Merit Systems Protection Board 

Lack of Quorum and the Inherited Inventory: 

Chart of Cases Decided and Cases Pending

Between January 7, 2017, and March 3, 2022, the Merit Systems Protection Board 

(Board) did not have a quorum of members and therefore could not vote on any petitions for 

review or other cases requiring action by the Board. At the time the quorum was restored on

March 4, 2022, the new Board inherited a case inventory at headquarters of 3,793 cases (the 

“inherited inventory”). This inventory represents the cases that accumulated during the more 

than five years that the Board lacked a quorum and was unable to issue Board-level 

decisions. 

The Board began issuing decisions quickly after the quorum was restored and focused 

initially on issuing a range of decisions in cases that, in its discretion, the Board deemed most 

critical, including precedential decisions or decisions that otherwise could affect many 

pending cases; decisions dismissing cases as settled; and many of the oldest pending cases. 

For fiscal year 2024 (October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024), the Board continues to 

prioritize reducing the number of cases remaining in the inherited inventory, with a focus on 

issuing decisions in a majority of the 1,000 oldest cases in the inherited inventory, i.e., cases 

that were filed with the Board before December 2019. The Board also continues to exercise 

its discretion to decide cases in a way that balances advancement of legal doctrines, 

efficiency in case processing, and other considerations inherent to adjudicatory decisionmaking. 

The Board tracks progress towards its goal to reduce the inherited inventory by 

monitoring the total number of cases decided since the quorum was restored and the number

of inherited inventory cases remaining. 

Data presented in this chart provides a snapshot of the Board’s progress in deciding 

cases at the headquarters level and in reducing the inherited inventory. Official case 

processing statistics are released through the Board’s Annual Reports and Annual 

Performance Reports-Annual Performance Plans.

 U.S. MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

1615 M Street, NW

Washington, DC 20419

Phone: (202) 653-7200

Email: mspb@mspb.gov

www.mspb.gov
Merit Systems Protection Board 

Headquarters (HQ) Case Processing Data 

Following the Restoration of Board Quorum on March 4, 2022

Date 

(as of)

Total HQ Cases Decided 

Since the Restoration 

of Board Quorum

Number of 

Inherited Inventory 

Cases Remaining

Percentage of 

Inherited Inventory 

Cases Remaining

03/03/2022 3,793 100%

03/04/2022 Board Quorum Restored 

09/30/2022 528* 3,284 87%

10/31/2022 626 3,193 84%

11/30/2022 731 3,093 82%

12/31/2022 784 3,043 80%

01/31/2023 985 2,852 75%

02/28/2023 1,224 2,635 69%

03/31/2023 1,352 2,510 66%

04/30/2023 1,495 2,375 63%

05/31/2023 1,658 2,224 59%

06/30/2023 1,782 2,106 56%

07/31/2023 1,911 1,987 52%

08/31/2023 1,994 1,913 50%

09/30/2023** 2,027 1,884 50%

* Cases decided between 03/04/2022 (when the quorum was restored) through 09/30/2022 (end of Fiscal Year 2022).

** Data for September 2023 represents case processing only through September 8, 2023, due to the Board’s offline 

transition period that began on September 9, 2023, in preparation for the launch of the Board’s new e-Appeal system. 
*** Due to the launch of MSPB’s new e-Appeal system on October 16, 2023, the Board resumed issuance of decisions on 

November 1, 2023. 

Merit Systems Protection Board 

Headquarters (HQ) Case Processing Data 

Following the Restoration of Board Quorum on March 4, 2022

Date 

(as of)

Total HQ Cases Decided 

Since the Restoration 

of Board Quorum

Number of 

Inherited Inventory 

Cases Remaining

Percentage of 

Inherited Inventory 

Cases Remaining

10/31/2023*** 2,027 1,884 50%

11/30/2023 2,099 1,843 49%

12/31/2023 2,176 1,788 47%

01/31/2024 2,296 1,701 45%

02/29/2024 2,560 1,462 39%

03/31/2024 2,856 1,284 34%

04/30/2024

05/31/2024

06/30/2024

07/31/2024

08/31/2024

09/30/2024
Figure One

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Number of Inherited Inventory Cases Remaining