| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 124 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for disciplinary procedures |
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| 6 | 6 | | for supervisors and managers at the Department of Veterans Affairs |
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| 7 | 7 | | and to modify the procedures of personnel actions against employees |
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| 8 | 8 | | of the Department, and for other purposes. |
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| 9 | 9 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 10 | 10 | | JANUARY16, 2025 |
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| 11 | 11 | | Mr. M |
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| 12 | 12 | | ORAN(for himself, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. BANKS, Mrs. |
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| 13 | 13 | | B |
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| 14 | 14 | | LACKBURN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. SHEEHY, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. |
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| 15 | 15 | | R |
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| 16 | 16 | | ICKETTS, Mr. SCOTTof Florida, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. GRAHAM) intro- |
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| 17 | 17 | | duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- |
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| 18 | 18 | | mittee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 19 | 19 | | A BILL |
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| 20 | 20 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for dis- |
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| 21 | 21 | | ciplinary procedures for supervisors and managers at |
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| 22 | 22 | | the Department of Veterans Affairs and to modify the |
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| 23 | 23 | | procedures of personnel actions against employees of the |
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| 24 | 24 | | Department, and for other purposes. |
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| 25 | 25 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 26 | 26 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 28 | 28 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Department 4 |
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| 29 | 29 | | of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2025’’ or the 5 |
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| 30 | 30 | | ‘‘Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025’’. 6 |
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| 33 | 33 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 34 | 34 | | SEC. 2. SUPERVISORS: REMOVAL, DEMOTION, OR SUSPEN-1 |
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| 35 | 35 | | SION BASED ON PERFORMANCE OR MIS-2 |
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| 36 | 36 | | CONDUCT. 3 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (a) D |
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| 38 | 38 | | ISCIPLINE OFSUPERVISORS.— 4 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) I |
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| 40 | 40 | | N GENERAL.—Title 38, United States 5 |
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| 41 | 41 | | Code, is amended by inserting after section 711 the 6 |
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| 42 | 42 | | following: 7 |
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| 43 | 43 | | ‘‘§ 712. Supervisors: removal, demotion, or suspension 8 |
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| 44 | 44 | | based on performance or misconduct 9 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ‘‘(a) I |
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| 46 | 46 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary may remove from 10 |
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| 47 | 47 | | civil service, demote, or suspend a covered individual who 11 |
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| 48 | 48 | | is an employee of the Department if the Secretary deter-12 |
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| 49 | 49 | | mines by substantial evidence that the performance or 13 |
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| 50 | 50 | | misconduct of the covered individual warrants such action. 14 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘(b) R |
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| 52 | 52 | | IGHTS ANDPROCEDURES.—(1)(A) When mak-15 |
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| 53 | 53 | | ing an initial decision under subsection (a) with respect 16 |
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| 54 | 54 | | to determining whether a covered individual should be re-17 |
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| 55 | 55 | | moved, demoted, or suspended, the deciding employee of 18 |
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| 56 | 56 | | the Department shall exclusively apply the following fac-19 |
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| 57 | 57 | | tors: 20 |
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| 58 | 58 | | ‘‘(i) The nature and seriousness of the offense, 21 |
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| 59 | 59 | | and its relation to the covered individual’s duties, 22 |
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| 60 | 60 | | position, and responsibilities, including whether the 23 |
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| 61 | 61 | | offense was intentional or technical or inadvertent, 24 |
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| 62 | 62 | | or was committed maliciously or for gain, or was fre-25 |
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| 63 | 63 | | quently repeated. 26 |
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| 66 | 66 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 67 | 67 | | ‘‘(ii) The covered individual’s job level and type 1 |
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| 68 | 68 | | of employment, including supervisory or fiduciary 2 |
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| 69 | 69 | | role, and prominence of the position. 3 |
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| 70 | 70 | | ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall review the initial decision 4 |
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| 71 | 71 | | and uphold such decision if it is supported by substantial 5 |
