Fired Federal Workers’ Case Surge Cripples Federal Board
The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), responsible for handling appeals from terminated federal employees, is facing an unprecedented surge in cases following widespread Trump administration layoffs. A recent influx of at least 1,845 cases in a single week—compared to approximately 100 weekly cases previously—threatens to overwhelm the board’s capacity, potentially causing significant delays in processing appeals. This backlog, echoing a similar situation in 2013, is raising concerns about the ability of the MSPB to ensure timely and fair reviews of employee appeals, especially given allegations of politically motivated terminations. Experts warn that this situation risks undermining the integrity of the civil service system.
John Q. Hosedrinker