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With the longest federal government shutdown in history now over, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) can get back to work handling federal employee appeals.
Faced with the government shutdown Oct. 1–Nov. 13, coupled with a lack of a quorum earlier this year, the MSPB effectively has not been able to fully perform its work since April.
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During the government shutdown, the MSPB was closed, which meant that processing of all appeals and other pleadings were temporarily suspended, regardless of whether any matters were pending in a regional or field office, before the full Board in Washington, D.C., or before an administrative law judge, according to the MSPB. Further, most personnel were not available in any MSPB office to answer inquiries during the entirety of a shutdown, and MSPB's e-Appeal system also was not available for the duration of the shutdown, however it has now been reactivated as the MSPB reopened.
To top it off, the MSPB's lack of a quorum began April 9 spurred by President Donald J. Trump's termination of MSPB member Cathy Harris. Her challenge is pending to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Even when the government is open, without a quorum, the MSPB does not have enough members to issue final decisions on certain cases; specifically, decisions on petitions for review of decisions made by administrative judges. This results in significant delays of appeals, precedential rulings, and created legal uncertainty in federal employment law.
Without a quorum, the majority of the MSPB's adjudication work does continue during non-government shutdowns and is somewhat unaffected without a quorum, however, the MSPB does not necessarily perform at its highest levels without a full quorum. During this time, individuals may continue to file appeals and AJs continue to adjudicate them and to issue initial decisions, which become final and judicially appealable if neither party files a petition for review with the Board.
MSPB Moves Forward With Appeals
On June 30, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced President Trump's MSPB nominee, James Woodruff II, as a board member. On Oct. 7, the U.S. Senate confirmed Woodruff for a seven-year term expiring on March 1, 2032, effectively establishing a quorum. Woodruff joins Henry Kerner, who had been the board's only member following Harris' removal and the retirement of board member Raymond Limon in February.
Now that the government has reopened—and a quorum has been restored—board members can get busy reviewing the approximately 1,300 pending petitions (as of Sept.1, 2025). Following the MSPB's most previous backlog stemming from the record-setting five-year lack of quorum (January 2017–March 2022), there were approximately 3,700 pending petitions, which they were able to reduce to nine when the quorum was restored in March 2022.
Following that backlog, the Board resumed issuing decisions after its quorum was restored and focused initially on issuing a range of decisions in cases that, in its discretion, the Board deemed most critical, including precedential decisions or decisions that otherwise could affect many pending cases; decisions dismissing cases as settled; and many of the oldest pending cases.
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Now that the government has re-opened, federal employees with
MSPB appeals should check for updates to their cases should they
not have heard anything since the Board restored its quorum and the
government re-opened.
Consult an Attorney
The MSPB appeals process is complicated, and there are many complex steps and difficult jargon to understand. No employee should be forced to suffer the consequences of unjust adverse action. Hiring an attorney from the start can give you the best chance of approval, but having legal representation at the appeal and MSPB levels is even more critical. Without the necessary experience, you risk being denied or forced to wait in the case backlog for review.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