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| 72 | 72 | | evidence. 6 |
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| 73 | 73 | | ‘‘(2) A covered individual subject to an action under 7 |
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| 74 | 74 | | subsection (a) is entitled to— 8 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ‘‘(A) advance notice of the action and a file 9 |
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| 76 | 76 | | containing all evidence in support of the proposed 10 |
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| 77 | 77 | | action; 11 |
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| 78 | 78 | | ‘‘(B) be represented by an attorney or other 12 |
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| 79 | 79 | | representative of the covered individual’s choice; and 13 |
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| 80 | 80 | | ‘‘(C) grieve the action in accordance with an in-14 |
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| 81 | 81 | | ternal grievance process that the Secretary, in con-15 |
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| 82 | 82 | | sultation with the Assistant Secretary for Account-16 |
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| 83 | 83 | | ability and Whistleblower Protection, shall establish 17 |
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| 84 | 84 | | for purposes of this subsection. 18 |
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| 85 | 85 | | ‘‘(3) A final decision by the Secretary under para-19 |
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| 86 | 86 | | graph (1)(B) that is not grieved, and a grievance decision 20 |
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| 87 | 87 | | under paragraph (2)(C), shall be final and conclusive. 21 |
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| 88 | 88 | | ‘‘(4) The procedures under chapter 43 of title 5 shall 22 |
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| 89 | 89 | | not apply to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 23 |
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| 90 | 90 | | section, and the Secretary may carry out such a removal, 24 |
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| 92 | 92 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 93 | 93 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 94 | 94 | | demotion, or suspension without first placing a covered in-1 |
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| 95 | 95 | | dividual on a performance improvement plan. 2 |
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| 96 | 96 | | ‘‘(c) T |
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| 97 | 97 | | IMING.—(1)(A) The aggregate period for no-3 |
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| 98 | 98 | | tice, response, and final decision by the Secretary of an 4 |
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| 99 | 99 | | action under this section may not exceed 15 business days. 5 |
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| 100 | 100 | | ‘‘(B) The period for the response of a covered indi-6 |
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| 101 | 101 | | vidual to a notice under subsection (b)(2)(A) shall be 7 7 |
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| 102 | 102 | | business days. 8 |
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| 103 | 103 | | ‘‘(C) The final decision by the Secretary under sub-9 |
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| 104 | 104 | | section (b)(1)(B) shall— 10 |
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| 105 | 105 | | ‘‘(i) be issued not later than 15 business days 11 |
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| 106 | 106 | | after notice is provided under subsection (b)(2)(A); 12 |
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| 107 | 107 | | and 13 |
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| 108 | 108 | | ‘‘(ii) be in writing and shall include the specific 14 |
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| 109 | 109 | | reasons for the decision. 15 |
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| 110 | 110 | | ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall ensure that the grievance 16 |
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| 111 | 111 | | process established under paragraph (2)(C) takes fewer 17 |
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| 112 | 112 | | than 21 days after the final decision. 18 |
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| 113 | 113 | | ‘‘(d) J |
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| 114 | 114 | | UDICIALREVIEW.—(1) A covered individual 19 |
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| 115 | 115 | | adversely affected by a final decision under this section 20 |
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| 116 | 116 | | that is not grieved, or by a grievance decision under sub-21 |
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| 117 | 117 | | section (b)(2)(C), may obtain judicial review of such deci-22 |
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| 118 | 118 | | sion. 23 |
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| 119 | 119 | | ‘‘(2) Any removal, demotion, or suspension under this 24 |
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| 120 | 120 | | section is not appealable to the Merit Systems Protection 25 |
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| 123 | 123 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 124 | 124 | | Board, or to any administrative judge or other person ap-1 |
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| 125 | 125 | | pointed by the Merit Systems Protection Board. 2 |
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| 126 | 126 | | ‘‘(3) In any case in which judicial review is sought 3 |
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| 127 | 127 | | under paragraph (1), the court shall review the record and 4 |
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| 128 | 128 | | may set aside any Department action found to be— 5 |
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| 129 | 129 | | ‘‘(A) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discre-6 |
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| 130 | 130 | | tion, or otherwise not in accordance with a provision 7 |
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| 131 | 131 | | of law; 8 |
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| 132 | 132 | | ‘‘(B) obtained without procedures required by a 9 |
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| 133 | 133 | | provision of law having been followed; or 10 |
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| 134 | 134 | | ‘‘(C) unsupported by substantial evidence. 11 |
