II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 582 

To reauthorize the Office of Special Counsel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2017 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Office of Special Counsel, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Special Coun5 sel Reauthorization Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADEQUATE ACCESS OF SPECIAL COUNSEL TO IN7 FORMATION. 

8 Section 1212(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

2 Special Counsel, in carrying out this subchapter, is au3 thorized to— 

4 ‘‘(i) have timely access to all records, data, re5 ports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, rec6 ommendations, or other material available to the ap7 plicable agency that relate to an investigation, re8 view, or inquiry conducted under— 

9 ‘‘(I) section 1213, 1214, 1215, or 1216 of 

10 this title; or 

11 ‘‘(II) section 4324(a) of title 38; 

12 ‘‘(ii) request from any agency the information 

13 or assistance that may be necessary for the Special 

14 Counsel to carry out the duties and responsibilities 

15 of the Special Counsel under this subchapter; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) require, during an investigation, review, or 

17 inquiry of an agency, the agency to provide to the 

18 Special Counsel any record or other information that 

19 relates to an investigation, review, or inquiry con20 ducted under— 

21 ‘‘(I) section 1213, 1214, 1215, or 1216 of 

22 this title; or 

23 ‘‘(II) section 4324(a) of title 38. 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) The authorization of the Special Counsel 

25 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to 


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1 any entity that is an element of the intelligence commu2 nity, as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act 

3 of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003), unless the Special Counsel is 

4 investigating, or otherwise carrying out activities relating 

5 to the enforcement of, an action under subchapter III of 

6 chapter 73. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The Attorney General or an Inspector General 

8 may withhold from the Special Counsel material described 

9 in subparagraph (A) if— 

10 ‘‘(I) disclosing the material could reasonably be 

11 expected to interfere with a criminal investigation or 

12 prosecution that is ongoing as of the date on which 

13 the Special Counsel submits a request for the mate14 rial; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the Attorney General or the Inspector 

16 General, as applicable, submits to the Special Coun17 sel a written report that describes— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the material being withheld; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the reason that the material is being 

20 withheld. 

21 ‘‘(C)(i) A claim of common law privilege by an agen22 cy, or an officer or employee of an agency, shall not pre23 vent the Special Counsel from obtaining any material de24 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to the agency. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The submission of material described in sub2 paragraph (A)(i) by an agency to the Special Counsel may 

3 not be deemed to waive any assertion of privilege by the 

4 agency against a non-Federal entity or against an indi5 vidual in any other proceeding. 

6 ‘‘(iii) With respect to any record or other information 

7 made available to the Special Counsel by an agency under 

8 subparagraph (A), the Special Counsel may only disclose 

9 the record or information for a purpose that is in further10 ance of any authority provided to the Special Counsel in 

11 this subchapter. 

12 ‘‘(6) The Special Counsel shall submit to the Com13 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

14 of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Govern15 ment Reform of the House of Representatives, and each 

16 committee of Congress with jurisdiction over the applica17 ble agency a report regarding any case of contumacy or 

18 failure to comply with a request submitted by the Special 

19 Counsel under paragraph (5)(A).’’. 

20 SEC. 3. INFORMATION ON WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

21 (a) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 2302 of 

22 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking sub23 section (c) and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(c)(1) In this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘new employee’ means an indi2 vidual— 

3 ‘‘(i) appointed to a position as an employee 

4 on or after the date of enactment of the Office 

5 of Special Counsel Reauthorization Act of 2017; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) who has not previously served as an 

8 employee; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the term ‘whistleblower protections’ means 

10 the protections against and remedies for a prohibited 

11 personnel practice described in paragraph (8) or 

12 subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph 

13 (9) of subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(2) The head of each agency shall be responsible 

15 for— 

16 ‘‘(A) preventing prohibited personnel practices; 

17 ‘‘(B) complying with and enforcing applicable 

18 civil service laws, rules, and regulations, and other 

19 aspects of personnel management; and 

20 ‘‘(C) ensuring, in consultation with the Special 

21 Counsel and the Inspector General of the agency, 

22 that employees of the agency are informed of the 

23 rights and remedies available to the employees under 

24 this chapter and chapter 12, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) information with respect to whistle2 blower protections available to new employees 

