Employee Appeals Agency Preparing to Close Some Field Offices (WP)

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Employee Appeals Agency Preparing to Close Some Field Offices

By Stephen Barr
Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Page B02

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The Merit Systems Protection Board, the independent agency that hears appeals from government employees who have been fired or suspended, plans to close its Boston and Seattle field offices by April.
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Taking the step to close the offices was difficult, Neil A.G. McPhie, the board's acting chairman, said in an interview. "You feel like the Grinch."
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The closings in Boston, Seattle and Denver will eliminate the positions of 13 administrative law judges and several staff workers.
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Susanne T. Marshall, the board's former chairman and a recess appointee, launched a restructuring initiative several weeks ago, but the proposal was put on hold after it became clear that her nomination was snagged in the Senate because of a dispute between Republicans and Democrats. With the Senate adjourned and Marshall's term set to expire in March, President Bush moved Dec. 10 to put McPhie in charge of the board.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26208-2003Dec23.html