The Merit Systems Protection Board was established in 1978 to protect federal employees from unfair treatment at work and to promote the Merit System Principles. The MSPB comes into play when federal employees have blown the whistle on fraud or mismanagement, or when civil servants have complained of bias, arbitrariness, retaliation or other wrongful treatment in the workplace and need to appeal. It also provides independent research and analysis on the merit systems for the executive branch.
Lack of confirmations halts MSPB federal worker dispute rulings
OPM announces more flexibility in SES, SL/ST performance reviews
The Office of Personnel Management has announced changes to the performance evaluation processes for Senior Executive Service and Senior Level/Scientific and Professional personnel. The revised process, called Certification 2.0, is expected to reduce the administrative burden of preparing and reviewing certification submissions. It is also meant to focus more of the OPM certification on the actual outcomes of performance evaluations rather than on compliance.
When hostile working conditions affect mental health
Most people have experienced stress at work. And some jobs are just naturally stressful and high-pressure.
Supreme Court: ADEA applies to all public-sector employers
When two firefighters brought an age discrimination suit against their tiny fire district, the fire district defended itself by saying that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) didn't apply. According to its reading of the law, only employers with at least 20 employees were covered, and it didn't meet that threshold. The firefighters argued that the 20-employee threshold only applies to private-sector employers. This jurisdictional question was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.
OPM's 2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results released
With substantial changes being proposed across the federal workforce, we're in an unsettling time. Are the changes in the President's Management Agenda aimed at gutting merit systems protections? Have leaders concluded that the federal workforce is standing in the way of progress?