3 during a probationary period; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the role of the Office of Special Coun5 sel and the Merit Systems Protection Board 

6 with respect to whistleblower protections; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the means by which, with respect to 

8 information that is otherwise required by law or 

9 Executive order to be kept classified in the in10 terest of national defense or the conduct of for11 eign affairs, an employee may make a lawful 

12 disclosure of the information to— 

13 ‘‘(I) the Special Counsel; 

14 ‘‘(II) the Inspector General of an 

15 agency; 

16 ‘‘(III) Congress; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) another employee of the agency 

18 who is designated to receive such a disclo19 sure. 

20 ‘‘(3) The head of each agency shall ensure that the 

21 information described in paragraph (2) is provided to each 

22 new employee of the agency not later than 180 days after 

23 the date on which the new employee is appointed. 

24 ‘‘(4) The head of each agency shall make available 

25 information regarding whistleblower protections applicable 


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1 to employees of the agency on the public website of the 

2 agency and on any online portal that is made available 

3 only to employees of the agency, if such portal exists. 

4 ‘‘(5) Any employee to whom the head of an agency 

5 delegates authority for any aspect of personnel manage6 ment shall, within the limits of the scope of the delegation, 

7 be responsible for the activities described in paragraph 

8 (2).’’. 

9 (b) TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS.— 

10 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

11 (A) the term ‘‘agency’’ means any entity 

12 the employees of which are covered by para13 graphs (8) and (9) of section 2302(b) of title 5, 

14 United States Code, without regard to whether 

15 any other provision of that title is applicable to 

16 the entity; and 

17 (B) the term ‘‘whistleblower protections’’ 

18 has the meaning given the term in section 

19 2302(c)(1)(B) of title 5, United States Code, as 

20 amended by subsection (a). 

21 (2) TRAINING REQUIRED.—The head of each 

22 agency, in consultation with the Special Counsel and 

23 the Inspector General of that agency (or, in the case 

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1 eral, the senior ethics official of that agency), shall 

2 provide the training described in paragraph (3). 

3 (3) TRAINING DESCRIBED.—The training de4 scribed in this paragraph shall— 

5 (A) cover the manner in which the agency 

6 shall respond to a complaint alleging a violation 

7 of whistleblower protections that are available 

8 to employees of the agency; and 

9 (B) be provided— 

10 (i) to each employee of the agency 

11 who— 

12 (I) is appointed to a supervisory 

13 position in the agency; and 

14 (II) before the appointment de15 scribed in subclause (I), had not 

16 served in a supervisory position in the 

17 agency; and 

18 (ii) on an annual basis to all employ19 ees of the agency who serve in supervisory 

20 positions in the agency. 

21 (c) INFORMATION ON APPEAL RIGHTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any notice provided to an 

23 employee under section 7503(b)(1), section 

24 7513(b)(1), or section 7543(b)(1) of title 5, United 


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1 States Code, shall include detailed information with 

2 respect to— 

3 (A) the right of the employee to appeal an 

4 action brought under the applicable section; 

5 (B) the forums in which the employee may 

6 file an appeal described in subparagraph (A); 

7 and 

8 (C) any limitations on the rights of the 

9 employee that would apply because of the forum 

10 in which the employee decides to file an appeal. 

11 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION.—The in12 formation described in paragraph (1) shall be devel13 oped by the Director of the Office of Personnel Man14 agement, in consultation with the Special Counsel, 

15 the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal 

16 Employment Opportunity Commission. 

17 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER PROVISIONS. 

18 (a) PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES.—Section 

19 2302 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (9)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

23 ‘‘(or any other component responsible for 

24 internal investigation or review)’’ after 

25 ‘‘Inspector General’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

2 ‘‘, rule, or regulation’’ after ‘‘law’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (C) in paragraph (13), by striking the pe6 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

7 (D) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(14) access the medical record of another em10 ployee or an applicant for employment as a part of, 

11 or otherwise in furtherance of, any conduct de12 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (13).’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (f)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

16 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

17 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

18 (F) as subparagraph (G); and 

19 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

20 (E) the following: 

21 ‘‘(F) the disclosure was made before the date 

22 on which the individual was appointed or applied for 

23 appointment to a position; or’’; and 

24 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) If a disclosure is made during the normal course 

2 of duties of an employee, the principal job function of 

3 whom is to regularly investigate and disclose wrongdoing 

4 (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘disclosing em5 ployee’), the disclosure shall not be excluded from sub6 section (b)(8) if the disclosing employee demonstrates that 

7 an employee who has the authority to take, direct other 

8 individuals to take, recommend, or approve any personnel 

9 action with respect to the disclosing employee took, failed 

10 to take, or threatened to take or fail to take a personnel 

11 action with respect to the disclosing employee in reprisal 

12 for the disclosure made by the disclosing employee.’’. 

13 (b) EXPLANATIONS FOR FAILURE TO TAKE AC14 TION.—Section 1213 of title 5, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘15 days’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘45 days’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (e)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Any 

20 such report’’ and inserting ‘‘Any report re21 quired under subsection (c) or paragraph (5) of 

22 this subsection’’; 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) Upon receipt of any report that the head of an 

2 agency is required to submit under subsection (c), the Spe3 cial Counsel shall review the report and determine wheth4 er— 

5 ‘‘(A) the findings of the head of the agency ap6 pear reasonable; and 

7 ‘‘(B) if the Special Counsel requires the head of 

8 the agency to submit a supplemental report under 

9 paragraph (5), the reports submitted by the head of 

10 the agency collectively contain the information re11 quired under subsection (d).’’; 

12 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘agency 

13 report received pursuant to subsection (c) of 

14 this section’’ and inserting ‘‘report submitted to 

15 the Special Counsel by the head of an agency 

16 under subsection (c) or paragraph (5) of this 

17 subsection’’; and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) If, after conducting a review of a report under 

20 paragraph (2), the Special Counsel concludes that the 

21 Special Counsel requires additional information or docu22 mentation to determine whether the report submitted by 

23 the head of an agency is reasonable and sufficient, the 

24 Special Counsel may request that the head of the agency 

25 submit a supplemental report— 


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1 ‘‘(A) containing the additional information or 

2 documentation identified by the Special Counsel; and 

3 ‘‘(B) that the head of the agency shall submit 

4 to the Special Counsel within a period of time speci5 fied by the Special Counsel.’’. 

6 (c) TRANSFER REQUESTS DURING STAYS.— 

7 (1) PRIORITY GRANTED.—Section 1214(b)(1) of 

8 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(E) If the Board grants a stay under subparagraph 

11 (A), the head of the agency employing the employee who 

12 is the subject of the action shall give priority to a request 

13 for a transfer submitted by the employee.’’. 

14 (2) PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES.—Section 1221 

15 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(k) If the Board grants a stay under subsection (c) 

18 and the employee who is the subject of the action is in 

19 probationary status, the head of the agency employing the 

20 employee shall give priority to a request for a transfer sub21 mitted by the employee.’’. 

22 (d) RETALIATORY INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 1214 

23 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The Special Counsel may petition the Board to 

2 order corrective action, including fees, costs, or damages 

3 reasonably incurred by an employee due to an investiga4 tion of the employee by an agency, if the investigation by 

5 an agency was commenced, expanded, or extended in retal6 iation for a disclosure or protected activity described in 

7 section 2302(b)(8) or subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), or 

8 (D) of section 2302(b)(9), even if no personnel action, as 

9 defined in section 2302(a)(2)(A), is taken or not taken.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. SUICIDE BY EMPLOYEES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means any entity the 

13 employees of which are covered by paragraphs (8) 

14 and (9) of section 2302(b) of title 5, United States 

15 Code, without regard to whether any other provision 

16 of that title is applicable to the entity; and 

17 (2) the term ‘‘personnel action’’ has the mean18 ing given the term in section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 

19 5, United States Code. 

20 (b) REFERRAL.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency shall 

22 refer to the Special Counsel, along with any informa23 tion known to the agency regarding the cir24 cumstances described in paragraph (2), any instance 

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1 dicating that an employee of the agency committed 

2 suicide. 

