Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB687 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 687
5	5	To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for an alternative removal
6	6	for performance or misconduct for Federal employees.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JANUARY23, 2025
9	9	Mr. L
10	10	OUDERMILK(for himself, Mr. CARTERof Georgia, Mrs. HOUCHIN, Mr.
11	11	C
12	12	RAWFORD, Mr. OWENS, Mr. COLLINS, Mrs. LUNA, Mr. WEBSTERof
13	13	Florida, Mr. M
14	14	ANN, Mr. SCOTTFRANKLINof Florida, Mr. MEUSER, Mr.
15	15	B
16	16	ABIN, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. STEUBE, and Mr. BURCHETT) in-
17	17	troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
18	18	sight and Government Reform
19	19	A BILL
20	20	To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for an
21	21	alternative removal for performance or misconduct for
22	22	Federal employees.
23	23	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
24	24	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
25	25	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
26	26	(a) S
27	27	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
28	28	‘‘Modern Employment Reform, Improvement, and Trans-5
29	29	formation Act of 2025’’ or the ‘‘MERIT Act of 2025’’. 6
30	30	(b) T
31	31	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7
32	32	this Act is as follows: 8
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36	36	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
37	37	Sec. 2. Termination of authority for chapter 43 performance-based actions.
38	38	Sec. 3. Adverse actions based on performance or conduct.
39	39	Sec. 4. Prohibition on grieving adverse actions and reductions in force.
40	40	Sec. 5. Actions against senior executives for performance or conduct.
41	41	Sec. 6. Actions against supervisors for performance or conduct.
42	42	Sec. 7. Modification of procedures for furlough.
43	43	Sec. 8. Reduction of annuity of employee convicted of a felony for which an ad-
44	44	verse action is or would have been taken.
45	45	Sec. 9. Authority to recoup bonuses or awards paid to employees.
46	46	Sec. 10. Extension of probationary period for positions within the Senior Exec-
47	47	utive Service.
48	48	Sec. 11. Extension of probationary period for employees in the competitive serv-
49	49	ice.
50	50	Sec. 12. Application.
51	51	SEC. 2. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY FOR CHAPTER 43
52	52	1
53	53	PERFORMANCE-BASED ACTIONS. 2
54	54	(a) R
55	55	EPEAL.—Section 4303 of title 5, United States 3
56	56	Code, is repealed. 4
57	57	(b) A
58	58	PPLICATION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 5
59	59	any performance-based action under section 4303 of title 6
60	60	5, United States Code, commenced before the effective 7
61	61	date provided in section 12. 8
62	62	(c) C
63	63	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 9
64	64	(1) T
65	65	ITLE 5.—Title 5, United States Code, is 10
66	66	amended— 11
67	67	(A) in section 2302(e)(1)(A), by striking 12
68	68	‘‘3504, and 4303(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 13
69	69	3504’’; 14
70	70	(B) in section 4302(c)(6), by striking ‘‘but 15
71	71	only after an opportunity to demonstrate ac-16
72	72	ceptable performance’’; 17
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76	76	(C) in section 7512, by striking subpara-1
77	77	graph (D) and redesignating subparagraphs (E) 2
78	78	and (F) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec-3
79	79	tively; 4
80	80	(D) in section 7701(c)(1), by striking ‘‘de-5
81	81	cision’’ and all that follows through ‘‘preponder-6
82	82	ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘decision is 7
83	83	supported by a preponderance of the evidence’’; 8
84	84	(E) in section 9508(d), by striking ‘‘(1) In 9
85	85	applying’’ and all that follows through ‘‘(2)’’; 10
86	86	and 11
87	87	(F) in section 9902(a)(2), by striking ‘‘sec-12
88	88	tions 4302 and 4303(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 13
89	89	4302’’. 14
90	90	(2) T
91	91	ITLE 31.—Section 732(d)(3) of title 31, 15
92	92	United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘con-16
93	93	sistent with section 4303 of title 5’’. 17
94	94	(d) C
95	95	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 18
96	96	for chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 19
97	97	by striking the item relating to section 4303. 20
98	98	SEC. 3. ADVERSE ACTIONS BASED ON PERFORMANCE OR 21
99	99	CONDUCT. 22
100	100	(a) I
101	101	NGENERAL.—Section 7513 of title 5, United 23
102	102	States Code, is amended to read as follows: 24
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106	106	‘‘§ 7513. Cause and procedure 1
107	107	‘‘(a) I
108	108	NGENERAL.— 2
109	109	‘‘(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Office 3
110	110	of Personnel Management, an agency may take an 4
111	111	action described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 5
112	112	section 7512 against an employee if the agency de-6
113	113	termines by a preponderance of the evidence the per-7
114	114	formance or misconduct of the employee warrants 8
115	115	such action. 9
116	116	‘‘(2)(A) When making an initial decision on an 10
117	117	action described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 11
118	118	section 7512, the deciding employee of the agency 12
119	119	shall exclusively apply the following factors: 13
120	120	‘‘(i) The nature and seriousness of the of-14
121	121	fense, and its relation to the employee’s duties, 15
122	122	position, and responsibilities, including whether 16
123	123	the offense was intentional or technical or inad-17
124	124	vertent, or was committed maliciously or for 18
125	125	gain, or was frequently repeated. 19
126	126	‘‘(ii) The employee’s job level and type of 20
127	127	employment, including supervisory or fiduciary 21
128	128	role, and prominence of the position. 22
129	129	‘‘(iii) The employee’s past disciplinary 23
130	130	records. 24
131	131	‘‘(iv) The employee’s past work record, in-25
132	132	cluding length of service, performance on the 26
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136	136	job, ability to get along with fellow workers, 1
137	137	and dependability. 2
138	138	‘‘(v) Mitigating circumstances surrounding 3
139	139	the offense such as unusual job tensions person-4
140	140	ality problems, mental impairment, harassment, 5
141	141	or bad faith, malice or provocation on the part 6
142	142	of others involved in the matter. 7
143	143	‘‘(B) The agency shall review the initial decision 8
144	144	and uphold such decision if it is supported by sub-9
145	145	stantial evidence. 10
146	146	‘‘(b) P
147	147	AY OFCERTAINEMPLOYEESSUBJECT TO A 11
148	148	R
149	149	EDUCTION INGRADE.— 12
150	150	‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 13
151	151	law, an employee subject to a reduction in grade 14
152	152	shall, beginning on the date of such reduction, re-15
153	153	ceive the annual rate of pay applicable to such 16
154	154	grade. 17
155	155	‘‘(2) An employee subject to a reduction in 18
156	156	grade may not be placed on administrative leave 19
157	157	during the period during which an appeal (if any) 20
158	158	under this section is ongoing, and may only receive 21
159	159	pay if the employee reports for duty or is approved 22
160	160	to use accrued unused annual, sick, family medical, 23
