5 C.F.R. § 1201.14 Electronic filing procedures.
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
(a) General. This section prescribes the rules and procedures by which parties and representatives to proceedings within the Board's appellate and original jurisdiction may file and receive documents in electronic form. (b) Matters subject to electronic filing. Subject to the registration requirement of paragraph (e) of this section, parties and representatives may use electronic filing (e-filing) to do any of the following: (1) File any pleading, including a new appeal, in any matter within the Board's appellate jurisdiction (§1201.3); (2) File any pleading, other than the original complaint or request, in any matter within the Board's original jurisdiction (§1201.2); (3) File a petition for enforcement of a final Board decision (§1201.182); (4) File a motion for attorney fees as a prevailing party (§1201.203); (5) File a motion for compensatory or consequential damages (§1201.204); (6) Designate a representative, revoke such a designation, or change such a designation (§1201.31); or (7) Notify the Board of a change in contact information such as address (geographic or electronic mail) or telephone number. (c) Matters excluded from electronic filing. Electronic filing may not be used to: (1) File the original complaint or request in a matter within the Board's original jurisdiction, which includes: a complaint filed by the Special Counsel seeking corrective or disciplinary action (§§1201.122, 1201.128); a request by the Special Counsel for the stay of certain personnel actions (§1201.134); a proposal to take action against an administrative law judge under 5 U.S.C. 7521 (§1201.137); or a request for a hearing on a proposed removal of a career appointee from the Senior Executive Service for performance reasons (§1201.143); (2) File a request to hear a case as a class appeal or any opposition thereto (§1201.27); (3) Serve a subpoena (§1201.83); or (4) File a pleading with the Special Panel (§1201.137). (d) Internet is sole venue for electronic filing. Following the instructions at the Board's e-Appeal site (https://e-appeal.mspb.gov) is the only method allowed for filing electronic pleadings with the Board. The Board will not accept pleadings filed by electronic mail. (e) Registration as an e-filer. (1) Except when filing a new appeal within the Board's appellate jurisdiction (§1201.3), no party or representative may file an electronic pleading with the Board unless he or she has registered with the Board as an e-filer. Registration as an e-filer constitutes consent to accept electronic service of pleadings filed by other registered e-filers and documents issued by the Board. (2) The exclusive means for a party or representative to register as an e-filer during a Board proceeding is to follow the instructions at the Board's e-Appeal site (https://e-appeal.mspb.gov). (3) When a party who is an individual is represented, the party and the representative can make separate determinations whether to register as an e-filer. For example, an appellant may file and receive pleadings and Board documents by non-electronic means, even though his or her representative has registered as an e-filer. Similarly, when a party has more than one representative, each representative has the choice of registering as an e-filer or filing and receiving pleadings and Board documents by non-electronic means. (4) A party or representative who has registered as an e-filer may file any pleading, or portion of a pleading as described in paragraph (g) of this section, by non-electronic means. (5) A party or representative may withdraw his or her registration as an e-filer. Such withdrawal means that, effective upon the Board's receipt of this withdrawal, pleadings and Board documents will no longer be served on that person in electronic form. A withdrawal of registration as an e-filer may be filed at the Board's e-Appeal site, in which case service is governed by paragraph (h) of this section, or by non-electronic means, in which case service is governed by section 1201.26(b) of this part. (f) Form of electronic pleadings—(1) Options for e-filing. An appellant or representative using e-Appeal to file a new appeal within the Board's appellate jurisdiction (§1201.3) must complete the structured interview at the Board's e-Appeal site (https://e-appeal.mspb.gov). For all other pleadings, the e-filer has the option of uploading an electronic file or entering the text of the pleading online. Regardless of the means of filing a particular pleading, the e-filer will be allowed to submit supporting documentation as attachments, in both electronic and paper form, as described in paragraphs (f)(2) and (f)(3) of this section. (2) Electronic formats allowed. The Board will accept numerous electronic formats, including word-processing and spreadsheet formats, Portable Document Format (PDF), and image files (files created by scanning). A list of formats allowed can be found at the Board's e-Appeal site. All electronic documents must be formatted so that they will print on standard 8 (3) Limitation on number of electronic attachments. E-filers may upload up to three electronic files as supporting documentation, in addition to the document that constitutes the primary pleading. There is no limit on the number of non-electronic documents that may be submitted as attachments under paragraph (g) of this section. (g) Hybrid pleadings that include both electronic and paper documents. An e-filer may file a hybrid pleading in which part of the pleading is submitted electronically, and part of the pleading consists of one or more paper documents filed by non-electronic means. If one or more parts of a hybrid pleading are untimely filed, the judge or the Clerk may reject the untimely part or parts while accepting timely filed parts of the same pleading. (h) Service of electronic pleadings. The Board will serve electronic pleadings on other parties and representatives who have registered as e-filers. The Board's e-Appeal application will notify the e-filer of all documents that must be served by non-electronic means. The e-filer must certify that he or she will serve all such documents no later than the first business day after the electronic submission. (i) Documents requiring a signature. An electronic document filed by a party who has registered as an e-filer pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be signed for purposes of any regulation in part 1201, 1203, 1208, or 1209 of this title that requires a signature. (j) Affidavits and declarations made under penalty of perjury. Registered e-filers may submit electronic pleadings in the form of declarations made under penalty of perjury under 28 U.S.C. 1746, as described in Appendix IV of this part. If the declarant is someone other than the e-filer, a physically signed affidavit or declaration should be uploaded as an image file, or submitted separately as a non-electronic document under paragraph (g) of this section. (k) Issuance of Board documents to e-filers. The Board's notices, orders, and decisions will be served on e-filers as PDF files attached to electronic mail messages, which will be sent to the electronic mail address supplied by the e-filer. (l) Date electronic documents are received. Pleadings and Board documents served electronically on registered e-filers are deemed received on the date of electronic submission or, if submitted on a weekend or federal holiday, on the first business day after the electronic submission. (m) Authority of a judge or the Clerk to regulate e-filing. (1) In the event that the Board or any party encounters repeated or unexplained difficulties filing, serving, or receiving electronic documents, the judge or the Clerk of the Board may order one or more parties to cease filing pleadings by e-filing, cease serving documents in electronic form, or take both these actions. In such instances, filing and service shall be undertaken in accordance with §1201.26. The authority to order the cessation of the use of electronic filing may be for a particular submission, for a particular time frame, or for the duration of the pendency of a case. (2) A judge or the Clerk of the Board may require that any document filed electronically be submitted in non-electronic form and bear the written signature of the submitter. A party receiving such an order from a judge or the Clerk of the Board shall, within 5 calendar days, serve on the judge or Clerk of the Board by regular mail, by facsimile, or by commercial or personal delivery a signed, non-electronic copy of the document. [69 FR 57628, Sept. 27, 2004]
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 1201—PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES
Subpart B—Procedures for Appellate Cases
General
§ 1201.14 Electronic filing procedures.