3 (2) INFORMATION.—The circumstances de4 scribed in this paragraph are as follows: 

5 (A) Before the death of an employee de6 scribed in paragraph (1), the employee made a 

7 disclosure of information that reasonably evi8 dences— 

9 (i) a violation of a law, rule, or regu10 lation; 

11 (ii) gross mismanagement; 

12 (iii) a gross waste of funds; 

13 (iv) an abuse of authority; or 

14 (v) a substantial and specific danger 

15 to public health or safety. 

16 (B) After a disclosure described in sub17 paragraph (A), a personnel action was taken 

18 with respect to the employee who made the dis19 closure. 

20 (c) OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REVIEW.—Upon 

21 receiving a referral under subsection (b)(1), the Special 

22 Counsel shall— 

23 (1) examine whether a personnel action was 

24 taken with respect to an employee because of a dis25 closure described in subsection (b)(2)(A); and 


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1 (2) take any action that the Special Counsel de2 termines is appropriate under subchapter II of chap3 ter 12 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS AS CRITERIA 

5 IN PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEMS.—Section 4302 of 

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

9 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(b)(1) The head of each agency, in consultation with 

13 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and 

14 the Special Counsel, shall develop criteria that— 

15 ‘‘(A) the head of the agency shall use as a crit16 ical element for establishing the job requirements of 

17 a supervisory employee; and 

18 ‘‘(B) promote the protection of whistleblowers. 

19 ‘‘(2) The criteria required under paragraph (1) shall 

20 include— 

21 ‘‘(A) principles for the protection of whistle22 blowers, such as the degree to which supervisory em23 ployees— 


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1 ‘‘(i) respond constructively when employees 

2 of the agency make disclosures described in 

3 subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 2302(b)(8); 

4 ‘‘(ii) take responsible actions to resolve the 

5 disclosures described in clause (i); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) foster an environment in which em7 ployees of the agency feel comfortable making 

8 disclosures described in subparagraph (A) to 

9 supervisory employees or other appropriate au10 thorities; and 

11 ‘‘(B) for each supervisory employee— 

12 ‘‘(i) whether the agency entered into an 

13 agreement with an individual who alleged that 

14 the supervisory employee committed a prohib15 ited personnel practice; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) if the agency entered into an agree17 ment described in clause (i), the number of in18 stances in which the agency entered into such 

19 an agreement with respect to the supervisory 

20 employee. 

21 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

22 ‘‘(A) the term ‘agency’ means any entity the 

23 employees of which are covered by paragraphs (8) 

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1 er any other provision of this section is applicable to 

2 the entity; 

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘prohibited personnel practice’ 

4 has the meaning given the term in section 

5 2302(a)(1); 

6 ‘‘(C) the term ‘supervisory employee’ means an 

7 employee who would be a supervisor, as defined in 

8 section 7103(a), if the agency employing the em9 ployee was an agency for purposes of chapter 71; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(D) the term ‘whistleblower’ means an em12 ployee who makes a disclosure described in section 

13 2302(b)(8).’’. 

14 (b) CRITERIA FOR PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS.— 

15 Section 4313 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) protecting whistleblowers, as described in 

22 section 4302(b)(2).’’. 

23 (c) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON UNACCEPT24 ABLE PERFORMANCE IN WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC25 TION.— 


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1 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

2 terms ‘‘agency’’ and ‘‘whistleblower’’ have the mean3 ings given the terms in section 4302(b)(3) of title 5, 

4 United States Code, as amended by subsection (a). 

5 (2) REPORT.—Each agency shall annually sub6 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

7 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 

8 on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 

9 of Representatives, and each committee of Congress 

10 with jurisdiction over the agency a report that de11 tails— 

12 (A) the number of performance appraisals, 

13 for the year covered by the report, that deter14 mined that an employee of the agency failed to 

15 meet the standards for protecting whistle16 blowers that were established under section 

17 4302(b) of title 5, United States Code, as 

18 amended by subsection (a); 

19 (B) the reasons for the determinations de20 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

21 (C) each performance-based or corrective 

22 action taken by the agency in response to a de23 termination under subparagraph (A). 

24 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

25 Section 4301 of title 5, United States Code, is amended, 


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1 in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘For 

2 the purpose of’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as otherwise ex3 pressly provided, for the purpose of’’. 

