Federal employee appeals board gets quorum after Senate confirms new member

The return of a quorum to the Merit Systems Protection Board may undercut the rationale behind a new Democratic bill that would enable federal employees who appeal disciplinary actions taken against them to the three-member panel to move their cases to a civil court if the quasi-judicial agency is experiencing delays. 

MSPB had been without a quorum since the spring when the Supreme Court temporarily permitted President Donald Trump’s firing of Democratic board member Cathy Harris. The justices are scheduled during their current term to consider a related case, which could expand the president’s power to remove leaders of historically independent agencies with leaders from both parties, over the firing of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission. 

The Senate on Tuesday, however, confirmed the nomination of James Woodruff to be a member of the MSPB. He was considered in an en bloc package of nominees that was approved in a 51-47 party-line vote. 

Woodruff joins Henry Kerner, who is also a Republican and had been the board’s sole member following Harris’ removal and the end of Democratic MSPB board member Raymond Limon’s term in February. No more than two members of the panel can be from the same political party. 

The new board member is a professor at an online law school who said in his opening statement during his confirmation hearing that he has argued cases before MSPB as a lawyer for the Air Force. According to Woodruff’s LinkedIn, he is pursuing a Master of Liberal Arts degree in digital media design and a graduate certificate in front end web development at Harvard’s Extension School. 

Also on Tuesday, Senate and House Democrats introduced the Fair Access to Swift and Timely Justice Act (S. 2977), which would grant a private right of action to federal employees if MSPB does not act on an appeal after 120 days. 

“Our measure helps federal employees who have been illegally fired by the Trump administration get the justice they deserve,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the independent MSPB have already resulted in significant delays for fired federal workers seeking relief.”

The measure is cosponsored by 11 Senate Democrats. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., is planning to introduce companion legislation in the House, according to a press release. Walkinshaw has continued the legislative focus on federal employees of his predecessor, and former boss, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who died from cancer in May.  

The bicameral bill is endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees, the nonprofit Government Accountability Project and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. 

“If the MPSB has no quorum, appeals to its authority may languish without action,” NARFE National President William “Bill” Shackelford said in a statement. “This bill provides an alternative remedy when the MSPB is unable to hear a case in a timely manner, allowing public servants who may have been terminated for political reasons to file an action in federal court.”

In the midst of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce, MSPB reported in its fiscal 2026 congressional budget justification that, as of May 24, it had received 11,166 appeals, which is twice its typical workload in a fiscal year. 

Given that the agency was operating without a quorum, this led to fears that history would repeat itself. Between 2017 and 2022, MSPB’s board either had just one Senate-confirmed member or none, creating a 3,800-case backlog that was only resolved in fall 2024. 

Zachary Kurz, MSPB’s communications director, told Government Executive in July that the increase in appeals and lack of quorum had not yet created a backlog because the agency was “fully functional” at the regional and field level. 

“Under our statutory process, these cases are adjudicated first by MSPB's administrative judges who continue to issue initial decisions,” he said in a statement. “Given that these filings are still making their way through the AJ process, there has been no backlog as a result.”

A Government Executive email to Kurz on Wednesday received an automatic reply that he has been furloughed due to the ongoing government shutdown. MSPB has ceased all of its operations due to the lapse in funding.