[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1201.101]

[Page 27]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
               CHAPTER II--MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
 
PART 1201--PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart B--Procedures for Appellate Cases
 
Sec. 1201.101  Explanation and definitions.

    (a) Explanation. An ex parte communication is an oral or written 
communication between a decision-making official of the Board and an 
interested party to a proceeding, when that communication is made 
without providing the other parties to the appeal with a chance to 
participate. Not all ex parte communications are prohibited. Those that 
involve the merits of the case, or those that violate rules requiring 
submissions to be in writing, are prohibited. Accordingly, interested 
parties may ask about such matters as the status of a case, when it will 
be heard, and methods of submitting evidence to the Board. Parties may 
not ask about matters such as what defense they should use or whether 
their evidence is adequate, and they may not make a submission orally if 
that submission is required to be made in writing.
    (b) Definitions for purposes of this section.
    (1) Interested party includes:
    (i) Any party or representative of a party involved in a proceeding 
before the Board; and
    (ii) Any other person who might be affected by the outcome of a 
proceeding before the Board.
    (2) Decision-making official means any judge, officer or other 
employee of the Board designated to hear and decide cases.