4 SEC. 7. DISCIPLINE OF SUPERVISORS BASED ON RETALIA5 TION AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 75 of 

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 7515. Discipline of supervisors based on retaliation 

10 against whistleblowers 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’— 

13 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term in 

14 section 2302(a)(2)(C), without regard to wheth15 er any other provision of this chapter is applica16 ble to the entity; and 

17 ‘‘(B) does not include any entity that is an 

18 element of the intelligence community, as de19 fined in section 3 of the National Security Act 

20 of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003); 

21 ‘‘(2) the term ‘prohibited personnel action’ 

22 means taking or failing to take an action in violation 

23 of paragraph (8) or (9) of section 2302(b) against 

24 an employee of an agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘supervisor’ means an employee 

2 who would be a supervisor, as defined in section 

3 7103(a), if the entity employing the employee was 

4 an agency. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROPOSED DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the head of the agency 

7 in which a supervisor is employed, an administrative 

8 law judge, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the 

9 Special Counsel, a judge of the United States, or the 

10 Inspector General of the agency in which a super11 visor is employed has determined that the supervisor 

12 committed a prohibited personnel action, the head of 

13 the agency in which the supervisor is employed, con14 sistent with the procedures required under para15 graph (2)— 

16 ‘‘(A) for the first prohibited personnel ac17 tion committed by the supervisor— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall propose suspending the su19 pervisor for a period that is not less than 

20 3 days; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) may propose an additional action 

22 determined appropriate by the head of the 

23 agency, including a reduction in grade or 

24 pay; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) for the second prohibited personnel 

2 action committed by the supervisor, shall pro3 pose removing the supervisor. 

4 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.—A supervisor against whom 

6 an action is proposed to be taken under para7 graph (1) is entitled to written notice that— 

8 ‘‘(i) states the specific reasons for the 

9 proposed action; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) informs the supervisor about the 

11 right of the supervisor to review the mate12 rial that constitutes the factual support on 

13 which the proposed action is based. 

14 ‘‘(B) ANSWER AND EVIDENCE.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A supervisor who 

16 receives notice under subparagraph (A) 

17 may, not later than 14 days after receiving 

18 the notice, submit an answer and furnish 

19 evidence in support of that answer. 

20 ‘‘(ii) NO EVIDENCE FURNISHED; IN21 SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FURNISHED.—If, 

22 after the end of the 14-day period de23 scribed in clause (i), a supervisor does not 

24 furnish any evidence as described in that 

25 clause, or if the head of the agency in 


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1 which the supervisor is employed deter2 mines that the evidence furnished by the 

3 supervisor is insufficient, the head of the 

4 agency shall carry out the action proposed 

5 under subparagraph (A) or (B) of para6 graph (1). 

7 ‘‘(C) SCOPE OF PROCEDURES.—An action 

8 carried out under this section— 

9 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

10 shall be subject to the same requirements 

11 and procedures, including those with re12 spect to an appeal, as an action under sec13 tion 7503, 7513, or 7543; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) shall not be subject to— 

15 ‘‘(I) paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

16 section 7503(b); 

17 ‘‘(II) paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

18 subsection (b) and subsection (c) of 

19 section 7513; and 

20 ‘‘(III) paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

21 subsection (b) and subsection (c) of 

22 section 7543. 

23 ‘‘(3) NON-DELEGATION.—If the head of an 

24 agency is responsible for determining whether a su25 pervisor has committed a prohibited personnel action 


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1 for purposes of paragraph (1), the head of the agen2 cy may not delegate that responsibility.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

4 The table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 75 of 

5 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

6 the item relating to section 7514 the following: 

‘‘7515. Discipline of supervisors based on retaliation against whistleblowers.’’. 

