CBCA 7109

DENIED: December 19, 2022 CBCA 7109 GERALD E. PAULUS, JR.,1 Appellant, v. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Respondent. Gerald E. Paulus, Jr., pro se, Mesa, AZ. John B. Alumbaugh and Eugene J. Benick III, Office of the General Counsel, Agency for International Development, Washington, DC, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges BEARDSLEY (Chair), KULLBERG, and ZISCHKAU. ZISCHKAU, Board Judge. Appellant, Gerald E. Paulus, Jr., appeals a decision by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to terminate his personal services contract for cause after a co-worker reported harassment by him. Mr. Paulus argues that his termination for 1 Because the personal services contract at issue here was between USAID and Gerald Edward Paulus, Jr., and did not involve any other corporate entity, the caption has been corrected to reflect this by changing appellant’s name, which the Board in its notice of docketing recorded as “Gerald E. Paulus dba ET/ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, LC,” to “Gerald E. Paulus, Jr.” CBCA 7109 2 cause should either be invalidated or be changed to a termination for convenience because USAID’s grounds for the termination are not supported and he was not provided written notice of the reasons for his termination. He also seeks compensation for the leave and other benefits that he claims he accrued prior to the termination. We conclude that USAID has met its burden for sustaining the termination for cause and further conclude that Mr. Paulus is not entitled to other compensation. Accordingly, we deny the appeal. Background In 2020, USAID contracted with Mr. Paulus to serve as a project management specialist in Afghanistan. As modified, the personal services contract called for a base performance period from April 6, 2020, through January 30, 2022, with three option years. Mr. Paulus and the co-worker who subsequently reported the harassment met in February 2021 during the course of their duties. On March 4, 2021, after helping the co- worker carry packages to the co-worker’s apartment, Mr. Paulus began messaging the co- worker. The co-worker gave minimal replies and never provoked the messaging coming from Mr. Paulus. Mr. Paulus continued to message the co-worker and made requests to spend time with the co-worker, which the co-worker declined. After more texts seeking personal information about the co-worker, the co-worker told Mr. Paulus that the co-worker was increasingly uncomfortable with his texting. Mr. Paulus offered to stop texting, and the co-worker replied yes to that offer. However, Mr. Paulus continued to message the co- worker afterwards. On March 8, 2021, the co-worker reported Mr. Paulus’ behavior to a supervisor. The Regional Security Office (RSO) Threat Intelligence and Investigations branch was informed of the co-worker’s complaint and immediately began investigating the complaint about Mr. Paulus. On March 8, RSO special agents met with the co-worker and Mr. Paulus separately. The co-worker reported that Mr. Paulus had messaged the co-worker, emailed and attempted a phone call to the co-worker, and viewed the co-worker’s LinkedIn profile. The co-worker felt threatened by Mr. Paulus and said that his communications were inappropriate. The agents then interviewed Mr. Paulus, informing him that he needed to cease any contact with the co-worker and that failure to comply with this directive could result in removal from the post and being sent back to the United States on the next flight. Mr. Paulus agreed not to contact the co-worker. However, the next day, March 9, 2021, while passing by the co-worker in the embassy compound, Mr. Paulus approached and called out to the co-worker and said that he was sorry and that the co-worker did not need to fear him. The co-worker reported this contact to the RSO. Later that day, one of the RSO security agents spoke with Mr. Paulus and reminded him that just the day before he was ordered to stay away from the co-worker and had agreed to do so. Mr. Paulus replied that he meant no harm and that if he has to be sent home so be CBCA 7109 3 it. He asked the agent if he could write a statement, and the agent agreed to receive his statement by email. On March 10, Mr.