‘Buckets of Back Pay’ Could Go to Feds Once Appeal Board Is Back

The government will be on the hook for millions in back pay, attorneys’ fees, and interest to employees who’ve been wrongly dismissed once the board responsible for hearing appeals of agency personnel actions is finally confirmed by the Senate.

A federal worker making $100,000 who’s been waiting two years for the Merit Systems Protection Board to decide his or her case easily could be owed $300,000 in back pay, interest, and attorneys’ fees, said Bill Wiley, a San Francisco attorney and former chief counsel to the MSPB chairman. “Eventually these employees are going to have their day in court, and ...