The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, also known as the MSPB or the Board, is an independent, quasi-judicial agency in the Executive branch. The Board’s mission is to protect Federal merit systems and the rights of individuals within those systems. MSPB carries out its statutory responsibilities and authorities primarily by adjudicating individual employee appeals and by conducting merit systems studies. Most of the cases brought to the Board are appeals of agency adverse actions–removals, suspensions of more than 14 days, reductions in grade or pay, and furloughs of 30 days or less. Other types of actions that may be appealed to the Board include: performance-based removals or reductions in grade, denials of within-grade salary increases, reduction-in-force actions; U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) retirement determinations; OPM suitability determinations; denials of restoration of reemployment rights; and certain terminations of probationary employees.