Oguntade v. Merit Systems Protection Board
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Oguntade v. Merit Systems Protection Board addresses whistleblower protections for a federal employee who questioned the performance of a Department of Veterans Affairs AI tool used in disability-benefits claims processing. The Federal Circuit's September 22, 2026 precedential opinion returned his appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board for further proceedings on jurisdiction; it did not decide whether the VA retaliated against him.[1]
Background
Babatunde Oguntade worked as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the VA and was assigned to update CAAPI, an AI tool intended to speed disability-benefits claims. He alleged that his analyses showed the tool was instead slowing decisions, raised concerns internally in 2021 and was later removed from his position. The VA deactivated CAAPI in July 2021 pending further research and improvements. These allegations and the agency's reported steps appear in the appellate opinion; the appeal concerned the threshold for hearing his whistleblower claim.[1]
September 2026 opinion
The Federal Circuit held that Oguntade nonfrivolously alleged a reasonable belief that his disclosures evidenced gross mismanagement. It found that the MSPB had wrongly dismissed his individual-right-of-action appeal for lack of jurisdiction, reversed and remanded. The panel did not reach whether he also adequately alleged gross waste of funds. Judge Lourie's concurrence emphasized the decision's fact-specific jurisdictional scope and the value of responsible experimentation to address the VA claims backlog.[1]