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| 135 | 135 | | ‘‘(4) Except to the extent that an appeal under this 12 |
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| 136 | 136 | | subsection presents a constitutional issue, such court may 13 |
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| 137 | 137 | | not review a challenge to the penalty imposed against the 14 |
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| 138 | 138 | | covered individual or mitigate such penalty. 15 |
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| 139 | 139 | | ‘‘(e) D |
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| 140 | 140 | | EMOTEDINDIVIDUALS.—(1) A demotion under 16 |
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| 141 | 141 | | subsection (a) shall be carried out as a reduction in grade 17 |
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| 142 | 142 | | for which the covered individual is qualified, that the Sec-18 |
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| 143 | 143 | | retary determines is appropriate, and that reduces the an-19 |
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| 144 | 144 | | nual rate of pay of the covered individual. 20 |
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| 145 | 145 | | ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 21 |
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| 146 | 146 | | covered individual so demoted— 22 |
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| 147 | 147 | | ‘‘(A) shall, beginning on the date of such demo-23 |
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| 148 | 148 | | tion, receive the annual rate of pay applicable to 24 |
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| 149 | 149 | | such grade; 25 |
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| 152 | 152 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 153 | 153 | | ‘‘(B) may not be placed on administrative leave 1 |
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| 154 | 154 | | during the period during which an appeal (if any) 2 |
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| 155 | 155 | | under this section is ongoing, and may only receive 3 |
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| 156 | 156 | | pay if the covered individual reports for duty or is 4 |
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| 157 | 157 | | approved to use accrued unused annual, sick, family 5 |
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| 158 | 158 | | medical, military, or court leave; and 6 |
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| 159 | 159 | | ‘‘(C) who does not report for duty or receive ap-7 |
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| 160 | 160 | | proval to use accrued unused leave shall not receive 8 |
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| 161 | 161 | | pay or other benefits. 9 |
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| 162 | 162 | | ‘‘(f) W |
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| 163 | 163 | | HISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—(1) In the 10 |
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| 164 | 164 | | case of a covered individual seeking corrective action (or 11 |
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| 165 | 165 | | on behalf of whom corrective action is sought) from the 12 |
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| 166 | 166 | | Office of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited 13 |
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| 167 | 167 | | personnel practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5, 14 |
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| 168 | 168 | | the Secretary may not remove, demote, or suspend such 15 |
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| 169 | 169 | | covered individual under subsection (a) without the ap-16 |
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| 170 | 170 | | proval of the Special Counsel under section 1214(f) of title 17 |
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| 171 | 171 | | 5. 18 |
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| 172 | 172 | | ‘‘(2) In the case of a covered individual who has made 19 |
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| 173 | 173 | | a whistleblower disclosure to the Assistant Secretary for 20 |
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| 174 | 174 | | Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the Sec-21 |
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| 175 | 175 | | retary may not remove, demote, or suspend such covered 22 |
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| 176 | 176 | | individual under subsection (a) until— 23 |
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| 177 | 177 | | ‘‘(A) in the case in which the Assistant Sec-24 |
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| 178 | 178 | | retary determines to refer the whistleblower disclo-25 |
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| 180 | 180 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 |
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| 181 | 181 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 182 | 182 | | sure under section 323(c)(1)(D) of this title to an 1 |
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| 183 | 183 | | office or other investigative entity, a final decision 2 |
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| 184 | 184 | | with respect to the whistleblower disclosure has been 3 |
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| 185 | 185 | | made by such office or other investigative entity; or 4 |
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| 186 | 186 | | ‘‘(B) in the case in which the Assistant Sec-5 |
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| 187 | 187 | | retary determines not to refer the whistleblower dis-6 |
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| 188 | 188 | | closure under such section, the Assistant Secretary 7 |
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| 189 | 189 | | makes such determination. 8 |
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| 190 | 190 | | ‘‘(g) T |
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| 191 | 191 | | ERMINATION OFINVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICE 9 |
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| 192 | 192 | | OFSPECIALCOUNSEL.—(1) Notwithstanding any other 10 |
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| 193 | 193 | | provision of law, the Special Counsel (established by sec-11 |
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| 194 | 194 | | tion 1211 of title 5) may terminate an investigation of 12 |
