(a) The provisions of the GAO Personnel Act, its implementing regulations, and the Board's procedural rules apply in the same manner to employees of the Board as they do to other GAO employees, with the following exceptions.

(1) The General Counsel serves at the pleasure of the Chair. The General Counsel may not bring any complaint or charge concerning his or her own employment except to allege that he or she has been the victim of prohibited discrimination or a prohibited personnel practice as defined in 31 U.S.C. 732 (b)(2) or (f)(1).

(2) When an employee of the Board believes that he or she has been denied their right to equal employment opportunity, the employee shall bring this matter to the attention of the Board's Executive Director or General Counsel. If the matter cannot be resolved within 10 days, the Executive Director shall notify the employee of their right to file an EEO complaint. The employee may consult with either the Board's Solicitor or General Counsel and seek advice with regard to procedural matters concerning the filing of an EEO charge. The employee shall have 20 days from service of this notice to file an EEO charge with the PAB Office of General Counsel. Upon receipt of an EEO charge, the General Counsel shall arrange with the Executive Director for processing in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. If the EEO allegations involve challenge to a RIF-based separation, the employee may choose to expedite the procedures by filing a petition directly with the Board.

(3) When an employee of the Board wishes to raise any other issue that would be subject to the Board's jurisdiction, the employee shall file a charge with the General Counsel and the General Counsel shall arrange with the Executive Director for processing in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. If the challenged action is a RIF-based separation from employment, the employee may choose to expedite the procedures by filing a petition directly with the Board.

(b) The responsibilities and functions of the Board's General Counsel will be assumed by an attorney who is not a current or former employee of the Board or the GAO. The services of that attorney, who shall be knowledgeable in federal personnel matters, will be paid for by the Board. The attorney will be selected by an impartial body as described below.

(1) If agreed to by the Office of Special Counsel or the EEOC, as appropriate, that body will appoint and detail a person from among its attorneys to perform the functions of the General Counsel.

(2) If the Special Counsel or the EEOC does not agree to such a procedure, an appointment of an attorney will be sought from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).

(3) In any event, whoever is so appointed shall possess all of the powers and authority possessed by the General Counsel in employee appeal cases.

(c) The adjudication responsibilities and functions of the Board will be assumed by a person who is not a current or former employee of the Board or the GAO. The services of that person, who shall be knowledgeable in federal personnel matters, will be paid for by the Board. The person will be selected by an impartial body as described below.

(1) If agreed to by the MSPB or the EEOC, as appropriate, that body will appoint and detail one of its administrative law judges (ALJ) or administrative judges (AJ) to perform the Board's adjudicative functions.

(2) If neither the MSPB nor the EEOC agrees to such a procedure, an appointment of an arbitrator will be sought from the FMCS.

(3) In any event, whoever is so appointed shall possess all of the powers and authority possessed by the Board in employee cases. The decision of the administrative law judge, administrative judge or arbitrator shall be a final decision of the Board. The procedure for judicial review of the decision shall be the same as that described in § 28.90.

(d) Any employee of the Board (other than the General Counsel) who believes that they are aggrieved by any personnel matter that is not reviewable by the Board under 31 U.S.C. 753(a) may file a grievance as follows:

(1) Informal Step. The employee must discuss the complained of incident with their supervisor as soon as possible after the complained of incident.

(2) Step 1. If the supervisor is unable to resolve the matter informally to the satisfaction of the employee, then the employee may file a formal grievance with the supervisor. The formal grievance must be filed by the employee with the supervisor within 20 days after the complained of incident. The supervisor must respond to the employee in writing within 10 days.

(3) Step 2. (i) If the employee is not satisfied with the supervisor's response, the employee has 10 days in which to appeal to the Chair. In this appeal, the employee must forward to the Chair the formal grievance, the supervisor's response and a brief statement from the employee explaining why the supervisor's response is not satisfactory.

(ii) The Chair or another member designated by the Chair, shall meet with the employee and discuss the matter of concern within 10 days after service of the step 2 appeal. The Chair or designee shall issue a written resolution of the grievance.

(4) Step 3. Within 10 days after service of the Chair's resolution or within 60 days after initiating step 2, whichever occurs first, the employee may request that the full Board review the grievance. The decision of the full Board is the final decision in the matter.