{"id":9640,"date":"2019-02-28T20:09:46","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T20:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/28\/who-will-handle-federal-employee-appeals-now\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:26:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:26:41","slug":"who-will-handle-federal-employee-appeals-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2019\/02\/28\/who-will-handle-federal-employee-appeals-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will handle federal employee appeals now?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 1 marks the first day in the entire history of the Merit Systems Protection Board that none of the three member positions will be filled, a situation that could have significant repercussions for federal employee watchdogs and the disciplinary appeals process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the longest absence of a quorum in the history of the agency, and unlike other agencies, the vacant seats at MSPB cannot be filled in an acting capacity,\u201d said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., at a Feb. 28 hearing on MSPB\u2019s ability to function without members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is clear, however, that whistleblowers will lose, because the Office of Special Counsel will no longer be able to abstain a stay of retaliatory actions against them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board has been hobbled since January 2017, when then-Chairman Susan Tsui Grundman\u2019s term expired, leaving only Vice Chairman Mark Robbins still serving as a member.<\/p>\n\n\n\t