Senate Confirms Two MSPB Nominees
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Yesterday, the Senate confirmed two of President Biden’s nominees to the three-member Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board), Raymond Limon and Tristan Leavitt. The nominations were supported by NTEU. Raymond Limon is the chief human capital officer for the Interior Department with federal HR experience at the State Department and Office of Personnel Management. Tristan Leavitt is general counsel for the MSPB, where he’s also served as the agency’s acting chief executive for the last several years while the Board hasn’t had any members. As you may know, the MSPB lost its only Senate-confirmed Board member in early 2019 and has not had a quorum on its Board since January 2017, leading to a backlog of over 3,400 cases. This has left the Board unable to issue decisions on whistleblower or other merit system disputes, leaving employees in a state of limbo. Now that the MSPB has once again obtained a quorum, the members can begin the slow process of going through the backlog and ensuring fair and impartial adjudication of employee claims. The third MSPB nominee, Cathy Harris, a long-time federal employment attorney, is still awaiting a vote in the Senate after being favorably reported again, along party lines, by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last month. She has been nominated as Chair of the MSPB. NTEU applauds the Senate for acting to restore the MSPB to ensure that merit system principles are upheld by federal agencies. I will keep you updated on additional developments. |
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