Independent Right of Action Appeals

Independent Right of Action (IRA) appeal is an appeal filed with Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), alleging retaliation for blowing whistle (or making protected disclosures). MSPB will hear your retaliation case, even if retaliatory actions are not “otherwise appealable” with MSPB—that is, even if they are not, for example, removal or suspension of 15 days or more.

The following actions are not “otherwise appealable” but can be filed with MSPB in IRA appeal, if you allege that they are retaliatory based on or stemming from your prior protected disclosures (the list not exhaustive):

  • lower performance rating.

  • involuntary transfer.

  • reprimand or warning.

  • schedule change.

  • suspension of 14 days or less.

  • denied leave, denied flex hours, denied accommodations, denied bonus, denied telework.

  • Non selection to a position applied for (promotional or not) or non referral.

If you allege that any of the above actions were taken against you in retaliation for your prior protected disclosures, you must first file a whistleblower retaliation complaint with Office of Special Counsel (OSC). Within 60 days of receiving OSC’s final determination letter, you must file an IRA appeal with MSPB.

You can file IRA appeal at any time after 120 days from the date of your OSC whistleblower retaliation complaint filing—even if OSC failed to issue its initial and final determination letters.

If you did not first file OSC whistleblower complaint, your IRA appeal will be dismissed by MSPB for failure to “exhaust” administrative remedy.

In the OSC complaint form, you must identify, list, and number each of your disclosures and each of the adverse actions alleged to be retaliatory. In other words, the disclosures and the retaliation actions must be listed in your OSC complaint, because the same list must be provided in your subsequent IRA appeal with MSPB. The OSC’s “initial” determination letter will identify the disclosures and the retaliatory actions you alleged in your OSC whistleblower retaliation complaint form. The OSC list provided in the initial determination letter must match your list in your IRA appeal with MSPB.