161	161	military, or court leave. 24
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165	165	‘‘(3) If an employee subject to a reduction in 1
166	166	grade does not report for duty or receive approval to 2
167	167	use accrued unused leave, such employee shall not 3
168	168	receive pay or other benefits. 4
169	169	‘‘(c) P
170	170	ROCEDURE.— 5
171	171	‘‘(1)(A) The aggregate period for written no-6
172	172	tice, response, and final decision of actions described 7
173	173	in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 7512 may 8
174	174	not exceed 15 business days unless there are reason-9
175	175	able causes to believe the employee has committed a 10
176	176	crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be 11
177	177	imposed. 12
178	178	‘‘(B) The period for which an employee may re-13
179	179	spond to a notice of actions described in paragraphs 14
180	180	(1) through (4) of section 7512 in writing and to 15
181	181	furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence in 16
182	182	support of the response shall be 7 business days. 17
183	183	‘‘(2) The agency shall issue a final decision with 18
184	184	respect to actions described in paragraphs (1) 19
185	185	through (4) of section 7512 not later than 15 busi-20
186	186	ness days after the agency provides notice, including 21
187	187	a file containing all the evidence in support of the 22
188	188	proposed action, to the employee. The decision shall 23
189	189	be in writing and shall include the specific reasons 24
190	190	therefor. 25
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194	194	‘‘(d) PIP.—The agency may carry out such actions 1
195	195	described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 7512 2
196	196	without first placing an employee on a performance im-3
197	197	provement plan. 4
198	198	‘‘(e) E
199	199	MPLOYEERIGHTS.—An employee against 5
200	200	whom actions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 6
201	201	section 7512 is proposed is entitled to— 7
202	202	‘‘(1) a written notice stating the specific rea-8
203	203	sons for the proposed action; 9
204	204	‘‘(2) be represented by an attorney or other 10
205	205	representative; and 11
206	206	‘‘(3) a written decision and the specific reasons 12
207	207	therefor at the earliest practicable date. 13
208	208	‘‘(f) H
209	209	EARING.—An agency may provide, by regula-14
210	210	tion, for a hearing which may be in lieu of or in addition 15
211	211	to the opportunity to answer provided under subsection 16
212	212	(c)(1)(b) of this section. 17
213	213	‘‘(g) A
214	214	PPEAL.—An employee against whom an action 18
215	215	described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 7512 19
216	216	is taken is entitled to appeal to the Merit Systems Protec-20
217	217	tion Board under section 7701 of this title not later than 21
218	218	10 business days after the effective date of the action. 22
219	219	‘‘(h) P
220	220	ROCEDURE.—Copies of the notice of proposed 23
221	221	action, the answer of the employee when written, a sum-24
222	222	mary thereof when made orally, the notice of decision and 25
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226	226	reasons therefor, and any order effecting an action de-1
227	227	scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 7512, to-2
228	228	gether with any supporting material, shall be maintained 3
229	229	by the agency and shall be furnished to the Board upon 4
230	230	its request. Upon the affected employee’s request, copies 5
231	231	of the documents described in the preceding sentence shall 6
232	232	be furnished to the employee, to the extent those docu-7
233	233	ments were not provided under subsection (c).’’. 8
234	234	(b) D
235	235	ISCIPLINE OFSUPERVISORSBASED ONRETAL-9
236	236	IATION AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWERS.—Section 10
237	237	7515(b)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amend-11
238	238	ed— 12
239	239	(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘not later than 14 13
240	240	days’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than 7 business 14
241	241	days’’; and 15
242	242	(2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘14-day period’’ 16
243	243	and inserting ‘‘7-business-day period’’. 17
244	244	(c) A
245	245	PPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub-18
246	246	sections (a) and (b) shall not apply to any action under 19
247	247	section 7513 or 7515 of title 5, United States Code, as 20
248	248	amended by those subsections, respectively, commenced 21
249	249	before the effective date provided in section 12. 22
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253	253	SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON GRIEVING ADVERSE ACTIONS 1
254	254	AND REDUCTIONS IN FORCE. 2
255	255	Section 7121 of title 5, United States Code, is 3
256	256	amended— 4
257	257	(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘the settle-5
258	258	ment of’’; 6
259	259	(2) in subsection (c)— 7
260	260	(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 8
261	261	through (5) as paragraphs (5) through (9), re-9
262	262	spectively; and 10
263	263	(B) by inserting before paragraph (5), as 11
264	264	so redesignated, the following: 12
265	265	‘‘(1) an adverse action under subchapter II of 13
266	266	chapter 75; 14
267	267	‘‘(2) a furlough of more than 30 days by a re-15
268	268	duction in force action under subchapter I of chap-16
269	269	ter 35; 17
270	270	‘‘(3) a separation by a reduction in force action 18
271	271	under subchapter I of chapter 35; 19
272	272	‘‘(4) a demotion by a reduction in force action 20
273	273	under subchapter I of chapter 35;’’; 21
274	274	(3) in subsection (e)— 22
275	275	(A) in paragraph (1)— 23
276	276	(i) by striking ‘‘(1) Matters’’ and all 24
277	277	that follows through ‘‘but not both.’’; and 25
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281	281	(ii) in the second sentence, by striking 1
282	282	‘‘Similar matters’’ and inserting ‘‘Matters 2
283	283	similar to those covered under subchapter 3
284	284	II of chapter 75’’; and 4
285	285	(B) by striking paragraph (2); and 5
286	286	(4) in subsection (f)— 6
287	287	(A) by striking the first sentence; and 7
288	288	(B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘In 8
289	289	matters similar to those covered under sections 9
290	290	4303 and 7512 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘In 10
291	291	matters similar to those covered under sub-11
292	292	chapter II of chapter 75’’. 12
293	293	SEC. 5. ACTIONS AGAINST SENIOR EXECUTIVES FOR PER-13
294	294	FORMANCE OR CONDUCT. 14
295	295	(a) R
296	296	EPEAL OFPAYRETENTION FOR CAREERAP-15
297	297	POINTEESREMOVEDFROM THE SENIOREXECUTIVE 16
298	298	S
299	299	ERVICE.—Section 3594(c)(1)(B) of title 5, United States 17
300	300	Code, is amended to read as follows: 18
301	301	‘‘(B)(i) any career appointee placed under sub-19
302	302	section (a) or (b)(2) of this section shall be entitled 20
303	303	to receive basic pay at the highest of— 21
304	304	‘‘(I) the rate of basic pay in effect for the 22
305	305	position in which placed; 23
306	306	‘‘(II) the rate of basic pay in effect at the 24
307	307	time of the placement for the position the ca-25
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311	311	reer appointee held in the civil service imme-1
