Harrow v. Department of Defense

Stuart R. Harrow, a Department of Defense employee, was removed from his position and appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board. An administrative judge upheld the removal in 2017, and Harrow sought further Board review. However, the Board lacked a quorum for over five years and did not issue a final decision until May 2022. Harrow petitioned the Federal Circuit for review about two weeks after the 60-day deadline in 5 U.S.C. § 7703(b)(1)(A). The Federal Circuit dismissed the petition as untimely, treating the deadline as jurisdictional. The Supreme Court reversed on May 16, 2024, holding the deadline is a nonjurisdictional claim-processing rule that may be equitably tolled.

The Supreme Court unanimously held that the 60-day filing deadline is not jurisdictional and may be equitably tolled. It reversed the Federal Circuit's dismissal and remanded for further proceedings.

Whether the 60-day statutory deadline for a federal employee to petition for judicial review of a Merit Systems Protection Board final decision is a jurisdictional requirement or a claim-processing rule that can be equitably tolled.

The ruling safeguards federal employees' access to judicial review when agency delays or extraordinary circumstances cause late filings. It also clarifies the distinction between jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional deadlines in federal statutes, influencing administrative law and employment litigation.