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| 195 | 195 | | a prohibited personnel practice alleged by an employee or 13 |
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| 196 | 196 | | former employee of the Department after the Special 14 |
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| 197 | 197 | | Counsel provides to the employee or former employee a 15 |
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| 198 | 198 | | written statement of the reasons for the termination of 16 |
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| 199 | 199 | | the investigation. 17 |
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| 200 | 200 | | ‘‘(2) Such statement may not be admissible as evi-18 |
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| 201 | 201 | | dence in any judicial or administrative proceeding without 19 |
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| 202 | 202 | | the consent of such employee or former employee. 20 |
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| 203 | 203 | | ‘‘(h) A |
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| 204 | 204 | | PPLICATION.—This section shall apply to any 21 |
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| 205 | 205 | | performance or misconduct of a covered individual begin-22 |
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| 206 | 206 | | ning on the date of enactment of the Department of Vet-23 |
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| 207 | 207 | | erans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection 24 |
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| 208 | 208 | | Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–41). 25 |
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| 211 | 211 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 212 | 212 | | ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 |
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| 213 | 213 | | ‘‘(1) The term ‘civil service’ has the meaning 2 |
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| 214 | 214 | | given that term in section 2101 of title 5. 3 |
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| 215 | 215 | | ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered individual’ means an 4 |
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| 216 | 216 | | employee of the Department who is a supervisor or 5 |
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| 217 | 217 | | management official as defined in section 7103(a) of 6 |
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| 218 | 218 | | title 5 occupying a position at the Department, in-7 |
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| 219 | 219 | | cluding individuals appointed pursuant to this title, 8 |
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| 220 | 220 | | title 5, and hybrid employees appointed pursuant to 9 |
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| 221 | 221 | | section 7401 of this title, but does not include— 10 |
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| 222 | 222 | | ‘‘(A) an individual occupying a senior exec-11 |
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| 223 | 223 | | utive position (as defined in section 713(d) of 12 |
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| 224 | 224 | | this title); 13 |
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| 225 | 225 | | ‘‘(B) an individual appointed pursuant to 14 |
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| 226 | 226 | | section 7306, 7401(1), 7401(4), or 7405 of this 15 |
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| 227 | 227 | | title; 16 |
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| 228 | 228 | | ‘‘(C) an individual who has not completed 17 |
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| 229 | 229 | | a probationary or trial period; or 18 |
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| 230 | 230 | | ‘‘(D) a political appointee. 19 |
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| 231 | 231 | | ‘‘(3) The term ‘grade’ has the meaning given 20 |
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| 232 | 232 | | such term in section 7511(a) of title 5. 21 |
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| 233 | 233 | | ‘‘(4) The term ‘misconduct’ includes neglect of 22 |
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| 234 | 234 | | duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed re-23 |
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| 235 | 235 | | assignment or to accompany a position in a transfer 24 |
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| 236 | 236 | | of function. 25 |
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| 239 | 239 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 240 | 240 | | ‘‘(5) The term ‘political appointee’ means an in-1 |
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| 241 | 241 | | dividual who is— 2 |
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| 242 | 242 | | ‘‘(A) employed in a position described 3 |
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| 243 | 243 | | under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5 4 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (relating to the Executive Schedule); 5 |
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| 245 | 245 | | ‘‘(B) a limited term appointee, limited 6 |
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| 246 | 246 | | emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in 7 |
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| 247 | 247 | | the Senior Executive Service, as defined under 8 |
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| 248 | 248 | | paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of 9 |
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| 249 | 249 | | section 3132(a) of title 5; or 10 |
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| 250 | 250 | | ‘‘(C) employed in a position of a confiden-11 |
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| 251 | 251 | | tial or policy-determining character under 12 |
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| 252 | 252 | | schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, 13 |
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| 253 | 253 | | Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regu-14 |
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| 254 | 254 | | lation. 15 |
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| 255 | 255 | | ‘‘(6) The term ‘suspend’ means the placing of 16 |
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| 256 | 256 | | an employee, for disciplinary reasons, in a temporary 17 |
