{"data":{"id":"us/5-cfr-1209.6","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 CFR 1209.6","heading":"Content of appeal; right to hearing.","body":"(a) Content. Only an appellant, his or her designated representative, or a party properly substituted under 5 CFR 1201.35 may file an appeal. Appeals may be in any format, including letter form, but must contain the following:\n(1) The nine (9) items or types of information required in 5 CFR 1201.24 (a)(1) through (a)(9);\n(2) Where the appellant first sought corrective action from the Special Counsel, evidence that the appeal is timely filed;\n(3) The name(s) and position(s) held by the employee(s) who took the action(s), and a chronology of facts concerning the action(s);\n(4) A description of each disclosure evidencing whistleblowing or other protected activity as defined in § 1209.4(b) of this part; and\n(5) Evidence or argument that:\n(i) The appellant was or will be subject to a personnel action as defined in § 1209.4(a) of this part, or that the agency has threatened to take or not to take such a personnel action, together with specific indications giving rise to the appellant's apprehensions; and\n(ii) The personnel action was or will be based wholly or in part on the whistleblowing disclosure or other protected activity, as described in § 1209.4(b) of this part.\n(6) An appellant who first sought corrective action from the Special Counsel may satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a)(3) through (a)(5) of this section by filing with the appeal a copy of Part 2: Reprisal For Whistleblowing of the complaint form submitted to the Office of Special Counsel (Form OSC-11, Complaint of Possible Prohibited Personnel Practice or Other Prohibited Activity, Rev. 8/00), together with a copy of any continuation sheet with answers to Part 2 questions filed with the Office of Special Counsel, and any supplement to Part 2 of the original complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel or completed by the Office of Special Counsel and furnished to the appellant.\n(b) Right to hearing. An appellant generally has a right to a hearing if the appeal has been timely filed and the Board has jurisdiction over the appeal.\n(c) Timely request. The appellant must submit any request for a hearing with the appeal, or within any other time period the judge sets for that purpose. If the appellant does not make a timely request for a hearing, the right to a hearing is waived.\n(d) Electronic filing. An appeal may be filed electronically by using the Board's e-Appeal site (https://e-appeal.mspb.gov) in accordance with § 1201.14 of this chapter.","path":["Title 5—Administrative Personnel","CHAPTER II—MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD","SUBCHAPTER A—ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES","PART 1209—PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES FOR APPEALS AND STAY REQUESTS OF PERSONNEL ACTIONS ALLEGEDLY BASED ON WHISTLEBLOWING OR OTHER PROTECTED ACTIVITY","Subpart B—Appeals"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-5.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:23:53Z","sha256":"0c32046c7b62a586b2b8235f2ecd1970e001d8ff1c0b7ea3610757ade974c245","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/5-cfr-1209.5","next":"us/5-cfr-1209.7"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}