312	312	diately before being appointed to the Senior Ex-2
313	313	ecutive Service; or 3
314	314	‘‘(III) the rate of basic pay in effect for 4
315	315	the career appointee immediately before being 5
316	316	placed under subsection (a) or (b) of this sec-6
317	317	tion; and 7
318	318	‘‘(ii) any career appointee placed under sub-8
319	319	section (b)(1) of this section shall be entitled to re-9
320	320	ceive basic pay at the rate of basic pay in effect for 10
321	321	the position in which placed; and’’. 11
322	322	(b) A
323	323	PPRAISALSYSTEMREQUIREMENTS.—Section 12
324	324	4314(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 13
325	325	(1) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the 14
326	326	semicolon the following: ‘‘or, as warranted, from the 15
327	327	civil service’’; and 16
328	328	(2) in paragraph (4), by inserting before the pe-17
329	329	riod at the end the following: ‘‘or, as warranted, 18
330	330	from the civil service’’. 19
331	331	(c) S
332	332	USPENSION FOR14 DAYS ORLESS.—Paragraph 20
333	333	(1) of section 7501 of title 5, United States Code, is 21
334	334	amended to read as follows: 22
335	335	‘‘(1) ‘employee’ means— 23
336	336	‘‘(A) an individual in the competitive serv-24
337	337	ice who is not serving a probationary period or 25
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341	341	trial period under an initial appointment or who 1
342	342	has completed 1 year of current continuous em-2
343	343	ployment in the same or similar positions under 3
344	344	other than a temporary appointment limited to 4
345	345	1 year or less; or 5
346	346	‘‘(B) a career appointee in the Senior Ex-6
347	347	ecutive Service who— 7
348	348	‘‘(i) has completed the probationary 8
349	349	period prescribed under section 3393(d); or 9
350	350	‘‘(ii) was covered by the provisions of 10
351	351	subchapter II of this chapter immediately 11
352	352	before appointment to the Senior Executive 12
353	353	Service; and’’. 13
354	354	(d) M
355	355	ODIFICATION OFCAUSE ANDPROCEDURE FOR 14
356	356	S
357	357	USPENSION AND TERMINATION.—Section 7543 of title 15
358	358	5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 16
359	359	‘‘§ 7543. Cause and procedure 17
360	360	‘‘(a) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of 18
361	361	Personnel Management, an agency may take an action 19
362	362	covered by this subchapter against an employee if the 20
363	363	agency determines by a preponderance of the evidence the 21
364	364	performance or misconduct of the employee warrants such 22
365	365	action. 23
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369	369	‘‘(b) When making an initial decision on an action 1
370	370	covered by this subchapter, the deciding employee of the 2
371	371	agency shall exclusively apply the following factors— 3
372	372	‘‘(1) the nature and seriousness of the offense, 4
373	373	and its relation to the employee’s duties, position, 5
374	374	and responsibilities, including whether the offense 6
375	375	was intentional or technical or inadvertent, or was 7
376	376	committed maliciously or for gain, or was frequently 8
377	377	repeated; and 9
378	378	‘‘(2) the employee’s job level and type of em-10
379	379	ployment, including supervisory or fiduciary role, 11
380	380	and prominence of the position. 12
381	381	‘‘(c) The agency shall review the initial decision and 13
382	382	uphold such decision if it is supported by substantial evi-14
383	383	dence. 15
384	384	‘‘(d)(1)(A) The aggregate period for written notice, 16
385	385	response, and final decision of actions covered by this sub-17
386	386	chapter may not exceed 15 business days unless there are 18
387	387	reasonable causes to believe the employee has committed 19
388	388	a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be im-20
389	389	posed. 21
390	390	‘‘(B) The period for which an employee may respond 22
391	391	to a notice of actions covered by this subchapter in writing 23
392	392	and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence 24
393	393	in support of the response shall be 7 business days. (2) 25
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397	397	The agency shall issue a final decision with respect to a 1
398	398	covered actions not later than 15 business days after the 2
399	399	agency provides notice, including a file containing all the 3
400	400	evidence in support of the proposed action, to the em-4
401	401	ployee. The decision shall be in writing and shall include 5
402	402	the specific reasons therefor. 6
403	403	‘‘(e) An employee against whom an action covered by 7
404	404	this subchapter is proposed is entitled to— 8
405	405	‘‘(1) a written notice stating the specific rea-9
406	406	sons for the proposed action; 10
407	407	‘‘(2) be represented by an attorney or other 11
408	408	representative; and 12
409	409	‘‘(3) a written decision and the specific reasons 13
410	410	therefor at the earliest practicable date. 14
411	411	‘‘(f) An agency may provide, by regulation, for a 15
412	412	hearing which may be in lieu of or in addition to the op-16
413	413	portunity to answer provided under subsection (d)(1)(B) 17
414	414	of this section. 18
415	415	‘‘(g) An employee against whom an action is taken 19
416	416	under this section is entitled to appeal to the Merit Sys-20
417	417	tems Protection Board under section 7701 of this title not 21
418	418	later than 10 business days after the effective date of the 22
419	419	action. 23
420	420	‘‘(h) Copies of the notice of proposed action, the an-24
421	421	swer of the employee when written, a summary thereof 25
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425	425	when made orally, the notice of decision and reasons there-1
426	426	for, and any order effecting an action covered by this sub-2
427	427	chapter, together with any supporting material, shall be 3
428	428	maintained by the agency and shall be furnished to the 4
429	429	Board upon its request. Upon the affected employee’s re-5
430	430	quest, copies of the documents described in the preceding 6
431	431	sentence shall be furnished to the employee, to the extent 7
432	432	those documents were not provided under subsection (c). 8
433	433	‘‘(i) In this section, the term ‘misconduct’ includes 9
434	434	neglect of duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a di-10
435	435	rected reassignment or to accompany a position in a trans-11
436	436	fer of function.’’. 12
437	437	(e) R
438	438	ELATION TOOTHERPROVISIONS OFLAW.— 13
439	439	Section 3592(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, deso 14
440	440	not apply to an action under section 7543(a), as amended 15
441	441	in subsection (d). 16
442	442	(f) C
443	443	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 5, United 17
444	444	States Code, is amended— 18
445	445	(1) in section 3592(b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘any 19
446	446	disciplinary action’’ and inserting ‘‘any action under 20
447	447	section 7543’’; 21
448	448	(2) in section 3593(a)(2), by striking ‘‘mis-22
449	449	conduct, neglect of duty, malfeasance,’’ and insert-23
450	450	ing ‘‘a removal under section 7543’’; 24
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453	453	•HR 687 IH
454	454	(3) in section 3594, by adding at the end the 1
455	455	following: 2
456	456	‘‘(d) This section shall not apply to any career ap-3