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| 257 | 257 | | status without duties and pay for a period in excess 18 |
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| 258 | 258 | | of 14 days. 19 |
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| 259 | 259 | | ‘‘(7) The term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 20 |
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| 260 | 260 | | meaning given such term in section 323(g) of this 21 |
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| 261 | 261 | | title.’’. 22 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (2) C |
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| 263 | 263 | | LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of con-23 |
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| 264 | 264 | | tents for title 38, United States Code, is amended 24 |
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| 267 | 267 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 268 | 268 | | by inserting after the item relating to section 711 1 |
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| 269 | 269 | | the following: 2 |
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| 270 | 270 | | ‘‘712. Supervisors: removal, demotion, or suspension based on performance or |
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| 271 | 271 | | misconduct.’’. |
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| 272 | 272 | | SEC. 3. SENIOR EXECUTIVES: MODIFICATION OF PROCE- |
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| 273 | 273 | | 3 |
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| 274 | 274 | | DURES TO REMOVE, DEMOTE, OR SUSPEND 4 |
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| 275 | 275 | | BASED ON PERFORMANCE OR MISCONDUCT. 5 |
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| 276 | 276 | | Section 713 of title 38, United States Code, is 6 |
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| 277 | 277 | | amended— 7 |
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| 278 | 278 | | (1) in subsection (a)— 8 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘by sub-9 |
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| 280 | 280 | | stantial evidence’’ after ‘‘determines’’; and 10 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (B) by adding at the end the following new 11 |
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| 282 | 282 | | paragraphs: 12 |
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| 283 | 283 | | ‘‘(3) When making an initial decision under this sub-13 |
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| 284 | 284 | | section with respect to determining whether a covered in-14 |
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| 285 | 285 | | dividual should be reprimanded or suspended, involun-15 |
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| 286 | 286 | | tarily reassigned, demoted, or removed, the deciding em-16 |
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| 287 | 287 | | ployee of the Department shall exclusively apply the fol-17 |
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| 288 | 288 | | lowing factors: 18 |
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| 289 | 289 | | ‘‘(A) The nature and seriousness of the offense, 19 |
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| 290 | 290 | | and its relation to the covered individual’s duties, 20 |
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| 291 | 291 | | position, and responsibilities, including whether the 21 |
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| 292 | 292 | | offense was intentional or technical or inadvertent, 22 |
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| 293 | 293 | | or was committed maliciously or for gain, or was fre-23 |
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| 294 | 294 | | quently repeated. 24 |
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| 296 | 296 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 |
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| 297 | 297 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 298 | 298 | | ‘‘(B) The covered individual’s job level and type 1 |
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| 299 | 299 | | of employment, including supervisory or fiduciary 2 |
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| 300 | 300 | | role, and prominence of the position. 3 |
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| 301 | 301 | | ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall review the initial decision 4 |
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| 302 | 302 | | and uphold such decision if it is supported by substantial 5 |
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| 303 | 303 | | evidence.’’; 6 |
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| 304 | 304 | | (2) in subsection (b)— 7 |
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| 305 | 305 | | (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘after 8 |
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| 306 | 306 | | the final decision’’ after ‘‘21 days’’; and 9 |
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| 307 | 307 | | (B) by adding at the end the following: 10 |
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| 308 | 308 | | ‘‘(7) Except to the extent that an appeal under this 11 |
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| 309 | 309 | | subsection presents a constitutional issue, such court may 12 |
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| 310 | 310 | | not review a challenge to the penalty imposed against the 13 |
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| 311 | 311 | | covered individual or mitigate such penalty.’’; and 14 |
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| 312 | 312 | | (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-15 |
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| 313 | 313 | | section (e); and 16 |
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| 314 | 314 | | (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-17 |
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| 315 | 315 | | lowing new subsection (d): 18 |
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| 316 | 316 | | ‘‘(d) A |
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| 317 | 317 | | PPLICATION.—This section shall apply to any 19 |
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| 318 | 318 | | misconduct or performance of a covered individual begin-20 |
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| 319 | 319 | | ning on the date of the enactment of the Department of 21 |
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| 320 | 320 | | Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protec-22 |
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| 321 | 321 | | tion Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–41).’’. 23 |
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| 324 | 324 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 325 | 325 | | SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES 1 |
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| 326 | 326 | | FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 2 |
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| 327 | 327 | | VETERANS AFFAIRS. 3 |
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| 328 | 328 | | (a) D |
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| 329 | 329 | | EPARTMENT OF VETERANSAFFAIRSEM-4 |
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| 330 | 330 | | PLOYEEDISCIPLINEMODIFICATIONS.—Section 714 of 5 |
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| 331 | 331 | | title 38, United States Code, is amended— 6 |
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| 332 | 332 | | (1) in subsection (a)— 7 |
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| 333 | 333 | | (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘by sub-8 |
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| 334 | 334 | | stantial evidence’’ after ‘‘the Secretary deter-9 |
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| 335 | 335 | | mines’’; and 10 |
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| 336 | 336 | | (B) by adding at the end the following: 11 |
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| 337 | 337 | | ‘‘(3)(A) When making an initial decision under this 12 |
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| 338 | 338 | | subsection with respect to determining whether a covered 13 |
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| 339 | 339 | | individual should be removed, demoted, or suspended, the 14 |
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| 340 | 340 | | deciding employee of the Department shall exclusively 15 |
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| 341 | 341 | | apply the following factors: 16 |
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| 342 | 342 | | ‘‘(i) The nature and seriousness of the offense, 17 |
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| 343 | 343 | | and its relation to the covered individual’s duties, 18 |
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| 344 | 344 | | position, and responsibilities, including whether the 19 |
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| 345 | 345 | | offense was intentional or technical or inadvertent, 20 |
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| 346 | 346 | | or was committed maliciously or for gain, or was fre-21 |
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| 347 | 347 | | quently repeated. 22 |
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| 348 | 348 | | ‘‘(ii) The covered individual’s job level and type 23 |
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| 349 | 349 | | of employment, including supervisory or fiduciary 24 |
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| 350 | 350 | | role, and prominence of the position. 25 |
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| 354 | 354 | | ‘‘(iii) The covered individual’s past disciplinary 1 |
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| 355 | 355 | | record. 2 |
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| 356 | 356 | | ‘‘(iv) The covered individual’s past work record, 3 |
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| 357 | 357 | | including length of service, performance on the job, 4 |
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| 358 | 358 | | ability to get along with fellow workers, and depend-5 |
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| 359 | 359 | | ability. 6 |
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| 360 | 360 | | ‘‘(v) Mitigating circumstances surrounding the 7 |
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| 361 | 361 | | offense such as unusual job tensions, personality 8 |
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| 362 | 362 | | problems, mental impairment, harassment, or bad 9 |
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| 363 | 363 | | faith, malice, or provocation on the part of others in-10 |
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| 364 | 364 | | volved in the matter. 11 |
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| 365 | 365 | | ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall review the initial decision 12 |
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| 366 | 366 | | and uphold such decision if it is supported by substantial 13 |
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| 367 | 367 | | evidence.’’; 14 |
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| 368 | 368 | | (2) in subsection (c)— 15 |
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| 369 | 369 | | (A) by striking paragraph (1)(D); and 16 |
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| 370 | 370 | | (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting before 17 |
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| 371 | 371 | | the period the following: ‘‘, and the Secretary 18 |
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| 372 | 372 | | may carry out such a removal, demotion, or 19 |
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| 373 | 373 | | suspension without first placing a covered indi-20 |
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| 374 | 374 | | vidual on a performance improvement plan’’; 21 |
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| 375 | 375 | | (3) in subsection (d)— 22 |
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| 376 | 376 | | (A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 23 |
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| 377 | 377 | | the following: 24 |
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| 380 | 380 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 381 | 381 | | ‘‘(C) Except to the extent that an appeal under this 1 |
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| 382 | 382 | | subsection presents a constitutional issue, the administra-2 |
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| 383 | 383 | | tive judge may not review a challenge to the penalty im-3 |
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| 384 | 384 | | posed against the covered individual.’’; 4 |
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| 385 | 385 | | (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 5 |
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| 386 | 386 | | the following: 6 |
