[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1496 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1496
To provide that all Federal employees in the executive branch of the
Federal Government are at-will employees, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2023
Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself and Mr. Schmitt) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that all Federal employees in the executive branch of the
Federal Government are at-will employees, 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 ``Public Service Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT FOR FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``adverse personnel action'' means, with
respect to an employee, a removal, a suspension for more than
14 days, a reduction in grade, a reduction in pay, or a
furlough of 30 days or less;
(2) the term ``career employee'' means any employee who is
not a political appointee;
(3) the term ``covered position'' has the meaning given the
term in section 2302(a)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code;
(4) the term ``employee''--
(A) has the meaning given the term in section 2105
of title 5, United States Code; and
(B) includes--
(i) an officer or employee of the United
States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory
Commission; and
(ii) notwithstanding subsection (b) of
section 7425 of title 38, United States Code,
any employee described in subsection (a) of
such section 7425; and
(5) the term ``political appointee'' means any employee
who--
(A) is appointed by the President;
(B) is a noncareer appointee (as that term is
defined in section 3132(a)(7) of title 5, United States
Code);
(C) occupies a position under schedule C of subpart
C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations,
or any successor regulations; or
(D) occupies any other position in the civil
service (as that term is defined in section 2101 of
title 5, United States Code) that is classified as a
political position after the date of enactment of this
Act under regulations prescribed by the Director of the
Office of Personnel Management.
(b) At-Will Employment.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, rule, or regulation, and except as provided in paragraph
(2), any employee in the executive branch of the Federal
Government--
(A) shall be considered at-will;
(B) may be subject to any adverse personnel action
(up to and including removal) for good cause, bad
cause, or no cause at all; and
(C) may not challenge or otherwise appeal an action
described in subparagraph (B), except as provided in
subsections (c) and (g).
(2) Limitation.--An employee may not be subject to any
adverse personnel action under this Act for a reason that is
prohibited under section 2302(b) of title 5, United States
Code.
(3) Procedures.--
(A) In general.--The President shall establish
procedures to enforce compliance with paragraph (2).
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph may be construed to grant an employee the
right to review or appeal an adverse personnel action
outside of the procedures described in subparagraph
(A), subsection (g), or subsection (h), as applicable.
(c) Removal of Career Employees.--With respect to the removal of a
career employee, the following procedures shall apply:
(1) Before the applicable agency removes the career
employee--
(A) the agency official authorized to propose such
action (referred to in this subsection as the
``proposing official'') shall provide the career
employee with written notification of the proposed
removal and the reasons for the proposed removal; and
(B) the career employee shall have 14 days to
provide a written response to the notification received
under subparagraph (A), except that the head of the
applicable agency shall have sole and exclusive
discretion to alter that response period on a case-by-
case basis.
(2) Under procedures prescribed by the applicable agency
head, in the sole and exclusive discretion of the agency head,
an agency official (who, except when the proposing official is
the agency head, shall be an agency official other than the
proposing official) (referred to in this subsection as the
``deciding official'')--
(A) shall review the proposed removal and the
response of the career employee under paragraph (1);
(B) may, in the sole and exclusive discretion of
the deciding official, conduct a hearing on the matter;
and
(C) after the review conducted under subparagraph
(A), and any hearing conducted under subparagraph (B),
shall decide whether to remove or retain the career
employee.
(3) The determination of a deciding official under
paragraph (2) shall be the final decision of the applicable
agency with respect to the career employee, unless, not later
than 7 days after the date on which the deciding official makes
that determination, the agency head reverses the determination
of the deciding official, in which case the decision of the
agency head shall be the final agency decision.
(4) The final decision of an agency under paragraph (3)
shall be final and not subject to any appeal or challenge,
except that the President may overrule that final decision of
the agency in accordance with such procedures or regulations as
the President may prescribe.
(d) Application.--Chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, shall
not apply to any personnel action taken with respect to an employee
under this Act.
(e) Abolishment of MSPB.--
(1) In general.--Effective on the date of enactment of this
Act, the Merit Systems Protection Board (referred to in this
subsection as the ``Board'') is hereby abolished.
(2) Disposal of assets, obligations, and liabilities.--The
Chairman of the Board may take such actions as are necessary to
dispose of the assets, obligations, and liabilities of the
Board.
(f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Repeal.--The following provisions of title 5, United
States Code, are hereby repealed:
(A) Subchapter I of chapter 12.
(B) Section 1212(c).
(C) With respect to section 1214, the following
provisions:
(i) Subsection (b)(1).
(ii) Subparagraphs (B) through (D) of
subsection (b)(2).
(iii) Paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection
(b).
(iv) Subsections (c), (g), and (i).
(D) Sections 1215 and 1221.
(E) Section 4303.
(F) Chapter 75.
(G) Chapter 77.
(2) Other amendments.--Chapter 71 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in section 7103(a)(14)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and
(C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively;
and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (A)
the following:
``(B) relating to adverse personnel actions, as
provided by the Public Service Reform Act;''; and
(B) in section 7121(c), by amending paragraph (3)
to read as follows:
``(3) any adverse personnel action under the Public Service
Reform Act;''.
(g) Whistleblower Protections.--
(1) In general.--During the period described in subsection
(c)(1)(B), the Office of Special Counsel may make a
recommendation to the applicable agency head or deciding
official (as described in subsection (c)(2)) regarding whether
an adverse personnel action proposed against an individual was
in retaliation for making a disclosure described in section
2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Appeal.--
(A) In general.--An individual in a covered
position who is subject to an adverse personnel action
and who claims that action was taken for a reason
prohibited under paragraph (8) or (9) of section
2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, may appeal that
action to the United States court of appeals in the
circuit in which the duty station of the individual is
located.
(B) Decision.--
(i) Frivolous or bad faith appeal.--If the
court, in an appeal brought by an individual
under subparagraph (A), finds that the appeal
is brought in bad faith or is frivolous, the
annuity of the individual under chapter 83 or
84 of title 5, United States Code, shall be
reduced by 25 percent.
(ii) Successful appeal.--If an individual
prevails in an appeal brought under
subparagraph (A), the individual shall--
(I) be placed, as nearly as
possible, in the position the
individual would have been in had the
adverse personnel action not been taken
against the individual; and
(II) be reimbursed for--
(aa) attorney fees, back
pay, and related benefits in
accordance with section 5596 of
title 5, United States Code;
and
(bb) medical costs
incurred, travel expenses, any
other reasonable and
foreseeable consequential
damages, and compensatory
damages (including interest,
reasonable expert witness fees,
and costs).
(h) EEOC Appeals.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
including section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-
16), an individual who is an employee (or an applicant for a position
as an employee) and who alleges that the individual was subject to an
adverse personnel action that is a prohibited personnel action
described in section 2302(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, shall
seek relief for that action from the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission as if that individual were an employee of an employer, as
that term is defined in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000e).
<all>