457	457	pointee who is subject to a personnel action under sub-4
458	458	chapter V of chapter 75.’’; and 5
459	459	(4) in section 7542, by striking ‘‘or to a re-6
460	460	moval under section 3592 or 3595’’ and inserting 7
461	461	the following: ‘‘to a removal from the Senior Execu-8
462	462	tive Service under section 3592 of this title, to a re-9
463	463	duction in force as defined in section 3595(d) of this 10
464	464	title, or to a transfer of function as described in sec-11
465	465	tion 3595(e)’’. 12
466	466	(g) A
467	467	PPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 13
468	468	section shall not apply to any personnel action under sub-14
469	469	chapter V of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, 15
470	470	commenced before the effective date of this Act. 16
471	471	SEC. 6. ACTIONS AGAINST SUPERVISORS FOR PERFORM-17
472	472	ANCE OR CONDUCT. 18
473	473	Subchapter II of title 5, United States Code, is 19
474	474	amended— 20
475	475	(1) by redesignating sections 7514 and 7515 as 21
476	476	sections 7516 and 7517, respectively; and 22
477	477	(2) by inserting after section 7513 the fol-23
478	478	lowing: 24
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481	481	•HR 687 IH
482	482	‘‘§ 7514. Supervisors 1
483	483	‘‘(a) I
484	484	NGENERAL.— 2
485	485	‘‘(1) The agency may take an action covered by 3
486	486	this subchapter against a supervisor, as defined in 4
487	487	section 7103(a)(10), if the agency determines by a 5
488	488	preponderance of the evidence that the performance 6
489	489	or misconduct of the supervisor warrants such ac-7
490	490	tion. 8
491	491	‘‘(2) When making an initial decision on an ac-9
492	492	tion covered by this subchapter, the deciding em-10
493	493	ployee of the agency shall exclusively apply the fol-11
494	494	lowing factors: 12
495	495	‘‘(A) The nature and seriousness of the of-13
496	496	fense, and its relation to the supervisor’s duties, 14
497	497	position, and responsibilities, including whether 15
498	498	the offense was intentional or technical or inad-16
499	499	vertent, or was committed maliciously or for 17
500	500	gain, or was frequently repeated. 18
501	501	‘‘(B) The supervisor’s job level and type of 19
502	502	employment, including supervisory or fiduciary 20
503	503	role, and prominence of the position. 21
504	504	‘‘(3) The agency shall review the initial decision 22
505	505	and uphold such decision if it is supported by sub-23
506	506	stantial evidence. 24
507	507	‘‘(4) A supervisor against whom an action cov-25
508	508	ered by this subchapter is proposed is entitled to— 26
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511	511	•HR 687 IH
512	512	‘‘(A) a written notice stating the specific 1
513	513	reasons for the proposed action; 2
514	514	‘‘(B) be represented by an attorney or 3
515	515	other representative; and 4
516	516	‘‘(C) a written decision and the specific 5
517	517	reasons therefor at the earliest practicable date. 6
518	518	‘‘(5) The agency may carry out such action cov-7
519	519	ered by this subchapter without first placing a su-8
520	520	pervisor on a performance improvement plan. 9
521	521	‘‘(6) The procedures under chapter 43 shall not 10
522	522	apply to an action covered by this subchapter. 11
523	523	‘‘(b) P
524	524	ROCEDURE.—(1)(A) The aggregate period for 12
525	525	written notice, response, and final decision of actions cov-13
526	526	ered by this subchapter may not exceed 15 business days 14
527	527	unless there are reasonable causes to believe the employee 15
528	528	has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprison-16
529	529	ment may be imposed. 17
530	530	‘‘(B) The period for which an employee may respond 18
531	531	to a notice of actions covered by this subchapter in writing 19
532	532	and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence 20
533	533	in support of the response shall be 7 business days. 21
534	534	‘‘(2) The agency shall issue a final decision with re-22
535	535	spect to a covered action not later than 15 business days 23
536	536	after the agency provides notice, including a file con-24
537	537	taining all the evidence in support of the proposed action, 25
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540	540	•HR 687 IH
541	541	to the employee. The decision shall be in writing and shall 1
542	542	include the specific reasons therefor. 2
543	543	‘‘(c) R
544	544	EDUCTION INGRADE.— 3
545	545	‘‘(1) A reduction in grade under subsection (a) 4
546	546	shall be carried out as a reduction in grade for 5
547	547	which the covered individual is qualified, that the 6
548	548	agency determines is appropriate, and that reduces 7
549	549	the annual rate of pay of the supervisor. 8
550	550	‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of 9
551	551	law, any supervisor subject to a reduction in grade— 10
552	552	‘‘(A) shall, beginning on the date of such 11
553	553	demotion, receive the annual rate of pay appli-12
554	554	cable to such grade; 13
555	555	‘‘(B) may not be placed on administrative 14
556	556	leave during the period during which an appeal 15
557	557	(if any) under this section is ongoing, and may 16
558	558	only receive pay if the supervisor reports for 17
559	559	duty or is approved to use accrued unused an-18
560	560	nual, sick, family medical, military, or court 19
561	561	leave; and 20
562	562	‘‘(C) who does not report for duty or re-21
563	563	ceive approval to use accrued unused leave shall 22
564	564	not receive pay or other benefits. 23
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567	567	•HR 687 IH
568	568	‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘super-1
569	569	visor’ has the meaning given that term under section 2
570	570	7103(a).’’. 3
571	571	SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR FURLOUGH. 4
572	572	(a) F
573	573	URLOUGH OF14 DAYS ORLESS; EMERGENCY 5
574	574	F
575	575	URLOUGH.—Subchapter I of chapter 75 of title 5, 6
576	576	United States Code, is amended— 7
577	577	(1) in section 7501, as amended by section 8
578	578	5(c),— 9
579	579	(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 10
580	580	the end; 11
581	581	(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 12
582	582	paragraph (4); and 13
583	583	(C) by inserting the following after para-14
584	584	graph (1) the following: 15
585	585	‘‘(2) ‘furlough’ has the meaning given that term 16
586	586	in section 7511(a)(5); 17
587	587	‘‘(3) ‘emergency furlough’ means a furlough 18
588	588	due to a lapse in appropriations;’’; 19
589	589	(2) in section 7502, by striking ‘‘This sub-20
590	590	chapter’’ and all that follows through ‘‘this title.’’ 21
591	591	and inserting the following: ‘‘This subchapter applies 22
592	592	to— 23
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595	595	•HR 687 IH
596	596	‘‘(1) a suspension for 14 days or less, but not 1
597	597	a suspension under section 7521 or 7532 or any ac-2
598	598	tion initiated under section 1215; 3
599	599	‘‘(2) a furlough for 14 days or less; and 4
600	600	‘‘(3) an emergency furlough of any duration.’’; 5
601	601	(3) by redesignating section 7504 as section 6
602	602	7505; and 7
603	603	(4) by inserting after section 7503, the fol-8
604	604	lowing: 9
605	605	‘‘§ 7504. Furlough and emergency furlough cause and 10
606	606	procedure 11
607	607	‘‘(a) G
608	608	ENERALFURLOUGH.— 12
609	609	‘‘(1) I
610	610	N GENERAL.—An employee may be sub-13
611	611	ject to a furlough for such cause as will promote the 14
612	612	efficiency of the service. Any employee furloughed 15
613	613	under this section is entitled to the procedures es-16
614	614	tablished under the regulations promulgated under 17
615	615	paragraph (2). 18
616	616	‘‘(2) P
617	617	ROCEDURES.—Not later than 180 days 19
618	618	after the date of enactment of this section, the Of-20
619	619	fice of Personnel Management shall promulgate reg-21
620	620	ulations providing for— 22
621	621	‘‘(A) the circumstances under which an 23
622	622	employee may be furloughed under this section; 24
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625	625	•HR 687 IH
626	626	‘‘(B) the procedures to be afforded fur-1
627	627	loughed employees, including, to the extent ap-2
628	628	propriate and practicable under the cir-3
629	629	cumstances of the furlough action— 4
630	630	‘‘(i) a written notice stating the spe-5
631	631	cific reasons for the proposed action; 6
632	632	‘‘(ii) be represented by an attorney or 7
633	633	other representative; and 8
634	634	‘‘(iii) a written decision and the spe-9
635	635	cific reasons therefor at the earliest prac-10
636	636	ticable date; and 11
637	637	‘‘(C) the materials that shall be furnished 12
638	638	to a furloughed employee and the Merit Sys-13
639	639	tems Protection Board upon request of the em-14
640	640	ployee or the Board. 15
641	641	‘‘(b) E
642	642	MERGENCYFURLOUGH.— 16
643	643	‘‘(1) I
644	644	N GENERAL.—An employee may be sub-17
645	645	ject to an emergency furlough. 18
646	646	‘‘(2) P
647	647	ROCEDURES.— 19
648	648	‘‘(A) N
649	649	OTICE.—Under regulations pre-20
650	650	scribed by the Office of Personnel Management, 21
651	651	any employee subject to an emergency furlough 22
652	652	shall be afforded notice explaining the reasons 23
653	653	for the emergency furlough. If the notice cannot 24
654	654	be provided in advance of the emergency fur-25
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657	657	•HR 687 IH
658	658	lough, notice shall be provided as soon as rea-1
659	659	sonably practicable. 2
660	660	‘‘(B) O
661	661	THER PROCEDURES .—No other pro-3
662	662	cedures, including those provided under sub-4
663	663	section (a) or any other provision of this title, 5
664	664	shall be available to any employee subject to an 6
665	665	emergency furlough under this subsection. 7
666	666	‘‘(3) D
667	667	EFINITION.—For the purposes of this 8
668	668	section, the term ‘employee’ means any employee de-9
669	669	scribed under section 7501(1).’’. 10
670	670	(b) F
671	671	URLOUGH OF MORETHAN14 DAYS.—Sub-11
672	672	chapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, 12
673	673	is amended— 13
674	674	(1) in section 7511(a)(5) by inserting before 14
675	675	the period the following: ‘‘, but does not include an 15
676	676	emergency furlough as defined in section 7501 of 16
677	677	title 5’’. 17
678	678	(2) in section 7512, as amended by section 18
679	679	2(c)— 19
680	680	(A) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘a fur-20
681	681	lough of 30 days or less’’ and inserting ‘‘a fur-21
682	682	lough of more than 14 days but less than 31 22
683	683	days’’; 23
684	684	(B) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated 24
685	685	by section 2(c), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 25
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688	688	•HR 687 IH
689	689	(C) in subparagraph (E), as redesignated 1
690	690	by section 2(c), by striking the period at the 2
691	691	end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 3
692	692	(D) by adding at the end the following: 4
693	693	‘‘(F) an emergency furlough action under 5
694	694	section 7504.’’; 6
695	695	(3) by inserting after section 7514, as added by 7
696	696	section 6, the following: 8
697	697	‘‘§ 7515. Furlough cause and procedure 9
698	698	‘‘(a) I
699	699	NGENERAL.—An employee may be subject to 10
700	700	a furlough for such cause as will promote the efficiency 11
701	701	of the service. Any employee furloughed under this section 12
702	702	is entitled to the procedures established under the regula-13
703	703	tions promulgated under subsection (b). 14
704	704	‘‘(b) P
705	705	ROCEDURES.—Not later than 180 days after 15
706	706	the date of enactment of this section, the Office of Per-16
707	707	sonnel Management shall promulgate regulations pro-17
708	708	viding for— 18
709	709	‘‘(1) the circumstances under which an em-19
710	710	ployee may be furloughed under this section; 20
711	711	‘‘(2) the procedures provided under section 21
712	712	7513 to the extent appropriate and practicable 22
713	713	under the circumstances of the furlough action; and 23
714	714	‘‘(3) the materials that shall be furnished to a 24
715	715	furloughed employee and the Merit Systems Protec-25
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718	718	•HR 687 IH
719	719	tion Board upon request of the employee or the 1
720	720	Board. 2
721	721	‘‘(c) A
722	722	PPEAL.—An employee against whom a fur-3
723	723	lough action is taken under this section is entitled to ap-4
724	724	peal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under section 5
725	725	7701 not later than 10 business days after the effective 6
726	726	date of the action.’’. 7
727	727	(d) A
728	728	DMINISTRATIVE LAWJUDGES.—Section 8
729	729	7521(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 9
730	730	(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 10
731	731	end; 11
732	732	(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period 12
733	733	at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 13
734	734	(3) by adding at the end the following: 14
735	735	‘‘(D) an emergency furlough action under 15
736	736	section 7504.’’. 16
737	737	(e) T
738	738	ECHNICALAMENDMENTS.— 17
739	739	(1) S
740	740	ECTION 7503.—The heading of section 18
741	741	7503 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 19
742	742	striking ‘‘Cause and procedure’’ and inserting 20
743	743	‘‘Suspension cause and procedure ’’,. 21
744	744	(2) S
745	745	ECTION 7513.—Section 7513 of title 5, 22
746	746	United States Code, is amended by striking 23
747	747	‘‘Cause and procedure’’ and inserting ‘‘Cause 24
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750	750	•HR 687 IH
751	751	and procedure for actions other than fur-1
752	752	lough’’. 2
753	753	(f) C
754	754	LERICALAMENDMENTS.— 3
755	755	(1) S
756	756	UBCHAPTER I OF CHAPTER 75 OF TITLE 4
757	757	5.—The table of sections for subchapter I of chapter 5
758	758	75 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 6
759	759	striking the items relating to sections 7503 and 7
760	760	7504 and inserting the following: 8
761	761	‘‘7503. Suspension cause and procedure.
762	762	‘‘7504. Furlough and emergency furlough cause and procedure.
763	763	‘‘7505. Regulations.’’.
764	764	(2) SUBCHAPTER II OF CHAPTER 75 OF TITLE 9
765	765	5.—The table of sections for subchapter II of chap-10
766	766	ter 75 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 11
767	767	striking the items relating to sections 7513 through 12
768	768	7515 and inserting the following: 13
769	769	‘‘7513. Cause and procedure for actions other than furlough.
770	770	‘‘7514. Supervisors.
771	771	‘‘7515. Furlough cause and procedure.
772	772	‘‘7516. Regulations.
773	773	‘‘7517. Discipline of supervisors based on retaliation against whistleblowers.’’.
