[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3943 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 193
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3943
[Report No. 118-241]
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the reemployment
rights of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 2023
Mr. C. Scott Franklin of Florida (for himself and Mr. Bost) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
October 2, 2023
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 9,
2023]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the reemployment
rights of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemember Employment Protection
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED
FORCES.
(a) USERRA Purposes.--Section 4301(a)(1) of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by striking ``encourage noncareer service in the
uniformed services'' and inserting ``encourage service in the uniformed
services''.
(b) Prohibition of Retaliation.--Subsection (b) of section 4311 of
title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``or other
retaliatory action'' after ``employment action''.
(c) Expansion of Injunctive Relief.--Subsection (e) of section 4323
of such title is amended--
(1) by striking ``The court shall use'' and inserting ``(1)
The court shall use''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(2) A person bringing an action to enforce a provision of this
chapter pursuant to subsection (a) shall be entitled to an injunction
under paragraph (1) if such person demonstrates--
``(A) a violation--
``(i) of the provisions of this chapter; or
``(ii) of the provisions of this chapter is
threatened or is imminent;
``(B) the harm to the person outweighs the injury to the
employer;
``(C) a likelihood of success on the merits of such action;
and
``(D) awarding such relief is in the public interest.
``(3) The court may not deny a motion for injunctive relief on the
basis that a party bringing an action to enforce a provision of this
chapter may be awarded wages unearned due to an unlawful termination or
denial of employment at the conclusion of such action.''.
(d) Damages Against a State or Private Employer.--Section 4323 of
such title is further amended, in paragraph (1) of subsection (d), by
striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following new
subparagraphs:
``(C) The court may require the employer to pay the person
the amount referred to in subparagraph (B) and interest on such
amount, calculated at a rate of 3 percent per year.
``(D) The court may require the employer to pay the person
the greater of $50,000 or the amount equal to the amounts
referred to in subparagraphs (B) and (C) as liquidated damages,
if the court determines that the employer knowingly failed to
comply with the provisions of this chapter.''.
(e) Mandatory Attorney Fees Award in Successful Actions for
Reemployment.--
(1) MSPB actions.--Paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of
section 4324 of such title is amended--
(A) by striking ``may, in its discretion,'' and
inserting ``shall''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``The Board may, in its discretion, award
reasonable attorney fees in a case settled before the
issuance of an order if the person can demonstrate that
significant attorney fees were incurred and that
justice requires such an award.''.
(2) Federal circuit actions.--Subsection (d) of such
section is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) In such Federal Circuit proceeding, the court shall award
such person reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees, and other
litigation expenses if such person--
``(A) prevails in such Federal Circuit proceeding; and
``(B) is not represented by the Special Counsel in such
Federal Circuit proceeding.''.
(3) Actions against a state or private employer.--Paragraph
(2) of section 4323(h) of such title is amended--
(A) by striking ``subsection (a)(2)'' and inserting
``subsection (a)(3)''; and
(B) by striking ``the court may award any such
person who prevails in such action or proceeding
reasonable attorney fees'' and inserting ``the court
shall award any such person who prevails in such action
or proceeding reasonable attorney fees''.
(f) GAO Review and Report on USERRA.--
(1) Review.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall review the methods through which the Secretary of Labor,
acting through the Veterans' Employment and Training Service,
processes actions for relief under chapter 43 of title 38,
United States Code.
(2) Elements.--Not later than two years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a report that includes--
(A) the findings of the review required under
paragraph (1);
(B) an identification of the number of actions for
relief under chapter 43 of title 38, United States
Code, initiated during the period covered by the
report, disaggregated by employer characteristics,
including size and geographic region;
(C) an identification of the number of such actions
for relief that were dismissed, including the
characteristics of such actions and reasons for
dismissal;
(D) an identification of the number of such actions
for relief that were referred to the Department of
Justice; and
(E) an assessment of trends, if any, in such
actions for relief initiated during such period.
(g) GAO Review of Protections for Members of the Uniformed Services
by Federal Intelligence Agencies.--
(1) Briefing.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall provide to the appropriate congressional
committees a briefing on the processes and procedures adopted
and used by the intelligence community to provide the
protections for members of the uniformed services otherwise
established under chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code.
(2) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall provide to
such committees a report on such processes and procedures.
(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) The term ``appropriate congressional
committees'' means the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives and Senate, the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House
of Representatives, and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate.
(B) The term ``intelligence community'' has the
meaning given such term in section 3(4) of the National
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
SEC. 3. REVIEW OF INVESTIGATIONS MANUAL OF VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND
TRAINING SERVICE.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and once every two years thereafter for the
period of five years beginning on such date, the Secretary of Labor,
shall review the manual of the Department of Labor titled ``Veterans'
Employment and Training Service Investigations Manual: USERRA, VEOA,
and VP'' (or a successor manual) and make such revisions to such manual
as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after any date on which the
Secretary completes a review required under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Senate--
(1) a report that includes a description of any revision to
such manual made pursuant to such review; and
(2) a copy of the entire such manual which--
(A) shall be provided to the Chairman and Ranking
Member of each such committee; and
(B) may contain a separate addendum for portions of
the manual that contain law enforcement sensitive
materials.
Union Calendar No. 193
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3943
[Report No. 118-241]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the reemployment
rights of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 2, 2023
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed