MSPB has said that its authority to order an agency to make employees whole monetarily after ruling in their favor does not extend to all aspects of the employees’ losses.
The case involved an employee who successfully challenged two indefinite suspensions and in which MSPB had ordered the agency to pony up back pay with interest and other benefits. The employee then asserted that the agency was not complying, by not fully restoring his annual leave, miscalculating overtime back pay. and failing to make appropriate contributions to his TSP account.
A hearing officer sided with the agency regarding the overtime back pay but held in favor of the agency regarding the annual leave and the TSP.
On appeal, the merit board agreed regarding the annual leave, but reversed the hearing officer’s decisions regarding the overtime calculation and the TSP. Regarding the latter, the board noted that the employee was not eligible to invest in the TSP during a period after taking a financial hardship in-service withdrawal. The board said it has no authority to order an agency to make contributions to the employee’s account during that period.
Regarding the overtime issue, it added, the agency should have calculated the appellant’s overtime back pay according to his overtime history, instead of averaging the overtime worked by employees who held the same position in the same directorate.