Tens of thousands of employees have submitted appeals to the MSPB recently as the result of being furloughed. Due to the unprecedented influx of appeals, the MSPB is delaying the processing and adjudication of them until a better general understanding of the claims is reached. The MSPB will be posting updates on the status of the appeals to its web site.
The latest note on the site reads:
Due to the unprecedented large volume of furlough appeals being received from employees of the military services and Department of Defense activities (DoD) – and after much consideration – MSPB has decided to delay the processing and adjudication of these appeals until we have a better understanding of the claims being raised, the work locations of the appellants, the MSPB offices in which the appeals have been filed, and whether or not the appellants are represented. We are currently working to make these determinations and will update our website with information as soon as possible.
In the coming weeks, we will be sending out an Acknowledgment Notice to all parties, including those who have already received standard Acknowledgement Orders, explaining the status of these cases in more detail. We have also sent out the responses to inquiries from the General Counsels of the Navy, Air Force, and Army, which are linked here.
MSPB will also be unable to respond quickly to inquiries regarding these furlough appeals. We ask therefore that parties to the DoD furlough appeals refrain from contacting MSPB’s regional and field offices until we inform you that processing of your appeal has begun.
The MSPB also has posted a document with information on employee rights for appealing furloughs.
