For many federal employees, challenging suspensions, removals, and other adverse employment actions involves filing a complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB serves as an impartial third party in federal employment disputes, and it has the authority to order reinstatement and other appropriate remedies. If you need to challenge an adverse employment action, you should consult with an experienced New York MSPB attorney promptly.
Understanding the Importance of Hiring an Experienced Attorney for Your MSPB Case
While you aren’t required to hire an attorney to represent you before the MSPB, there are several important reasons to have an experienced attorney on your side. Some of these reasons include:
1. Strict Deadlines Apply to MSPB Appeals
One of the first reasons why you should promptly consult with an experienced New York MSPB attorney is that strict deadlines apply to MSPB appeals. This means that you can lose the right to challenge your suspension, removal, or other adverse employment action if:
- You don’t file your MSPB appeal by the deadline, or
- You file your MSPB appeal incorrectly and run out of time to refile.
An experienced MSPB attorney will be able to help ensure that you meet the deadline to file (as long as it’s not already too late) and file your appeal correctly on your behalf. This way, you won’t run the risk of losing your appeal before it begins.
2. You Need to Be Able to Identify Specific Grounds for Your MSPB Appeal
Simply disagreeing with your federal agency’s decision is not enough to support an MSPB appeal. To challenge your federal agency’s decision, you must be able to identify specific grounds for doing so. There are several potential grounds for filing an MSPB appeal, including (but not limited to):
- Discrimination
- Inaccurate performance reviews
- Nepotism
- Noncompliance with reduction-in-force (RIF) or furlough procedures
- Other prohibited personnel practices (PPPs)
When you hire an experienced MSPB attorney to represent you, your attorney will be able to evaluate all potential grounds for challenging your federal agency’s decision. Once you know your options and your chances of success, you can make informed, strategic decisions about your next steps.
3. You Need to Be Able to Prove Specific Grounds for Your MSPB Appeal
When filing an MSPB appeal, not only do you need to be able to identify specific grounds for your appeal, but you also need to be able to prove them. Inadequate supporting documentation is among the most common reasons for MSPB denials—and it is a reason that you can (and should) avoid.
Once you hire an MSPB attorney to represent you, your attorney will work with you to gather the documentation he or she needs to challenge your adverse employment action. If necessary, your attorney can seek to obtain documentation from your federal agency as well. Importantly, settlement is a possibility in MSPB cases, and if your federal agency knows that you have the documentation you need to challenge its decision successfully, it may be willing to favorably resolve your appeal without a hearing.
4. Your Federal Agency Will Have Government Attorneys on Its Side
Regardless of whether you hire an attorney to represent you, your federal agency will have government attorneys on its side. These attorneys will be intimately familiar with the laws and procedures that govern your MSPB appeal, and they will most likely have significant experience disputing employees’ allegations during the MSPB appeals process.
As a result, putting an experienced attorney on your side levels the playing field. By hiring an experienced MSPB attorney, you can help ensure that you do not overlook options for challenging your federal agency’s decision and that you do not fall victim to defense tactics that you could—and should—have been able to overcome.
5. Filing an MSPB Appeal Could Be Just the First Step in the Process
If you have experienced an unlawful adverse employment action as a federal employee, you should be able to achieve a just outcome through the MSPB appeals process. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.
As a result, for many federal employees, filing an MSPB complaint is just the first step in the process. If you will need to go beyond the MSPB to seek the outcome you deserve, it will be critical to have an experienced attorney on your side who is familiar with your case and who knows what is involved in asserting your legal rights at every level.
6. Adverse Employment Actions Can Have Long-Term Consequences
Another important reason to hire an experienced MSPB attorney is that adverse employment actions can have long-term consequences. While you might most immediately be focused on restoring your position in the federal government, adverse employment actions can affect your pension, retirement, future employment prospects and other employment-related matters as well.
All of this means that if you do not successfully challenge your federal agency’s decision (assuming you have grounds to do so), there is a very real possibility that you could face career and financial consequences for years—or even decades—to come. You need to take your situation seriously, and this starts with hiring an experienced attorney to represent you.
7. You Owe It to Yourself to Ensure You Are Making Informed Decisions
Finally, given all that you have at stake, you owe it to yourself to make informed decisions. Again, the laws and procedures that will govern your next steps are complex, and it will be critical for you to avoid making any mistakes or oversights that could prevent you from securing the outcome you deserve.
Schedule a Free Call with a New York MSPB Attorney at Bell Law Group
If you need to file an MSPB appeal and are on the fence about hiring an attorney, we strongly encourage you to contact us for more information. To speak with an experienced New York MSPB attorney at Bell Law Group for free, call 516-280-3008 or tell us how we can reach you online now.
