Agencies Typically Win at MSPB

According to the Merit Systems Protection Board’s annual report covering fiscal 2004, the board dismissed slightly more than half of the appeals that federal employees filed before it for lack of jurisdiction or timeliness. Of the remainder, more than half were settled. Of the 1,141 appeals decided on the merits, the agency decision was upheld four-fifths of the time while the rest were either reversed or “mitigated”—that is, a lesser penalty was imposed. On appeal to the Federal Circuit court of appeals, MSPB’s decisions were upheld 95 percent of the time. MSPB is the primary route for employees to appeal major disciplinary and other adverse personnel actions, although union-represented employees typically have the choice of going to the board or through negotiated grievance and arbitration procedures.