The MSPB report also shows that the majority of appeals filed at hearing officers are pushed through to a decision by a hearing officer, despite a continuing drive by MSPB to have the parties settle.
It said that of the 16,000 appeals filed in fiscal 2014, nearly 5,300 were dismissed for various reasons, including lack of jurisdiction, lack of timeliness and other technical reasons. Of those not dismissed, only 10 percent were settled and the rest were adjudicated—with the agency action being upheld or left undisturbed in 88 percent, and overturned or modified in only 2 percent.
Settlements were especially rare in the furlough cases, it added, making up only 1 percent of such cases not dismissed.
By far the most common type of appeal is an adverse action by the agency, accounting for 13,100 of the 16,000. That was followed by retirement disputes, termination of probationers (who can appeal under limited circumstances), whistleblower appeals, veterans rights-related appeals, and various others.
