Kimm v. Department of the Treasury

Kimm (plaintiff), a Treasury criminal investigator, occasionally used his government vehicle to transport his son during his wife's medical emergency, believing this deviation from vehicle policy was reasonably permissible and typically overlooked; the Department (defendant) suspended him for a policy violation, and an administrative judge, finding Kimm's testimony about his own state of mind more credible than the Department's, ruled the record lacked substantial evidence of willful violation and ordered reinstatement. The full Merit Systems Protection Board, without hearing the live testimony itself, reversed and reinstated the suspension, and Kimm appealed.