PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

If a state or local officer or employee is unhappy with a decision or order by the Merit Systems Protection Board under sections 1504, 1505, or 1506, they can ask a U.S. District Court to review it. They must file a petition in the federal district court where they live within 30 days after the Board mails notice. Filing does not automatically pause the Board’s decision. A stay only happens if the court orders it and the officer or employee is suspended from their job while the case is pending. The petitioner must immediately serve the Board with a copy of the petition. The Board will file the record with the court. The court reviews all facts and law. If new evidence might change the outcome and there was a good reason it wasn’t shown before, the court can order that evidence taken before the Board. The Board may then change its findings and file the changes. The court will either affirm the Board’s decision if it follows the law or send the case back with directions for a lawful result. Court judgments can be appealed to the proper U.S. Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court under section 1254 of title 28. If a part of this process is held invalid as applied to a party, the Board’s decision becomes final for that party as if that part had not been enacted.

Title 5, §1508

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

A party aggrieved by a determination or order of the Merit Systems Protection Board under section 1504, 1505, or 1506 of this title may, within 30 days after the mailing of notice of the determination or order, institute proceedings for review thereof by filing a petition in the United States District Court for the district in which the State or local officer or employee resides. The institution of the proceedings does not operate as a stay of the determination or order unless—

(1)the court specifically orders a stay; and

(2)the officer or employee is suspended from his office or employment while the proceedings are pending.

A copy of the petition shall immediately be served on the Board, and thereupon the Board shall certify and file in the court a transcript of the record on which the determination or order was made. The court shall review the entire record including questions of fact and questions of law. If application is made to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence may materially affect the result of the proceedings and that there were reasonable grounds for failure to adduce this evidence in the hearing before the Board, the court may direct that the additional evidence be taken before the Board in the manner and on the terms and conditions fixed by the court. The Board may modify its findings of fact or its determination or order in view of the additional evidence and shall file with the court the modified findings, determination, or order; and the modified findings of fact, if supported by substantial evidence, are conclusive. The court shall affirm the determination or order, or the modified determination or order, if the court determines that it is in accordance with law. If the court determines that the determination or order, or the modified determination or order, is not in accordance with law, the court shall remand the proceeding to the Board with directions either to make a determination or order determined by the court to be lawful or to take such further proceedings as, in the opinion of the court, the law requires. The judgment and decree of the court are final, subject to review by the appropriate United States Court of Appeals as in other cases, and the judgment and decree of the court of appeals are final, subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States on certiorari or certification as provided by section 1254 of title 28. If a provision of this section is held to be invalid as applied to a party by a determination or order of the Board, the determination or order becomes final and effective as to that party as if the provision had not been enacted.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 118k(c).

July 19, 1940, ch. 640, § 4 “Sec. 12(c)”, 54 Stat. 768. section 346 and 347 of title 28 referred to in former section 118k(c) were repealed by the Act of

June 25, 1948, ch. 646, § 39, 62 Stat. 862, and are now covered by section 1254 of title 28. The titles of the courts are changed to conform to title 28. In the reference to filing a written petition, “written” is omitted as unnecessary. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1978—Pub. L. 95–454 substituted “Merit Systems Protection Board” and “Board” for “Civil Service Commission” and “Commission”, respectively, wherever appearing.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

§1508 Judicial Review