Those darned prohibited personnel practices

Quick—how many Merit System Principles are there?

If you asked: What’s a Merit System Principle? then you probably don’t know that there are nine, and that they are the basic standards that govern the management of the executive branch workforce.

The Merit Systems Protection Board—which is charged with hearing and deciding employee complaints when an agency is alleged to have committed a prohibited personnel practice—wants you to know what those nine principles are.

That’s why, starting now, MSPB is highlighting one principle per month on its Web site for the next nine months. First up: Recruitment, Selection and Advancement.

MSPB has gotten more proactive under the management of Chairman Susan Tsui Grundmann, who is taking seriously the idea that MSPB has a responsibility to educate feds on exactly what the federal merit system is, and how it works.

Take a look at the “principle of the month,” and while you’re at it, explore the MSPB Web site. It’s a lot more user-friendly that it used to be, and in fact will explain and take you through the whole process of filing an appeal, should the need ever arise.

Never hurts to be prepared.