MSPB Nearing Full Clearance of Backlog Cases

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is making significant progress in clearing the backlog of cases that stem from 2017 to 2022, when the Board lacked a quorum and was unable to adjudicate cases.

MSPB says that of September 30, 2024, it has decided 94 percent of the cases that accrued during the backlog. It hopes to finish the remaining cases in fiscal year (FY) 2025, likely by the end of December. In raw numbers, just 226 cases remain.

No Quorum for Five Years

From January 7, 2017, to March 3, 2022, the Board did not have a quorum, meaning it could not decide cases or petitions. The quorum requires at least two of the three Senate-confirmed Board seats to be filled.

When the quorum was filled on March 4, 2022, with the confirmation of Raymond Limon and Tristan Leavitt as MSPB members, the Board inherited a backlog of 3,793 cases.  

“Since the MSPB’s quorum was restored, it has been our mission to provide decisions to the thousands of Federal employees and agencies who had been waiting. Through the hard work and dedication of the Board’s employees and my fellow members, we have been able to nearly eliminate the inherited inventory in 2.5 years. We will continue to work hard to adjudicate the remainder of the cases pending before us,” said MSPB Chairman Cathy Harris, who herself became a Board member and acting chairman in May 2022 and became permanent chairman in 2024.

Strategic Approach

Board Chairman Harris credits a strategic approach for whittling down the backlog. That includes focusing on the following:

·      Issuing decisions in a majority of the 1,000 oldest cases in the inherited inventory.

·      Using “short orders” to quickly move cases through.

·      Focusing on cases that have the potential to set precedent for other pending cases.

·      Allowing federal employees to file appeals electronically.

The electronic appeals process helped pick up the pace with decisions, with the board deciding some 2,300 since the digital element was launched in October 2023.

Keeping the Appeals Process Going

The MSPB is working on options to ensure that such a backlog does not accumulate again, even if there is an absence of a quorum.  

In an interim final rule published in the Federal Register, the Board would be able to continue processing certain cases even in the absence of a quorum.

As such, the single MSPB member or a Board staff member would be able to assign certain work duties to an appointed administrative judge. An MSPB staff member could also work on such cases “to the limited extent necessary to facilitate final decision-making by a future quorum.”

While the rule took effect on that took effect October 7, 2024, the Board is still encouraging public comments through November 8, 2024.

Previous
Previous

Blue Collar Feds Due for Raise as OPM Publishes Pay Parity Rule

Next
Next

Federal Employees Deal with Funding Concerns, Misinformation, as Hurricane Relief Efforts Continue