NTEU Seeks to Protect Appeal Rights

NTEU filed a brief in the Supreme Court today urging it to allow courts, for fairness reasons, to consider federal employee appeals even if they are untimely.

The employee in the case of Harrow v. Department of Defense missed a deadline to appeal an adverse decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board to a federal appellate court. The employee’s mistake was understandable—the MSPB had failed to act on his case for five years and the employee’s contact information had changed. The appellate court held that the deadline for filing appeals was fixed and could not be excused even for compelling equitable reasons. That unyielding deadline applies to appeals both from MSPB decisions and arbitration decisions.

NTEU believes the court’s view is wrong and inconsistent with Congress’s intent to allow federal employees flexibility and fairness when challenging adverse agency actions. Briefing will conclude this spring.