OPM adopts rules to shift thousands of federal employee appeals from MSPB to its own office

The Office of Personnel Management issued four final regulations that move most appeals of reduction-in-force, suitability and probationary actions from the Merit Systems Protection Board to OPM’s internal office.

On Friday, the Office of Personnel Management finalized four regulations that will transfer jurisdiction over thousands of federal employee appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board to OPM’s Office of Merit System Accountability and Compliance. The rules cover appeals of reduction-in-force actions, suitability determinations and cases involving employees still in their probationary year, and they also revise RIF procedures to prioritize recent performance over seniority.

Under the new system, appeals are handled internally and reviewed by the OPM director, eliminating the ability to seek review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. OPM Director Scott Kupor said the shift addresses the MSPB’s multi-year case backlog, while former MSPB member Raymond Limon called the move an “existential threat to due process.” Critics note that the process reduces appeals to a paperwork review without an independent judge, potentially limiting procedural safeguards for federal workers.