U.S. Code » Title 5 » Part PART II— CIVIL SERVICE FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES › Chapter CHAPTER 12— MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD, OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL, AND EMPLOYEE RIGHT OF ACTION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

5 U.S.C. § 1202

Term of office; filling vacancies; removal

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(a) The term of office of each member of the Merit Systems Protection Board is 7 years.(b) A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the end of a term of office of the member’s predecessor serves for the remainder of that term. Any appointment to fill a vacancy is subject to the requirements of section 1201. Any new member serving only a portion of a seven-year term in office may continue to serve until a successor is appointed and has qualified, except that such member may not continue to serve for more than one year after the date on which the term of the member would otherwise expire, unless reappointed.(c) Any member appointed for a 7-year term may not be reappointed to any following term but may continue to serve beyond the expiration of the term until a successor is appointed and has qualified, except that such member may not continue to serve for more than one year after the date on which the term of the member would otherwise expire under this section.(d) Any member may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.(Added Pub. L. 95–454, title II, § 202(a), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1122; amended Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(m) [title VI, § 620], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–390, 1329–427; Pub. L. 101–12, § 3(a)(2), (3), Apr. 10, 1989, 103 Stat. 17.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1989—Pub. L. 101–12, § 3(a)(2), substituted a semicolon for the comma after “office” in section catchline.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–12, § 3(a)(3), substituted “the member’s” for “his” in first sentence and struck out “of this title” after “section 1201” in second sentence.

1987—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–202 inserted provision permitting any new member serving portion of seven-year term to continue serving until successor is appointed and has qualified, with exception limiting duration of such service.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1989 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–12 effective 90 days following Apr. 10, 1989, see section 11 of Pub. L. 101–12, set out as a note under section 1201 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 44 cases (31 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Joe Fleming v. AGRI, 987 F.3d 1093 (D.C. Cir. 2021).
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Joe Fleming v. AGRI, 987 F.3d 1093 (D.C. Cir. 2021). · cites it 3× “Petitioners also advance a new argument they have not previously raised: the Department’s ALJs enjoy dual layers of “for-cause” protection against their removal, 5 U.S.C. §§ 1202 (d), 7521, and those dual layers of protection unconstitutionally constrain the President’s removal…”
Harry Calcutt III v. FDIC, 37 F.4th 293 (6th Cir. 2022). · cites it 2× “” 5 U.S.C. § 1202 (d). C. Calcutt’s Actions at Northwestern Bank With this background, we turn to the facts of the present case.”
PHH Corp. v. Consum. Fin. Prot. Bureau, 881 F.3d 75 (D.C. Cir. 2018). “§ 41 ; 5 U.S.C. § 1202 , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s five directors each has a six-year term, 12 U.”
Leachco v. Consum. Prod. Saf. Comm'n, 103 F.4th 748 (10th Cir. 2024). “5 U.S.C. § 1202 (d) (MSPB members can only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office”); 15 U.”
Swan v. Clinton, 100 F.3d 973 (D.C. Cir. 1996). “§ 78d(a); see also 5 U.S.C. §§ 1202 (b), 1202(c); 7 U.S.C. § 4a(a)(l); 15 U.”
NLRB v. Starbucks Corp, 125 F.4th 78 (3d Cir. 2024). “5 U.S.C. § 1202 (d). The Board’s ALJs oversee hearings and issue decisions to which parties can file exceptions that are reviewed by the Board.”
K & R Contractors, LLC v. Michael Keene, 86 F.4th 135 (4th Cir. 2023). “” 5 U.S.C. § 1202 (d). The Supreme Court in Free Enterprise Fund foresaw the possibility that its holding would implicate the statutory removal protections for ALJs.”
Nippon Steel Corp. v. United States Int'l Trade Comm'n, 239 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (Ct. Intl. Trade 2002). “at 898 (listing various holdover statutes of regulatory agencies: 5 U.S.C. § 1202 (b) (Merit Systems Protection Board member "may continue to serve until a successor has been appointed and has qualified”); 16 U.”
Morris & Dickson Co. v. Whitaker, 360 F. Supp. 3d 434 (W.D. La. 2018). “After reviewing Morris & Dickson's complaint, this Court ordered briefing on the question of jurisdiction.”
Wilkinson v. Legal Servs. Corp., 865 F. Supp. 891 (D.D.C. 1994). “, 5 U.S.C. § 1202 (b) (Merit Systems Protection Board member “may continue to serve until a successor has been appointed and has qualified, except that such member may not continue to serve for more than one year after the date on which the term of the member would otherwise…”
Fares Rabadi v. Usdea, 122 F.4th 371 (9th Cir. 2024). “” 5 U.S.C. § 1202 (d). Rabadi contends that these two layers of removal protections are constitutionally impermissible.”
Am. Fed'n of Gov't Employees v. Gates, 486 F.3d 1316 (D.C. Cir. 2007). “Under the regulations, members of the Board “may be removed by the Secretary only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Show all 44 citing cases →
5 U.S.C. § 1202(d): 1 case
Dominion Coal Corp. v. DOWCP, 164 F.4th 353 (4th Cir. 2026).
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