7 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS BY 

8 THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL. 

9 Section 1214(a) of title 5, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), in the first sentence, 

12 by inserting ‘‘, other than a termination of an inves13 tigation described in paragraph (6)(A),’’ after ‘‘in14 vestigation of a prohibited personnel practice’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(6)(A) Not later than 30 days after receiving an al17 legation of a prohibited personnel practice under para18 graph (1), the Special Counsel may terminate an inves19 tigation of the allegation without further inquiry or an op20 portunity for the individual who submitted the allegation 

21 to respond if the Special Counsel determines that— 

22 ‘‘(i) the same allegation, based on the same set 

23 of facts and circumstances had previously been— 

24 ‘‘(I)(aa) made by the individual; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) investigated by the Special Counsel; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(II) filed by the individual with the Merit 

4 Systems Protection Board; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the Special Counsel does not have jurisdic6 tion to investigate the allegation; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) the individual knew or should have known 

8 of the alleged prohibited personnel practice on or be9 fore the date that is 3 years before the date on 

10 which the Special Counsel received the allegation. 

11 ‘‘(B) Not later than 30 days after the date on which 

12 the Special Counsel terminates an investigation under sub13 paragraph (A), the Special Counsel shall provide a written 

14 notification to the individual who submitted the allegation 

15 of a prohibited personnel practice that states the basis of 

16 the Special Counsel for terminating the investigation.’’. 

17 SEC. 9. ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING WITHIN THE OF18 FICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL. 

19 Section 1212 of title 5, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) The Special Counsel shall enter into at least one 

22 agreement with the Inspector General of an agency under 

23 which— 

24 ‘‘(1) the Inspector General shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) receive, review, and investigate allega2 tions of prohibited personnel practices or 

3 wrongdoing filed by employees of the Office of 

4 Special Counsel; and 

5 ‘‘(B) develop a method for an employee of 

6 the Office of Special Counsel to directly com7 municate with the Inspector General; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the Special Counsel— 

9 ‘‘(A) may not require an employee of the 

10 Office of Special Counsel to seek authorization 

11 or approval before directly contacting the In12 spector General in accordance with the agree13 ment; and 

14 ‘‘(B) may reimburse the Inspector General 

15 for services provided under the agreement.’’. 

16 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 1218 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘§ 1218. Annual report 

20 ‘‘The Special Counsel shall submit to Congress, on 

21 an annual basis, a report on the activities of the Special 

22 Counsel, which shall include, for the year preceding the 

23 submission of the report— 

24 ‘‘(1) the number, types, and disposition of alle25 gations of prohibited personnel practices filed with 


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1 the Special Counsel and the costs of resolving such 

2 allegations; 

3 ‘‘(2) the number of investigations conducted by 

4 the Special Counsel; 

5 ‘‘(3) the number of stays and disciplinary ac6 tions negotiated with agencies by the Special Coun7 sel; 

8 ‘‘(4) the number of subpoenas issued by the 

9 Special Counsel; 

10 ‘‘(5) the number of instances in which the Spe11 cial Counsel reopened an investigation after the Spe12 cial Counsel had made an initial determination with 

13 respect to the investigation; 

14 ‘‘(6) the actions that resulted from reopening 

15 investigations, as described in paragraph (5); 

16 ‘‘(7) the number of instances in which the Spe17 cial Counsel did not make a determination before 

18 the end of the 240-day period described in section 

19 1214(b)(2)(A)(i) regarding whether there were rea20 sonable grounds to believe that a prohibited per21 sonnel practice had occurred, existed, or was to be 

22 taken; 

23 ‘‘(8) a description of the recommendations and 

24 reports made by the Special Counsel to other agen25 cies under this subchapter and the actions taken by 


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1 the agencies as a result of the recommendations or 

2 reports; 

3 ‘‘(9) the number of— 

4 ‘‘(A) actions initiated before the Merit Sys5 tems Protection Board, including the number of 

6 corrective action petitions and disciplinary ac7 tion complaints initiated; and 

8 ‘‘(B) stays and extensions of stays ob9 tained from the Merit Systems Protection 

10 Board; 

11 ‘‘(10) the number of prohibited personnel prac12 tice complaints that resulted in a favorable action 

13 for the complainant, other than a stay or an exten14 sion of a stay, organized by actions in— 

15 ‘‘(A) complaints dealing with reprisals 

16 against whistleblowers; and 

17 ‘‘(B) all other complaints; and 

18 ‘‘(11) the number of prohibited personnel prac19 tice complaints that were resolved by an agreement 

20 between an agency and an individual, organized by 

21 agency and agency components in— 

22 ‘‘(A) complaints dealing with reprisals 

23 against whistleblowers; and 

24 ‘‘(B) all other complaints; 


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1 ‘‘(12) the number of corrective actions that the 

2 Special Counsel required an agency to take after a 

3 finding by the Special Counsel of a prohibited per4 sonnel practice, as defined in section 2302(a)(1); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(13) the results for the Office of Special Coun7 sel of any employee viewpoint survey conducted by 

8 the Office of Personnel Management or any other 

9 agency.’’. 

