We Might Get an MSPB Soon (!)
February 2019 marks the 25th month the MSPB has been without a quorum. That means, for the past 25 months, agencies and (sometimes former) employees have been filing Petitions for Review on administrative judges’ initial decisions, and those PFRs have been stacking up higher every day. In fact, the other day then number of PFRs hit 2,000. Talk about paperwork.
However, there might be relief in sight. At 10 a.m. today the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will vote on two nominees to the Board (the Senate was informed last night that the nominee for Vice Chairman, Andrew Maunz, had withdrawn his name), and if what we are hearing is true, the nominees are expected to be voted through to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. I’ll be there, watching live, and if anything exciting or unexpected happens we’ll be sure to let you know. Interestingly, the committee is also going to look at a proposed amendment to the law which would allow the Acting Chair’s one-year holdover status to be extended to two years, thereby giving more time to schedule a full Senate vote and guaranteeing the MSPB would not be shut down on March 1 when the Acting Chair’s term expires. These are crazy times, indeed, and we’re waiting along with you to see what happens.
In the meantime, there’s some reading to do. We hope you enjoy.
Take care,
Deborah J. Hopkins, FELTG President