Whistleblowers May Suffer Without Appeals Board, Last Member Says

Whistleblowers will be among those hit hardest if the board that hears federal employees’ personnel appeals has no members, the panel’s last remaining member told a House subcommittee on Feb. 28, his final day on the job.

The Merit Systems Protection Board “will be unable to approve or extend personnel action stay requests” from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which if granted temporarily suspend agency actions such as firings or demotions that are being challenged by employees so the OSC can investigate further, Mark Robbins, the acting chairman of the MSPB, told the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on ...