Thousands of appeals from federal employees furloughed because of sequestration sat in the pipeline during the 16-day government shutdown when the small federal agency working on them was forced to close shop.

In other words, more furloughs delayed furlough-related work.

The Merit Systems Protection Board, which has about 200 employees in Washington and eight regional offices nationwide, furloughed most of its workforce on Oct. 1, save for a few excepted employees and the three board members who are political appointees. It was not the ideal time for forced leave: The agency is in the middle of handling an unprecedented wave of appeals filed by federal employees furloughed during the spring and summer because of mandatory across-the-board budget cuts. Employees, nearly all Defense Department workers, filed roughly 32,000 furlough challenges during fiscal 2013. By contrast, the agency’s regional offices in fiscal 2012 received about 6,000 total appeals, which include furlough- and non-furlough-related issues. Continue reading “Government Shutdown Furloughs Delay Sequestration Furlough Appeals”