774	774	(g) APPLICATION.—Notwithstanding section 12, the 14
775	775	amendments made by this section shall take effect on the 15
776	776	earlier of— 16
777	777	(1) the date that is 180 days after the date of 17
778	778	enactment of this Act; or 18
779	779	(2) the date on which the Office of Personnel 19
780	780	Management promulgates regulations provided 20
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783	783	•HR 687 IH
784	784	under sections 7504 and 7515 of title 5, United 1
785	785	States Code, as added by this section. 2
786	786	SEC. 8. REDUCTION OF ANNUITY OF EMPLOYEE CON-3
787	787	VICTED OF A FELONY FOR WHICH AN AD-4
788	788	VERSE ACTION IS OR WOULD HAVE BEEN 5
789	789	TAKEN. 6
790	790	(a) R
791	791	EDUCTION OF ANNUITY OFEMPLOYEECON-7
792	792	VICTED OF AFELONY FORWHICH ANADVERSEACTION 8
793	793	I
794	794	STAKEN.— 9
795	795	(1) I
796	796	N GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 83 10
797	797	of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 11
798	798	at the end the following: 12
799	799	‘‘§ 8323. Reduction of benefits of employees convicted 13
800	800	of certain crimes 14
801	801	‘‘(a) R
802	802	EDUCTION OFANNUITY.— 15
803	803	‘‘(1) I
804	804	N GENERAL.—The felonious service of a 16
805	805	covered individual shall not be taken into account 17
806	806	for purposes of calculating an annuity with respect 18
807	807	to the individual under subchapter III of this chap-19
808	808	ter or chapter 84 if— 20
809	809	‘‘(A) the covered individual is finally con-21
810	810	victed of a felony; and 22
811	811	‘‘(B) the head of the agency at which the 23
812	812	individual was employed determines that the 24
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815	815	•HR 687 IH
816	816	conviction was based on the acts or omissions 1
817	817	of the covered individual that— 2
818	818	‘‘(i) were taken or not taken in the 3
819	819	performance of the covered individual’s of-4
820	820	ficial duties at the agency; and 5
821	821	‘‘(ii) are sufficient to support a re-6
822	822	moval action under section 7513, 7543, or 7
823	823	any other provision of law against the cov-8
824	824	ered individual. 9
825	825	‘‘(2) P
826	826	ROCEDURES.—A covered individual 10
827	827	against whom a determination is made under para-11
828	828	graph (1) shall be afforded— 12
829	829	‘‘(A) notice of the determination not later 13
830	830	than 15 business days in advance of a final 14
831	831	order under paragraph (3); and 15
832	832	‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the de-16
833	833	termination by not later than 10 business days 17
834	834	after receipt of the notice. 18
835	835	‘‘(3) F
836	836	INAL ORDER.—The head of the agency 19
837	837	shall issue a final order to carry out paragraph (1) 20
838	838	not later than— 21
839	839	‘‘(A) in the case of a covered individual 22
840	840	who responds under paragraph (2)(B), 5 busi-23
841	841	ness days after receiving the response from the 24
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844	844	•HR 687 IH
845	845	covered individual, to the maximum extent 1
846	846	practicable; or 2
847	847	‘‘(B) in the case of a covered individual 3
848	848	who does not so respond, 15 business days after 4
849	849	the date on which the head of the agency pro-5
850	850	vided notice to the individual under paragraph 6
851	851	(2)(A), to the maximum extent practicable. 7
852	852	‘‘(4) A
853	853	PPEAL.—A covered individual with re-8
854	854	spect to whom an annuity is to be reduced under 9
855	855	this subsection may appeal the final order under 10
856	856	paragraph (3) to the Merit Systems Protection 11
857	857	Board in accordance with any regulations that the 12
858	858	Board may prescribe for purposes of this subsection. 13
859	859	An appeal may not be made under this paragraph 14
860	860	later than that date that is 10 business days after 15
861	861	the date on which an order is issued under para-16
862	862	graph (3). 17
863	863	‘‘(b) A
864	864	DMINISTRATIVEREQUIREMENTS.— 18
865	865	‘‘(1) I
866	866	N GENERAL.—Not later than 30 business 19
867	867	days after the date on which the head of an agency 20
868	868	issues a final order under subsection (a) or a final 21
869	869	decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board is 22
870	870	rendered (as the case may be) with respect to an in-23
871	871	dividual, the applicable employing agency shall 24
872	872	amend the covered individual’s retirement records to 25
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875	875	•HR 687 IH
876	876	reflect the period of service that is no longer cred-1
877	877	itable by operation of this section and transmit the 2
878	878	amended records to the Director of the Office of 3
879	879	Personnel Management. 4
880	880	‘‘(2) A
881	881	NNUITANTS.—With respect to any cov-5
882	882	ered individual who is an annuitant on the date on 6
883	883	which a final order is so issued, the Director of the 7
884	884	Office of Personnel Management shall, not later 8
885	885	than 30 business days after the receipt of amended 9
886	886	retirement records from an agency under paragraph 10
887	887	(1), recalculate the annuity of the annuitant. 11
888	888	‘‘(c) L
889	889	UMP-SUMANNUITYCREDIT.—A covered indi-12
890	890	vidual with respect to whom an annuity is reduced under 13
891	891	subsection (a) shall be entitled to be paid so much of the 14
892	892	individual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to the pe-15
893	893	riod of felonious service. 16
894	894	‘‘(d) S
895	895	POUSEEXCEPTION.—The spouse of any cov-17
896	896	ered individual referred to in subsection (a) shall be eligi-18
897	897	ble for spousal annuity benefits that, but for subsection 19
898	898	(a), would otherwise have been payable if the Attorney 20
899	899	General of the United States or the attorney general of 21
900	900	a State, a territory, or the District of Columbia determines 22
901	901	that the spouse fully cooperated with authorities in the 23
902	902	conduct of a criminal investigation and subsequent pros-24
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906	906	ecution of the individual that resulted in the benefit reduc-1
907	907	tion. 2
908	908	‘‘(e) A
909	909	PPLICATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 3
910	910	construed to affect or otherwise mitigate the application 4
911	911	of any other section of this subchapter. 5
912	912	‘‘(f) D
913	913	EFINITIONS.—In this section— 6
914	914	‘‘(1) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 7
915	915	‘‘(A) an individual who is removed from a 8
916	916	position as an employee (as defined in section 9
917	917	2105) in the civil service for performance or 10
918	918	misconduct under section 7513, 7543, or any 11
919	919	other provision of law; or 12
920	920	‘‘(B) an individual who— 13
921	921	‘‘(i) is an employee (as defined in sec-14
922	922	tion 2105) subject to a removal action for 15
923	923	performance or misconduct under section 16
924	924	7513, 7543, or any other provision of law; 17
925	925	and 18
926	926	‘‘(ii) voluntarily separates from service 19
927	927	with the employing agency prior to the 20
928	928	issuance of a final decision with respect to 21
929	929	the removal action; 22
930	930	‘‘(2) the term ‘felonious service’ means, with re-23
931	931	spect to a covered individual, the period of service— 24
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935	935	‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which the 1
936	936	head of the employing agency determines that 2
937	937	the individual commenced engaging in the acts 3
938	938	or omissions that gave rise to the removal ac-4
939	939	tion or proposed removal action described in 5
940	940	paragraph (1); and 6
941	941	‘‘(B) ending on the date that is the earlier 7
942	942	of— 8
943	943	‘‘(i) the date on which the individual 9
944	944	is removed from or voluntarily separates 10
945	945	from a position at the agency; or 11
946	946	‘‘(ii) the date on which the individual 12
947	947	ceases engaging in the acts or omissions 13
948	948	that gave rise to the removal action or pro-14
949	949	posed removal action described in para-15
950	950	graph (1); 16
951	951	‘‘(3) the term ‘finally convicted’ or ‘final convic-17
952	952	tion’ refers to a conviction of a felony— 18
953	953	‘‘(A) that has not been appealed and is no 19
954	954	longer appealable because the time for taking 20
955	955	an appeal has expired; or 21
956	956	‘‘(B) that has been appealed and the ap-22
957	957	peals process for which is completed; 23
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961	961	‘‘(4) the term ‘lump-sum credit’ has the mean-1
962	962	ing given that term in section 8331(8) or 8401(19) 2
963	963	(as the case may be); and 3
964	964	‘‘(5) the term ‘service’ has the meaning given 4
965	965	that term in section 8331(12) or 8401(26) (as the 5
966	966	case may be).’’. 6
967	967	(2) C
968	968	LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of sec-7
969	969	tions for subchapter II of chapter 83 of title 5, 8
970	970	United States Code, is amended by adding at the 9
971	971	end the following: 10
972	972	‘‘8323. Reduction of benefits of employees convicted of certain crimes.’’.
