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Website Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the U.S Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) online and reviewing our website privacy policy. Our website privacy policy explains how we handle visits to our websites and the personally identifiable information (PII) that you provide when you visit us online to browse, obtain information, or conduct a transaction. PII is information that personally identifies you, like your name, email address, or other data that can be reasonably linked to such information.

MSPB will not collect personal information (your name, email address, your mailing address, your telephone number) when you visit our sites unless you choose to provide that information. Even then, the personal information that you provide on an MSPB website will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it, as MSPB does not track or record information about individuals and their visits.

MSPB will revise or update our website privacy policy if our practices change. Please refer back to this page for the latest information and the effective date(s).

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you browse through MSPB’s websites, read pages, or download information, our system logs the following information about your visit:

MSPB collects and uses this information, which does not identify you personally, to make MSPB’s websites more useful to visitors, i.e., to learn about the number of visitors, content most sought by visitors, and the types of technology used to access the website. We store this information on our web servers until there is no longer a business need to retain it.

MSPB participates in the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Digital Analytics Program (DAP) as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-17-06, “Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services.” For more information on GSA’s DAP, please visit https://digital.gov/dap/.

As part of GSA’s DAP, MSPB uses Google Universal Analytics web measurement and customization technologies in accordance with OMB Memorandum M-10-22, “Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies,” to collect the statistical information indicated above. The information is automatically sent to the Google Universal Analytics system, and the system immediately aggregates the data. Neither MSPB nor Google have access to the specifics of any particular site that you visit. Only the aggregate data from all users for a particular time period can be viewed. MSPB may use the aggregated data to help improve the visitor experience on MSPB websites. In some cases, MSPB may share the information with other Federal agencies as required in response to law enforcement requests. Google allows users to opt-out of Google Universal Analytics through a browser extension for many major browsers. For additional information on Google Analytics, please refer to the following policies on Google’s website:

In addition to Google Analytics, once we collect your IP address and the time stamp for each of your web page visits, we process and aggregate that information using the third-party application on MSPB’s information systems. This information is used to improve MSPB’s websites and customer experience. No data is transmitted to third-party services in this process.

If You Send Us Personal Information

You may provide PII when you send us an email message or a request for information, or when you utilize our e-Appeal Online or Extranet sites. Other than the information required to log in to access the e-Appeal system or Extranet site, we do not require you to register or provide PII to visit our websites. The PII you provide to MSPB on our websites will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it.

The following sections explain how we handle and collect PII when you visit MSPB online.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

If you choose to send us PII, it will be used only for purposes of the collection. Submitting PII through our websites is voluntary. If MSPB stores your personal information in a system of records designed to retrieve information about you using a personal identifier(s) so that we may contact you, MSPB will safeguard the information that you provide to us in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974.

Email Communications

Through the MSPB website, you are able to send us email messages and request technical support. We will use the information you provide – such as your name, docket number, and/or email address – to respond to your inquiry. We will only send you general information via email. Please be aware that email may not necessarily be secure against interception. MSPB recommends that you not send sensitive personal information (SPII) (e.g., financial information; social security number, etc.) to us via email. Rather, submission of data through more secured means, such as by U.S. mail with the ability to track the information, is recommended. However, it is recommended that you not submit SPII to MSPB at all unless it is necessary and required as part of your interactions with MSPB.

Electronic mail messages that meet the definition of records in the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. § 3101) are covered under the same disposition schedule as all other Federal records. This means that emails you send us will be preserved and maintained for varying periods of time if those emails meet the definition of Federal records. Electronic messages that are not records are deleted when no longer needed for business purposes.

e-Appeal Online

e-Appeal Online is MSPB’s electronic filing system that allows appellants to file an initial appeal and/or parties to file and receive documents in electronic form. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.14. MSPB’s e-Appeal site requires e-filers to provide PII if they choose to participate in electronic filing services. For additional information on MSPB’s website privacy policy for e Appeal, please visit https://e appeal.mspb.gov/. You may also access MSPB’s System of Records Notice for Appeals and Case Records, which governs use of such records and information through e-Appeal in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Extranet

MSPB’s Extranet site provides authorized Executive branch agencies and legal publishers with access to MSPB decisions and documents in batch form. The Extranet site requires authorized individuals to provide PII to receive a user account and have access to the site.

Third-Party Applications

MSPB uses X (formerly Twitter) to share information about the agency and the status of our website and e-Appeal system. MSPB does not use third-party websites to solicit and collect PII from individuals. Any PII collected by the third-party website will not be transmitted to or stored by MSPB.

Cookies

What is a Cookie? Whenever you visit a website, the website can send a small piece of information called a cookie along with the information that you requested. The main purpose of a cookie is to identify and customize web pages for you. There are two kinds of cookies:

  1. Session cookie — A line of text that is stored temporarily in your computer's memory. A session cookie is never written to a drive, and it is destroyed as soon as you close your browser.
  2. Persistent cookie — A line of text saved to a file on your hard drive that is called up the next time you visit that website. This lets the website remember what you were interested in the last time you visited.

MSPB’s websites creates both session cookies and persistent cookies when you visit them. Because session and persistent cookies are maintained on your own computer’s hard drive, MSPB does not collect or maintain any session or persistent cookies related to a specific individual’s visit to our website.

Website Privacy Policy Contact Information

If you have questions regarding our website privacy policy or the use of your information, you may contact us at privacy@mspb.gov. This page was last revised on October 12, 2023. For additional information on MSPB’s Privacy Program, please refer to our Privacy Program Page.

View or download the MSPB Website Privacy Policy as a PDF file.

Last updated: October 12, 2023 3:00 p.m. ET.