[Questions Concerning the Appeals Process Available to GAO Employees]

In response to a congressional request, GAO presented specific responses to questions concerning a bill that proposes to extend the Merit Systems Protection Board appeal rights to employees in the extended service, including GAO employees. GAO believes that its employees should be excluded from the provisions of the bill since the General Accounting Office Personnel Act created a Personnel Appeals Board and a General Counsel to investigate and prosecute allegations of prohibited personnel practices and labor management and employment discrimination cases and affords GAO employees all of the protections and rights to appeal that are available to employees in the executive branch.