The MSPB has agreed that a federal employee was within her rights to revoke a settlement agreement she had reached with her agency, even though the board’s hearing officer had considered the case closed once the agreement was reached.
MSPB encourages settlements as a way to shorten often lengthy and acrimonious formal appeals of personnel actions; the one at issue contained a clause allowing the employee to back out within seven days of finalizing the agreement. While the administrative judge dismissed the appeal as settled, on the day before the deadline the employee informed the agency that she was revoking the agreement.
The board sided with the employee and returned the dispute to the administrative judge to continue considering the appeal, saying under the plain language of the agreement, the employee was within her rights to back out.
Further, although the settlement allowed for “severing” any portions found to be not legally enforceable while enforcing the remainder, the revocation clause was enforceable, it said.
