§ 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. The Board will apply a de novo standard of review to allegations of discrimination contained in mandatory removal appeal actions.

(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.