A number of subsequent laws have further reformed the civil service system, although the modern framework governing the rights of most federal workers is the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA or Act), as amended. Against this backdrop, the CSRA created "a comprehensive system for reviewing personnel action taken against federal employees." The Act provides a variety of legal protections for federal employees, authorizes challenges to agency decisions, and funnels review of those challenges to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board), whose decisions are exclusively subject to review by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit). Due Process Protections for Civil Service Employees

The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires the federal government to observe certain procedures when depriving individuals of life, liberty, or property. The CSRA's requirement that covered employees may not be removed from federal service except for cause or unacceptable performance creates such an entitlement, bestowing a property interest in continued employment. The government thus cannot deprive covered employees of this property interest without due process. Subchapter II of Chapter 75 provides various procedural protections for certain government employees subjected to "major adverse actions." Those adverse actions include removals, suspensions for more than 14 days, reductions in grade or pay, and furloughs of 30 days or less. Agencies may only take a major adverse action against an employee "for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service." As explored in detail in the following sections, the MSPB has noted three circumstances in which an agency may establish a nexus between off-duty misconduct and the efficiency of the service. First, in certain egregious circumstances, the type of misconduct committed by the employee creates a rebuttable presumption of a nexus. Second, an agency may show by a preponderance of the evidence that the misconduct "adversely affects the appellant's or co-workers' job performance or the agency's trust and confidence in the appellant's job performance." Finally, the agency may demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee's misconduct interfered with or adversely affected the agency's mission. Determining the Penalty

As mentioned above, in order to sustain a major adverse action under Chapter 75, an agency must establish that the charged conduct occurred and that there exists a nexus between that conduct and the efficiency of the service. In addition, an agency must show that the imposed penalty is reasonable. Those factors are
(1) The nature and seriousness of the offense, and its relation to the employee's duties, position, and responsibilities, including whether the offense was intentional or technical or inadvertent, or was committed maliciously or for gain, or was frequently repeated;
(2) the employee's job level and type of employment, including supervisory or fiduciary role, contacts with the public, and prominence of the position;
(3) the employee's past disciplinary record;
(4) the employee's past work record, including length of service, performance on the job, ability to get along with fellow workers, and dependability;
(5) the effect of the offense upon the employee's ability to perform at a satisfactory level and its effect upon supervisors' confidence in the employee's ability to perform assigned duties;
(6) consistency of the penalty with those imposed upon other employees for the same or similar offenses;
(7) consistency of the penalty with any applicable agency table of penalties;
(8) the notoriety of the offense or its impact upon the reputation of the agency;
(9) the clarity with which the employee was on notice of any rules that were violated in committing the offense, or had been warned about the conduct in question;
(10) potential for the employee's rehabilitation;
(11) mitigating circumstances surrounding the offense such as unusual job tensions, personality problems, mental impairment, harassment, or bad faith, malice or provocation on the part of others involved in the matter; and
(12) the adequacy and effectiveness of alternative sanctions to deter such conduct in the future by the employee or others. However, the CSRA does not reference "indefinite suspensions," although agencies have routinely indefinitely suspended employees for certain behavior. Nevertheless, the Federal Circuit and the MSPB have ruled that indefinite suspensions for disciplinary reasons that last more than 14 days qualify as major adverse actions under subchapter II of Chapter 75. § 7513(a)'s efficiency of the service standard in only three situations: (1) when there is reasonable cause to believe the employee has committed a crime carrying a sentence of imprisonment; (2) for certain medical reasons; and (3) when the employee's position requires access to classified information, but that access has been suspended. Pursuant to this authority, a prominent recurring issue regarding the federal civil service is the circumstances in which an agency can indefinitely suspend an employee for alleged criminal behavior. In such situations, while an agency normally must provide 30 days' advance notice of an adverse action, Chapter 75 provides that an agency may suspend an employee immediately if "there is reasonable cause to believe the employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be imposed."
Federal employees receive statutory protections that differ from those of the private sector, including more robust limits on when they can be removed or demoted. Although a number of laws apply to various aspects of the federal civil service system, the primary governing framework is the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), as amended. The CSRA created a comprehensive system for reviewing actions taken by most federal agencies against their employees, and the act provides a variety of legal protections and remedies for federal employees. It also funnels review of agency decisions to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), subject to review by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit).
In addition to these statutory protections, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires the federal government to observe certain procedures when depriving individuals of life, liberty, or property. The CSRA's requirement that covered employees may not be removed from federal service, except for cause or unacceptable performance, creates a constitutional property interest in continued employment. The government cannot deprive covered employees of this property interest without adhering to due process requirements.
Chapter 75 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code provides various procedural protections for certain government employees subjected to major adverse actions. Those adverse actions include removal, suspensions for more than 14 days, reductions in grade or pay, and furloughs of 30 days or less. Agencies may only take a major adverse action against an employee "for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service." In order to sustain an agency's decision on appeal to the MSPB, an agency must show (1) by a preponderance of the evidence that the charged conduct occurred; (2) a nexus between that conduct and the efficiency of the service; and (3) that the penalty imposed by the agency is reasonable.
The MSPB has noted three circumstances in which an agency may establish a nexus between off-duty misconduct (e.g., criminal activity) and the efficiency of the service. First, in certain egregious circumstances, the type of misconduct committed by the employee creates a rebuttable presumption of a nexus. Second, an agency may show by a preponderance of the evidence that the misconduct "adversely affects the appellant's or co-workers' job performance or the agency's trust and confidence in the appellant's job performance." Finally, the agency may demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee's misconduct interfered with or adversely affected the agency's mission.
The CRSA does not expressly reference "indefinite suspensions," but agencies have routinely indefinitely suspended employees for certain behavior. The Federal Circuit and the MSPB have ruled that indefinite suspensions for disciplinary reasons that last more than 14 days qualify as major adverse actions under Chapter 75. The MSPB has recognized that an agency may indefinitely suspend an employee to further the efficiency of the service in three situations: (1) when there is reasonable cause to believe the employee has committed a crime carrying a sentence of imprisonment; (2) for certain medical reasons; and (3) when the employee's position requires access to classified information, but that access has been suspended. A prominent recurring issue is when an agency may indefinitely suspend an employee for alleged criminal behavior occurring outside the workplace. Whether and when indefinite suspensions may be imposed on account of alleged criminal behavior may turn upon the facts relied upon by the agency when in assessing whether there is reasonable cause to believe the employee committed a crime carrying a sentence of imprisonment.