973	973	(b) APPLICATION.—Section 8323 of title 5, United 11
974	974	States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to 12
975	975	acts or omissions described in subsection (a)(1)(B) of that 13
976	976	section occurring after the date of enactment of this Act. 14
977	977	(c) R
978	978	EGULATIONS.—The Office of Personnel Man-15
979	979	agement may prescribe regulations to carry out this sec-16
980	980	tion and the amendments made by this section. 17
981	981	SEC. 9. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP BONUSES OR AWARDS 18
982	982	PAID TO EMPLOYEES. 19
983	983	(a) A
984	984	DVERSEFINDINGS ANDEMPLOYEESUNDERIN-20
985	985	VESTIGATION.—Chapter 45 of title 5, United States Code, 21
986	986	is amended by adding at the end the following: 22
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990	990	‘‘Subchapter IV—Limitations on Bonus 1
991	991	Authority 2
992	992	‘‘§ 4531. Certain forms of misconduct 3
993	993	‘‘(a) D
994	994	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 4
995	995	‘‘(1) A
996	996	DVERSE FINDING.— 5
997	997	‘‘(A) I
998	998	N GENERAL.—The term ‘adverse 6
999	999	finding’ means a determination by the head of 7
1000	1000	the agency employing an employee that the con-8
1001	1001	duct of the employee— 9
1002	1002	‘‘(i) violated a policy of the agency for 10
1003	1003	which the employee may be removed or 11
1004	1004	suspended for a period of not less than 14 12
1005	1005	days; or 13
1006	1006	‘‘(ii) violated a law for which the em-14
1007	1007	ployee may be imprisoned for more than 1 15
1008	1008	year. 16
1009	1009	‘‘(B) B
1010	1010	ASIS.—A determination described in 17
1011	1011	subparagraph (A) may be based on an inves-18
1012	1012	tigation by, a determination of, or information 19
1013	1013	provided by the Inspector General or another 20
1014	1014	senior ethics official of an agency or the Comp-21
1015	1015	troller General of the United States, as part of 22
1016	1016	carrying out an activity, authority, or function 23
1017	1017	of the Inspector General, senior ethics official, 24
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1021	1021	or Comptroller General, respectively, under a 1
1022	1022	provision of law other than this section. 2
1023	1023	‘‘(2) A
1024	1024	GENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 3
1025	1025	meaning given the term in section 551. 4
1026	1026	‘‘(3) B
1027	1027	ONUS.—The term ‘bonus’ means any 5
1028	1028	performance award or cash award under— 6
1029	1029	‘‘(A) section 4505a; 7
1030	1030	‘‘(B) section 5384; or 8
1031	1031	‘‘(C) section 5754. 9
1032	1032	‘‘(4) E
1033	1033	MPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ means 10
1034	1034	an employee of an agency. 11
1035	1035	‘‘(b) P
1036	1036	ROHIBITION.—The head of an agency may not 12
1037	1037	award a bonus to an employee of the agency until the date 13
1038	1038	that is 5 years after the end of the fiscal year during which 14
1039	1039	the head of an agency makes an adverse finding relating 15
1040	1040	to the employee. 16
1041	1041	‘‘(c) A
1042	1042	FTERBONUSAWARDED.— 17
1043	1043	‘‘(1) I
1044	1044	N GENERAL.—For a bonus awarded to an 18
1045	1045	employee after the date of enactment of this section, 19
1046	1046	if the head of the agency employing the employee 20
1047	1047	makes an adverse finding relating to the employee 21
1048	1048	during the fiscal year in which the bonus is awarded, 22
1049	1049	the head of the agency, after notice and an oppor-23
1050	1050	tunity for a hearing, shall issue an order directing 24
1051	1051	the employee to repay the amount of the bonus. 25
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1055	1055	‘‘(2) REPAYMENT PLAN.—An agency shall allow 1
1056	1056	an employee who is required to repay a bonus under 2
1057	1057	paragraph (1) to repay that bonus using a repay-3
1058	1058	ment plan. 4
1059	1059	‘‘(3) H
1060	1060	EARINGS.—A hearing under this sub-5
1061	1061	section shall be conducted in accordance with regula-6
1062	1062	tions relating to hearings promulgated by the head 7
1063	1063	of the agency under chapter 75. 8
1064	1064	‘‘(d) C
1065	1065	ONDITION OFRECEIPT.—As a condition of re-9
1066	1066	ceiving a bonus awarded after the date of enactment of 10
1067	1067	this section, an employee shall sign a certification stating 11
1068	1068	that the employee shall repay the bonus in accordance with 12
1069	1069	a final order issued under subsection (c). 13
1070	1070	‘‘(e) A
1071	1071	PPEAL.—An employee determined to be ineli-14
1072	1072	gible for a bonus under subsection (b) or against whom 15
1073	1073	an order is issued under subsection (c) may submit an 16
1074	1074	appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under sec-17
1075	1075	tion 7701.’’. 18
1076	1076	(b) R
1077	1077	ULEMAKING.—The head of each agency, as de-19
1078	1078	fined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code, may 20
1079	1079	promulgate rules to carry out section 4531 of title 5, 21
1080	1080	United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 22
1081	1081	(c) T
1082	1082	ECHNICAL AND CONFORMINGAMENDMENT.— 23
1083	1083	The table of sections for chapter 45 of title 5, United 24
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1087	1087	States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-1
1088	1088	lowing: 2
1089	1089	‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—LIMITATIONS ON BONUS AUTHORITY
1090	1090	‘‘4531. Certain forms of misconduct.
