[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5901 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.5901
One Hundred Eleventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten
An Act
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to authorize the tax court to
appoint employees.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORITY OF TAX COURT TO APPOINT EMPLOYEES.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 7471 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to employees) is amended to read as
follows:
``(a) Appointment and Compensation.--
``(1) Clerk.--The Tax Court may appoint a clerk without regard
to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service. The clerk shall serve at
the pleasure of the Tax Court.
``(2) Judge-appointed employees.--
``(A) In general.--The judges and special trial judges of
the Tax Court may appoint employees, in such numbers as the Tax
Court may approve, without regard to the provisions of title 5,
United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive
service. Any such employee shall serve at the pleasure of the
appointing judge.
``(B) Exemption from federal leave provisions.--A law clerk
appointed under this subsection shall be exempt from the
provisions of subchapter I of chapter 63 of title 5, United
States Code. Any unused sick leave or annual leave standing to
the law clerk's credit as of the effective date of this
subsection shall remain credited to the law clerk and shall be
available to the law clerk upon separation from the Federal
Government.
``(3) Other employees.--The Tax Court may appoint necessary
employees without regard to the provisions of title 5, United
States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service.
Such employees shall be subject to removal by the Tax Court.
``(4) Pay.--The Tax Court may fix and adjust the compensation
for the clerk and other employees of the Tax Court without regard
to the provisions of chapter 51, subchapter III of chapter 53, or
section 5373 of title 5, United States Code. To the maximum extent
feasible, the Tax Court shall compensate employees at rates
consistent with those for employees holding comparable positions in
courts established under Article III of the Constitution of the
United States.
``(5) Programs.--The Tax Court may establish programs for
employee evaluations, incentive awards, flexible work schedules,
premium pay, and resolution of employee grievances.
``(6) Discrimination prohibited.--The Tax Court shall--
``(A) prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, age, sex, national origin, political affiliation,
marital status, or handicapping condition; and
``(B) promulgate procedures for resolving complaints of
discrimination by employees and applicants for employment.
``(7) Experts and consultants.--The Tax Court may procure the
services of experts and consultants under section 3109 of title 5,
United States Code.
``(8) Rights to certain appeals reserved.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, an individual who is an employee of the Tax
Court on the day before the effective date of this subsection and
who, as of that day, was entitled to--
``(A) appeal a reduction in grade or removal to the Merit
Systems Protection Board under chapter 43 of title 5, United
States Code,
``(B) appeal an adverse action to the Merit Systems
Protection Board under chapter 75 of title 5, United States
Code,
``(C) appeal a prohibited personnel practice described
under section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, to the
Merit Systems Protection Board under chapter 77 of that title,
``(D) make an allegation of a prohibited personnel practice
described under section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code,
with the Office of Special Counsel under chapter 12 of that
title for action in accordance with that chapter, or
``(E) file an appeal with the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission under part 1614 of title 29 of the Code of Federal
Regulations,
shall continue to be entitled to file such appeal or make such an
allegation so long as the individual remains an employee of the Tax
Court.
``(9) Competitive status.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, any employee of the Tax Court who has completed at least 1
year of continuous service under a non-temporary appointment with
the Tax Court acquires a competitive status for appointment to any
position in the competitive service for which the employee
possesses the required qualifications.
``(10) Merit system principles, prohibited personnel practices,
and preference eligibles.--Any personnel management system of the
Tax Court shall--
``(A) include the principles set forth in section 2301(b)
of title 5, United States Code;
``(B) prohibit personnel practices prohibited under section
2302(b) of title 5, United States Code; and
``(C) in the case of any individual who would be a
preference eligible in the executive branch, provide preference
for that individual in a manner and to an extent consistent
with preference accorded to preference eligibles in the
executive branch.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date the United States Tax Court adopts a personnel
management system after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.