(a) The Board's headquarters staff is organized into the following offices and divisions:

(1) Office of Regional Operations.

(2) Office of the Administrative Law Judge.

(3) Office of Appeals Counsel.

(4) Office of the Clerk of the Board.

(5) Office of the General Counsel.

(6) Office of Policy and Evaluation.

(7) Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

(8) Office of Financial and Administrative Management.

(9) Office of Information Resources Management.

(b) The principal functions of the Board's headquarters offices are as follows:

(1) Office of Regional Operations. The Director, Office of Regional Operations, manages the adjudicatory and administrative functions of the MSPB regional and field offices.

(2) Office of the Administrative Law Judge. The Administrative Law Judge hears Hatch Act cases, disciplinary action complaints brought by the Special Counsel, actions against administrative law judges, appeals of actions taken against MSPB employees, and other cases that the Board assigns.

(3) Office of Appeals Counsel. The Director, Office of Appeals Counsel, prepares proposed decisions that recommend appropriate action by the Board in petition for review cases, original jurisdiction cases, and other cases assigned by the Board.

(4) Office of the Clerk of the Board. The Clerk of the Board enters petitions for review and other headquarters cases onto the Board's docket and monitors their processing. The Clerk of the Board also does the following:

(i) Serves as the Board's public information center, including providing information on the status of cases, distributing copies of Board decisions and publications, and operating the Board's Library and on-line information services;

(ii) Manages the Board's records, reports, legal research, and correspondence control programs; and

(iii) Answers requests under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts at the Board's headquarters, and answers other requests for information except those for which the Office of the General Counsel or the Office of Policy and Evaluation is responsible.

(5) Office of the General Counsel. The General Counsel provides legal advice to the Board and its headquarters and regional offices; represents the Board in court proceedings; prepares proposed decisions for the Board in cases that the Board assigns; coordinates legislative policy and performs legislative liaison; responds to requests for non-case related information from the White House, Congress, and the media; and plans and directs audits and investigations.

(6) Office of Policy and Evaluation. The Director, Policy and Evaluation, carries out the Board's statutory responsibility to conduct special reviews and studies of the civil service and other merit systems in the Executive Branch, as well as oversight reviews of the significant actions of the Office of Personnel Management. The office prepares the Board's reports of these reviews and studies, submits them to the President and the Congress, and makes them available to other interested individuals and organizations. The office is responsible for distributing the Board's reports and for responding to requests for information or briefings concerning them.

(7) Office of Equal Employment Opportunity. The Director, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, manages the Board's equal employment programs.

(8) Office of Financial and Administrative Management. The Office of Financial and Administrative Management administers the budget, accounting, procurement, property management, physical security, and general services functions of the Board. It also develops and coordinates internal management programs and projects, including review of internal controls agencywide. It performs certain personnel functions, including policy, training, drug testing, and the Employee Assistance Program. It also administers the agency's cross-servicing arrangements with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Bureau of Public Debt for accounting services and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Finance Center for payroll and personnel action processing services and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's APHIS Business Services for most human resources management services.

(9) Office of Information Resources Management. The Office of Information Resources Management develops, implements, and maintains the Board's automated information systems.

(c) Regional and Field Offices. The Board has regional and field offices located throughout the country (See Appendix II to 5 CFR part 1201 for a list of the regional and field offices). Judges in the regional and field offices hear and decide initial appeals and other assigned cases as provided for in the Board's regulations.