How a low-profile federal board could host appeals for thousands of fired government workers
Thousands of federal workers fired in recent days by the Trump administration may be able to use an appeals process to get reinstated in their jobs — and potentially receive back pay.
Thousands of federal workers fired in recent days by the Trump administration may be able to use an appeals process to get reinstated in their jobs — and potentially receive back pay. But the process could take months and come with future challenges from the White House.
Fired workers can appeal their terminations to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which was created in the 1970s to help ensure a merit-based employment system for the federal workforce. The obscure body consists of around 60 administrative judges who adjudicate cases brought by federal workers who claim they were wrongly terminated. Three Senate-confirmed board members hear challenges to rulings by those judges.
Last year, the board, which describes itself as an “independent, quasi-judicial agency,” heard around 4,500 cases. Already this year, it has been seeing an uptick in appeals from federal workers seeking to challenge their terminations, said William Spencer, the Merit Systems Protection Board’s executive director. He said he wasn’t currently able to provide exact numbers.
The Trump administration has been firing thousands of workers in recent weeks, affecting nearly every federal agency, including those that provide essential public safety functions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration. Many of the terminations have targeted relatively new hires with fewer job protections, employees working in diversity, equity and inclusion roles, and Justice Department officials involved in prosecuting Jan. 6 cases.
Federal employment lawyers say those workers may have strong cases before the board because the administration hasn’t appeared to follow the laws and procedures in place dictating how it can (and can’t) terminate federal workers.
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