[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1210.41]

[Page 97]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
               CHAPTER II--MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
 
PART 1210_DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM--
 
          Subpart D_Review of Mandatory Removal Action Appeals
 
Sec. 1210.41  Decision of the Board.

    (a) Board review of an MRP decision. The Board must accept the 
findings of fact and interpretations of law of the MRP and sustain the 
MRP's decision unless the party appealing the MRP's decision shows that 
the MRP's decision was:
    (1) Arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 
in accordance with law;
    (2) Caused by harmful error in the application of the MRP's 
procedures in arriving at such decision; or
    (3) Unsupported by substantial evidence.
    (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this part:
    (1) Harmful error. Error by the MRP in the application of its 
procedures that is likely to have caused it to reach a conclusion 
different from the one it would have reached in the absence or cure of 
the error. The burden is upon the party appealing the MRP's decision to 
show that the error was harmful, i.e., that it caused substantial harm 
or prejudice to his or her rights.
    (2) Substantial evidence. The degree of relevant evidence that a 
reasonable person, considering the record as a whole, might accept as 
adequate to support a conclusion, even though other reasonable persons 
might disagree. This is a lower standard of proof than preponderance of 
the evidence.
    (c)(1) Mandatory time limit for decision. The Board must complete 
its review of the record and issue a final decision within 30 days after 
receiving any party's response to the request for review, cross request 
for review, or OPM's intervention brief, whichever is filed later. The 
Board may extend the period for review by a single extension of time not 
to exceed 15 days, if it determines that:
    (i) The case is unusually complex; or
    (ii) An extension is necessary to prevent any prejudice to the 
parties that would otherwise result.
    (2) No further extension of time will be permitted.