there has been a substantial departure from important procedural rights, a misconstruction of the governing legislation, or some like error 'going to the heart of the administrative determination.' " Lindahl v. Office of Personnel Management, 470 U.S. 768, 791 (1985); Smith v. Office of Personnel Management, 760 F.2d 244, 246 (Fed. Cir. 1985).

Because this court may not review the factual underpinnings of disability determinations, we have not considered Phillips' argument that the evidence establishes his physical and mental disability. Lindahl, 470 U.S. at 791; Smith, 760 F.2d at 246.