The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)  issued the following press release:

The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or the Board) began posting on its website nonprecedential orders issued on or after October 1, 2011. Nonprecedential decisions were not previously on the MSPB website.

A nonprecedential order is one that the Board has determined does not add significantly to the body of MSPB case law. Although parties may cite nonprecedential orders, such orders have no precedential value. The Board and administrative judges also are not required to follow or distinguish them in any future decisions. By contrast, a precedential decision issued as an opinion and order has been identified by the Board as significantly contributing to the Board’s case law. See 5 C.F.R. § 1201.117(c).

The Board’s nonprecedential and precedential decisions are both now found on our website at www.mspb.gov under the “MSPB Decisions” tab. The MSPB will eventually make nonprecedential orders issued before October 1 available on its website.

Chairman Susan Tsui Grundmann commented, “The Board began issuing nonprecedential decisions to provide the parties more information about the reasons for our decisions. Furthering our goal to be as open and transparent as possible, we are making nonprecedential decisions available to the public.”