Washington, D.C. —  Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth G. Oyer filed a legal brief today opposing the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to have the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) uphold her unlawful removal. Democracy Forward and the Alden Law Group PLLC represent Oyer in her case against the DOJ, based on her unlawful removal from her position in retaliation for her perceived political affiliation and in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal civil service law.

Oyer is asking the MSPB to enforce the Civil Service Reform Act’s protections for career Senior Executive Service (SES) members, allow her case to proceed, and reject DOJ’s unprecedented claim that the President and federal agencies have the authority to ignore those protections altogether.

Then a career SES member, Oyer was removed from her position without cause after raising public safety concerns about restoring firearms rights to an individual convicted in a domestic violence case and because she was perceived to be aligned with the previous administration. Under federal law, career SES officials can only be removed for cause, with advance notice, an opportunity to respond, and they cannot be removed due to retaliation or discrimination.

“The Justice Department’s unlawful actions are an attempt to strip career civil servants of their rights and of fundamental protections against political retaliation and whistleblower reprisal,” said Michael Martinez, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. “Congress put these safeguards in place to ensure public servants can do their jobs without fear of political retribution. That’s exactly what’s at stake here, and we are committed to defending those protections.”

Jim Eisenmann, partner at the Alden Law Group, said that “In this and other cases, the Justice Department is trying to dismantle the historic civil service protections that have been in place for over a century. These protections are in place for good reason – to protect career public officials from arbitrary and retaliatory dismissal from public employment. We are hopeful that MSPB will not let the Justice Department demolish these important protections for public officials.”

If successful, the case will move forward before the MSPB, where Oyer will seek to prove that her removal violated federal law, and to secure the remedies available under the Civil Service Reform Act. A ruling in her favor could reaffirm critical protections for thousands of career federal employees across the government.

The legal team at Democracy Forward in this case includes Cynthia Liao, Michael Martinez, and Elena Goldstein. 

Read the filing here.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.