A bicameral bill introduced on Tuesday by Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., and Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., aims to provide timely relief to federal employees who have been illegally fired or subjected to other unjust personnel practices.
The Fair Access to Swift and Timely (FAST) Justice Act would create a “private right of action” for federal employees if the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) does not act within 120 days of an employee filing an appeal. This means federal employees could file their case in a U.S. district court to seek justice.
The MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency in the executive branch that serves to protect against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices. The three-member board hears appeals by federal government employees when they are fired or disciplined.
“Our measure helps federal employees who have been illegally fired by the Trump Administration get the justice they deserve. The Trump Administration’s efforts to undermine the independent MSPB have already resulted in significant delays for fired federal workers seeking relief,” Blumenthal said in a press release.
“President Trump’s continued threats to illegally lay off even more of the federal workforce makes the FAST Justice Act all the more necessary to ensure workers can appeal the Administration’s partisan and unjust decisions in a timely manner,” he added.
President Donald Trump fired an MSPB board member earlier this year, and another member stepped down after President Trump removed him from his position of vice chair on the board.
Therefore, the independent board has lacked the quorum necessary to make final decisions on appeal cases.
The senators noted that this, along with the fact that there has been a significant increase in appeals filed since the beginning of the year, “threatens significant delays for federal workers who have sought to appeal unjust layoffs or other prohibited personnel practices by the Administration.”
“Congress must act to protect the nonpartisan civil service that keeps our government running and serving the American people. By depriving the MSPB of a quorum, Trump’s actions have blocked federal workers from getting timely relief when they are illegally fired or subjected to unjust practices,” said Walkinshaw.
“The FAST Justice Act restores that path to justice and shields workers from partisan retaliation. Our civil servants deserve the full protection of the law, not political punishment,” he said.
The FAST Justice Act is cosponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Mark Warner, D-Va., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif.
The legislation is also endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees, the Government Accountability Project, the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.