1091	1091	SEC. 10. EXTENSION OF PROBATIONARY PERIOD FOR POSI-
1092	1092	3
1093	1093	TIONS WITHIN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE 4
1094	1094	SERVICE. 5
1095	1095	(a) I
1096	1096	NGENERAL.—Section 3393(d) of title 5, United 6
1097	1097	States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘1-year’’ and insert-7
1098	1098	ing ‘‘2-year’’. 8
1099	1099	(b) C
1100	1100	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 3592(a)(1) 9
1101	1101	of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘1- 10
1102	1102	year’’ and inserting ‘‘2-year’’. 11
1103	1103	(c) A
1104	1104	PPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 12
1105	1105	section shall apply in the case of any individual initially 13
1106	1106	appointed as a career appointee under section 3393 of title 14
1107	1107	5, United States Code, on or after the effective date pro-15
1108	1108	vided in section 12 of this Act. 16
1109	1109	SEC. 11. EXTENSION OF PROBATIONARY PERIOD FOR EM-17
1110	1110	PLOYEES IN THE COMPETITIVE SERVICE. 18
1111	1111	(a) E
1112	1112	XTENSION OFPROBATIONARYPERIOD.— 19
1113	1113	(1) I
1114	1114	N GENERAL.—Section 3321 of title 5, 20
1115	1115	United States Code, is amended— 21
1116	1116	(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The 22
1117	1117	President’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub-23
1118	1118	sections (c) and (d), the President’’; 24
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1122	1122	(B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-1
1123	1123	section (e); and 2
1124	1124	(C) by inserting after subsection (b) the 3
1125	1125	following: 4
1126	1126	‘‘(c)(1) The length of a probationary period estab-5
1127	1127	lished under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall— 6
1128	1128	‘‘(A) with respect to any position that requires 7
1129	1129	formal training, begin on the date of the appoint-8
1130	1130	ment to the position and end on the date that is 2 9
1131	1131	years after the date on which the formal training is 10
1132	1132	completed; 11
1133	1133	‘‘(B) with respect to any position that requires 12
1134	1134	a license, begin on the date of the appointment to 13
1135	1135	the position and end on the date that is 2 years 14
1136	1136	after the date of the appointment or the date on 15
1137	1137	which the license is granted, whichever is later; and 16
1138	1138	‘‘(C) with respect to any position not covered by 17
1139	1139	subparagraph (A) or (B), be a period of 2 years be-18
1140	1140	ginning on the date of the appointment to the posi-19
1141	1141	tion. 20
1142	1142	‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)— 21
1143	1143	‘‘(A) the term ‘formal training’ means, with re-22
1144	1144	spect to any position, a training program required 23
1145	1145	by law, rule, or regulation, or otherwise required by 24
1146	1146	the employing agency, to be completed by the em-25
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1150	1150	ployee before the employee is able to successfully 1
1151	1151	execute the duties of the applicable position; and 2
1152	1152	‘‘(B) the term ‘license’ means a license, certifi-3
1153	1153	cation, or other grant of permission to engage in a 4
1154	1154	particular activity. 5
1155	1155	‘‘(d) The head of each agency shall, in the adminis-6
1156	1156	tration of this section, take appropriate measures to en-7
1157	1157	sure that— 8
1158	1158	‘‘(1) any announcement of a vacant position 9
1159	1159	and any offer of appointment made to an individual 10
1160	1160	with respect to a vacant position clearly states the 11
1161	1161	terms and conditions of any applicable probationary 12
1162	1162	period, including any formal training period and any 13
1163	1163	license requirement; 14
1164	1164	‘‘(2) any individual who is required to complete 15
1165	1165	a probationary period under this section receives 16
1166	1166	timely notice of any requirements, including per-17
1167	1167	formance requirements, that must be met in order to 18
1168	1168	satisfactorily complete that period; 19
1169	1169	‘‘(3) any supervisor or manager of an individual 20
1170	1170	who is required to complete a probationary period 21
1171	1171	under this section receives periodic notifications of 22
1172	1172	the end date of that period not later than 1 year, 23
1173	1173	6 months, 3 months, and 30 days before the end 24
1174	1174	date; and 25
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1178	1178	‘‘(4) if the agency head decides to retain an in-1
1179	1179	dividual after the completion of a probationary pe-2
1180	1180	riod under this section, the agency head submits a 3
1181	1181	certification to that effect to the President, sup-4
1182	1182	ported by a brief statement of the basis for the cer-5
1183	1183	tification, in such form and manner as the President 6
1184	1184	may by regulation prescribe.’’. 7
1185	1185	(2) T
1186	1186	ECHNICAL AMENDMENT .—Section 3321(e) 8
1187	1187	of title 5, United States Code (as so redesignated by 9
1188	1188	paragraph (1)), is amended by striking ‘‘Subsections 10
1189	1189	(a) and (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsections (a) through 11
1190	1190	(d)’’. 12
1191	1191	(3) A
1192	1192	PPLICATION.—This subsection and the 13
1193	1193	amendments made by this subsection shall apply in 14
1194	1194	the case of any appointment (as referred to in sec-15
1195	1195	tion 3321(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code) and 16
1196	1196	any initial appointment (as referred to in section 17
1197	1197	3321(a)(2) of that title) taking effect on or after the 18
1198	1198	effective date provided in section 12 of this Act. 19
1199	1199	(b) A
1200	1200	DVERSEACTIONS.— 20
1201	1201	(1) S
1202	1202	UBCHAPTER I OF CHAPTER 75 OF TITLE 21
1203	1203	5.—Section 7501(1) of title 5, United States Code, 22
1204	1204	as amended by sections 5(c) and 7(a)(1), is further 23
1205	1205	amended— 24
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1209	1209	(A) by striking ‘‘or, except’’ and inserting 1
1210	1210	‘‘and, except’’; and 2
1211	1211	(B) by striking ‘‘1 year of current’’ and in-3
1212	1212	serting ‘‘2 years of current’’. 4
1213	1213	(2) S
1214	1214	UBCHAPTER II OF CHAPTER 75 OF TITLE 5
1215	1215	5.—Section 7511(a)(1) of title 5, United States 6
1216	1216	Code, is amended— 7
1217	1217	(A) in subparagraph (A)— 8
1218	1218	(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 9
1219	1219	inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10
1220	1220	(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘1 year’’ 11
1221	1221	the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘2 12
1222	1222	years’’; 13
1223	1223	(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘1 14
1224	1224	year’’ and inserting ‘‘2 years’’; and 15
1225	1225	(C) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘; 16
1226	1226	or’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’. 17
1227	1227	(3) A
1228	1228	PPLICATION.—The amendments made by 18
1229	1229	paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply in the case of 19
1230	1230	any individual whose period of continuous service 20
1231	1231	commences on or after the effective date provided in 21
1232	1232	section 12. 22
1233	1233	(c) R
1234	1234	EGULATIONS.—The Office of Personnel Man-23
1235	1235	agement may prescribe regulations to carry out this sec-24
1236	1236	tion and the amendments made by this section. 25
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1240	1240	SEC. 12. APPLICATION. 1
1241	1241	(a) E
1242	1242	FFECTIVEDATE.—Unless otherwise specifically 2
1243	1243	provided for in this Act, the amendments made by this 3
1244	1244	Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the 4
1245	1245	date of enactment of this Act. 5
1246	1246	(b) C
1247	1247	OLLECTIVEBARGAININGAGREEMENTS.—Not-6
1248	1248	withstanding any other provision of law, the procedures 7
1249	1249	established or amended by this Act shall supersede any 8
1250	1250	collective bargaining agreement to the extent that the 9
1251	1251	agreement is inconsistent with those procedures. 10
1252	1252	(c) D
1253	1253	EFINITION OFBUSINESSDAY.—For purposes 11
1254	1254	of carrying out this Act and the amendments made by this 12
1255	1255	Act, the term ‘‘business day’’ means any day other than 13
1256	1256	a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday under section 14
1257	1257	6103(a) of title 5, United States Code. 15
1258	1258	Æ
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