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| 387 | 387 | | ‘‘(D) Except to the extent that an appeal under this 7 |
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| 388 | 388 | | subsection presents a constitutional issue, the Merit Sys-8 |
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| 389 | 389 | | tems Protection Board may not review a challenge to the 9 |
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| 390 | 390 | | penalty imposed against the covered individual.’’; 10 |
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| 391 | 391 | | (C) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end 11 |
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| 392 | 392 | | the following: 12 |
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| 393 | 393 | | ‘‘(C) Except to the extent that an appeal under this 13 |
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| 394 | 394 | | subsection presents a constitutional issue, such Court may 14 |
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| 395 | 395 | | not review a challenge to the penalty imposed against the 15 |
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| 396 | 396 | | covered individual or mitigate such penalty.’’; and 16 |
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| 397 | 397 | | (D) by striking paragraph (10); 17 |
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| 398 | 398 | | (4) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub-18 |
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| 399 | 399 | | section (j); 19 |
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| 400 | 400 | | (5) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol-20 |
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| 401 | 401 | | lowing: 21 |
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| 402 | 402 | | ‘‘(h) C |
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| 403 | 403 | | OLLECTIVEBARGAININGAGREEMENTS.—The 22 |
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| 404 | 404 | | procedures in this section shall supersede any collective 23 |
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| 405 | 405 | | bargaining agreement to the extent that such agreement 24 |
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| 406 | 406 | | is inconsistent with such procedures. 25 |
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| 409 | 409 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 410 | 410 | | ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—This section shall apply to any 1 |
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| 411 | 411 | | performance or misconduct of a covered individual begin-2 |
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| 412 | 412 | | ning on the date of the enactment of the Department of 3 |
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| 413 | 413 | | Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protec-4 |
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| 414 | 414 | | tion Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–41).’’; and 5 |
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| 415 | 415 | | (6) in paragraph (1) of subsection (j), as redes-6 |
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| 416 | 416 | | ignated by paragraph (4)— 7 |
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| 417 | 417 | | (A) in the matter before subparagraph (A), 8 |
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| 418 | 418 | | by inserting ‘‘including individuals appointed 9 |
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| 419 | 419 | | pursuant to this title, title 5, and hybrid em-10 |
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| 420 | 420 | | ployees appointed pursuant to section 7401 of 11 |
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| 421 | 421 | | this title,’’ after ‘‘Department,’’; 12 |
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| 422 | 422 | | (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 13 |
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| 423 | 423 | | period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 14 |
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| 424 | 424 | | (C) by adding after subparagraph (D) the 15 |
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| 425 | 425 | | following: 16 |
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| 426 | 426 | | ‘‘(E) a supervisor or management official 17 |
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| 427 | 427 | | as defined in section 7103(a) of title 5.’’. 18 |
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| 428 | 428 | | (b) V |
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| 429 | 429 | | ETERANSHEALTHADMINISTRATION EM-19 |
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| 430 | 430 | | PLOYEE DISCIPLINE MODIFICATIONS.—Section 20 |
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| 431 | 431 | | 7403(f)(3) of such title is amended— 21 |
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| 432 | 432 | | (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding any other pro-22 |
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| 433 | 433 | | vision of this title or other law,’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 23 |
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| 434 | 434 | | Notwithstanding any other provision of this title or 24 |
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| 437 | 437 | | •S 124 IS |
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| 438 | 438 | | other law, and consistent with subparagraph (B),’’; 1 |
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| 439 | 439 | | and 2 |
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| 440 | 440 | | (2) by adding at the end the following: 3 |
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| 441 | 441 | | ‘‘(B) With respect to any covered individual (as that 4 |
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| 442 | 442 | | term is defined in section 712 or 714) appointed to such 5 |
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| 443 | 443 | | positions, such matters shall be resolved, at Secretary’s 6 |
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| 444 | 444 | | sole discretion, under— 7 |
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| 445 | 445 | | ‘‘(i) section 712; 8 |
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| 446 | 446 | | ‘‘(ii) section 714; or 9 |
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| 447 | 447 | | ‘‘(iii) title 5 as though such individuals had 10 |
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| 448 | 448 | | been appointed under that title.’’. 11 |
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| 449 | 449 | | Æ |
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