News from Congress: In a subsection to a larger statute earlier this year, Congress retroactively restored the rights of Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) employees who win appeals at the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”) to receive back pay awards. Prior to enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub.L. 112-95, FAA employees who won appeals at the MSPB, unlike many other federal employees, were not entitled to receive applicable back pay, due to the effects of certain statutes associated with FAA’s current separate personnel system. Section 611 of FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 ends this restriction, and grants the MSPB the authority to award back pay to FAA appellants who win at the MSPB in the same manner as other successful civil service appellants. Most strikingly, Congress expressly made the restoration retroactive to April 1, 1996, meaning that successful FAA appellants who were previously denied back pay in earlier MSPB appeals may now be able to seek back pay relief from the MSPB.
If you are a current or former FAA employee who won an appeal at the MSPB but were previously denied back pay solely due to your status as an FAA employee, and would like to discuss your rights, please contact the law firm of Passman & Kaplan, P.C. to request a consultation.