10 (b) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—Section 1219(a)(1) of 

11 title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(1) a list of any noncriminal matters referred 

13 to the head of an agency under section 1213(c), to14 gether with— 

15 ‘‘(A) a copy of the information transmitted 

16 to the head of the agency under section 

17 1213(c)(1); 

18 ‘‘(B) any report from the agency under 

19 section 1213(c)(1)(B) relating to the matter; 

20 ‘‘(C) if appropriate, not otherwise prohib21 ited by law, and consented to by the complain22 ant, any comments from the complainant under 

23 section 1213(e)(1) relating to the matter; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the comments or recommendations of 

2 the Special Counsel under paragraph (3) or (4) 

3 of section 1213(e);’’. 

4 (c) NOTICE OF COMPLAINT SETTLEMENTS.—Section 

5 1217 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘The Special Counsel’’ and in7 serting: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Special Counsel’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REPORT REQUIRED.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an allegation submitted 

12 to the Special Counsel is resolved by an agreement 

13 between an agency and an individual, the Special 

14 Counsel shall submit to Congress and each congres15 sional committee with jurisdiction over the agency a 

16 report regarding the agreement. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 

18 paragraph (1) shall identify, with respect to an 

19 agreement described in that paragraph— 

20 ‘‘(A) the agency that entered into the 

21 agreement; 

22 ‘‘(B) the position and employment location 

23 of the employee who submitted the allegation 

24 that formed the basis of the agreement; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the position and employment location 

2 of any employee alleged by an employee de3 scribed in subparagraph (B) to have committed 

4 a prohibited personnel practice, as defined in 

5 section 2302(a)(1); 

6 ‘‘(D) a description of the allegation de7 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 

8 ‘‘(E) whether the agency that entered into 

9 the agreement has agreed to pursue any dis10 ciplinary action as a result of the allegation de11 scribed in subparagraph (B).’’. 

12 SEC. 11. ESTABLISHMENT OF SURVEY PILOT PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Special Counsel 

14 shall design and establish a pilot program under which 

15 the Office shall conduct, during the first full fiscal year 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, a survey of individ17 uals who have filed a complaint or disclosure with the Of18 fice. 

19 (b) PURPOSE.—The survey under subsection (a) shall 

20 be designed for the purpose of collecting information and 

21 improving service at various stages of a review or inves22 tigation by the Office of Special Counsel. 

23 (c) RESULTS.—The results of the survey under sub24 section (a) shall be published in the annual report of the 

25 Office of Special Counsel. 


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1 (d) SUSPENSION OF OTHER SURVEYS.—During the 

2 period beginning on October 1, 2017, and ending on Sep3 tember 30, 2018, section 13 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act 

4 to reauthorize the Office of Special Counsel, and for other 

5 purposes’’, approved October 29, 1994 (5 U.S.C. 1212 

6 note), shall have no force or effect. 

7 SEC. 12. REGULATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Special Counsel shall 

10 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to per11 form— 

12 (1) the functions of the Special Counsel under 

13 subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 5, United States 

14 Code, including regulations that are necessary to 

15 carry out sections 1213, 1214, and 1215 of that 

16 title; and 

17 (2) any functions of the Special Counsel that 

18 are required because of the amendments made by 

19 this Act. 

20 (b) PUBLICATION.—Any regulations prescribed under 

21 subsection (a) shall be published in the Federal Register. 

22 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(2) of the Whistle24 blower Protection Act of 1989 (5 U.S.C. 5509 note) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘2017 through 2022’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 subsection (a) shall take effect as though enacted on Sep5 tember 30, 2015. 

Æ 


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