About MSPB
The Merit Systems Protection Board is an
independent, quasi-judicial agency in the Executive
branch that serves as the guardian of Federal merit
systems. The Board was established by Reorganization
Plan No. 2 of 1978, which was codified by the Civil
Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), Public La
w
No. 95-454. The CSRA, which became effective January
11, 1979, replaced the Civil Service Commission with
three new independent agencies: Office of Personnel
Management (OPM), which manages the Federal work
force; Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA),
which oversees Federal labor-management relations;
and, the Board.
The Board assumed the employee appeals function of
the Civil Service Commission and was given new
responsibilities to perform merit systems studies
and to review the significant actions of OPM. The
CSRA also created the Office of Special Counsel
(OSC) which investigates allegations of prohibited
personnel practices, prosecutes violators of civil
service rules and regulations, and enforces the
Hatch Act. Although originally established as an
office of the Board, the OSC now functions
independently as a prosecutor of cases before the
Board. (In July 1989, the Office of Special Counsel
became an independent Executive branch agency.)
For an explanation of your rights as a Federal
employee, and for an in-depth review of the Board's
jurisdiction and adjudication process, please review
the MSPB publication, An Introduction to the MSPB.
The Board's mission is to protect Federal merit
systems and the rights of individuals within those
systems. MSPB carries out its statutory
responsibilities and authorities primarily by
adjudicating individual employee appeals and by
conducting merit systems studies. In addition, MSPB
reviews the significant actions of the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) to assess the degree to
which those actions may affect merit.
MSPB Does Not
Do:
- Hear and decide discrimination complaints
except when allegations of discrimination are
raised in appeals from agency personnel actions
brought before Board. That responsibility
belongs to the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
(EEOC).
- Negotiate and resolve disputes, unfair labor
practice complaints, and exceptions to
arbitration awards. That responsibility belongs
to the Federal Labor Relations Authority
(FLRA).
- Provide advice on employment, examinations,
staffing, retirement and benefits. That
responsibility belongs to the Office of
Personnel Management
(OPM).
- Investigate allegations of activities
prohibited by civil service laws, rules or
regulations. That responsibility belongs to the
Office of Special Counsel
(OSC).
- Hear or decide claims of whistleblowing
reprisal filed by employees of, or applicants
for employment with, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation
(FBI). That responsibility belongs to the
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Attorney
Recruitment and Management (OARM).
- Have jurisdiction over non-Federal appeals
from private industry, local, city, county or
state employees.