Panel weighs idea of 'super court' to handle federal employee appeals

[The Straight Story]

Panel weighs idea of 'super court' to handle federal employee appeals

By Karen Rutzick
[email protected]

A congressional panel on Wednesday considered a professional association's proposal to create a "super court" for federal employee appeals in the interest of greater efficiency.

The Senior Executives Association - a group that advocates for career federal executives - has called for the establishment of a Federal Employees Appeals Court. The new court would accept appeals now handled by the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Personnel Management.

In a hearing before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, chaired by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., SEA general counsel William Bransford testified that a super court would speed the often laborious appeals process and stop appeals from being routed through multiple agencies.

"This new court would replace all existing appeals systems," Bransford said. " would provide a simple and expeditious mechanism, resulting in protection of the merit system by resolving employee concerns with relative speed, impartiality and fairness, while preserving all employee appeals rights."

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