Maria A. Gregory argued that she was unfairly fired when three previous disciplinary charges were used in the case against her, even though appeals to those charges were still pending. Postal Service lawyer, Gregory Garre, argued that employees could use the appeals process to avoid penalties and the fact that the postal service cannot hire a new full-time worker until the fired worker’s appeals are exhausted would create harmful hiring delays for the agency.
See "Supreme Court hears fired postal worker's challenge", Jeffrey McMurray, Detroit News, October 9, 2001