II 

Calendar No. 499 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2127 

[Report No. 114–262] 

To provide appropriate protections to probationary Federal employees, to 

provide the Special Counsel with adequate access to information, to 

provide greater awareness of Federal whistleblower protections, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2015 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. KIRK, and Mrs. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

MAY 26, 2016 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide appropriate protections to probationary Federal 

employees, to provide the Special Counsel with adequate 

access to information, to provide greater awareness of 

Federal whistleblower protections, and for other purposes. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 

6 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—EMPLOYEES GENERALLY 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Whistleblower protections for probationary employees. 

Sec. 103. Adequate access of Special Counsel to information. 

Sec. 104. Removal or demotion of employees based on retaliation against whistleblowers. 

Sec. 105. Suicide by executive branch employees. 

Sec. 106. Access to medical files. 

Sec. 107. Training for supervisors. 

Sec. 108. Information on whistleblower protections. 

TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES 

Sec. 201. Protecting medical privacy of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 202. Mental health services for employees of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

Sec. 203. Protocols to address threats against employees of the Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 204. Comptroller General of the United States study on accountability of 

chiefs of police of Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. 

9 TITLE I—EMPLOYEES 

10 GENERALLY 

11 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the mean2 ing given that term under section 105 of title 5, 

3 United States Code; and 

4 (2) the term ‘‘executive branch employee’’ 

5 means an employee of an Executive agency. 

6 SEC. 102. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR PROBA7 TIONARY EMPLOYEES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1214 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(i)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘covered proba12 tionary employee’ means an individual who— 

13 ‘‘(A) is an employee in probationary status; and 

14 ‘‘(B) has submitted to the Special Counsel an 

15 allegation of a prohibited personnel practice de16 scribed in paragraph (8) or subparagraph (A)(i), 

17 (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (9) of section 2302(b) 

18 with respect to the individual. 

19 ‘‘(2) Not later than 10 days after the date on which 

20 an agency terminates a covered probationary employee, 

21 the Special Counsel shall determine whether a substantial 

22 likelihood exists that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the agency engaged in the prohibited per24 sonnel practice alleged by the covered probationary 

25 employee, as described in paragraph (1)(B); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the termination of the covered proba2 tionary employee was related to that prohibited per3 sonnel practice. 

4 ‘‘(3)(A) If the Special Counsel determines there is a 

5 substantial likelihood the circumstances described in para6 graph (2) exist, the Special Counsel shall request and the 

7 Merit Systems Protection Board, without further pro8 ceedings, shall order a stay of the termination for 60 days 

9 for the Special Counsel to complete an investigation of the 

10 termination of the covered probationary employee. 

11 ‘‘(B) If, before the end of the 60-day period described 

12 in subparagraph (A), the Special Counsel determines that 

13 additional investigation is warranted, the Special Counsel 

14 shall request and the Merit Systems Protection Board, 

15 without further proceedings, shall order a stay of the ter16 mination for such period as the Special Counsel deter17 mines appropriate, which may not exceed an additional pe18 riod of 6 months. 

19 ‘‘(4)(A) If the Special Counsel determines that the 

20 agency employing a covered probationary employee en21 gaged in the prohibited personnel practice alleged by the 

22 covered probationary employee, as described in paragraph 

23 (1)(B), and the termination of the covered probationary 

24 employee was related to that prohibited personnel practice, 

25 the Special Counsel shall request and the Merit Systems 


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1 Protection Board, without further proceedings, shall order 

2 the reinstatement of the covered probationary employee. 

3 ‘‘(B) If the Special Counsel determines that the agen4 cy employing a covered probationary employee did not en5 gage in the prohibited personnel practice alleged by the 

6 covered probationary employee, described in paragraph 

7 (1)(B), or that the termination of the covered proba8 tionary employee was not related to that prohibited per9 sonnel practice, the Special Counsel shall request and the 

10 Merit Systems Protection Board, without further pro11 ceedings, shall order the immediate enforcement of the 

12 termination. 

13 ‘‘(C) An order reinstating a covered probationary em14 ployee may be appealed by the agency to the Merit Sys15 tems Protection Board under section 7701. 

16 ‘‘(5) If a stay is granted to a covered probationary 

17 employee under paragraph (3) or a covered probationary 

18 employee is reinstated under this subsection, the head of 

19 the agency employing the covered probationary employee 

20 shall give priority to a request for a transfer submitted 

21 by the covered probationary employee.’’. 

22 (b) INDIVIDUAL RIGHT OF ACTION.—Section 1221 of 

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

24 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(k)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘covered proba2 tionary employee’ has the meaning given that term under 

3 section 1214(i)(1). 

4 ‘‘(2) In this section, the term ‘employee’ includes a 

5 covered probationary employee who is terminated, includ6 ing for purposes of seeking a stay under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(3) If the Merit Systems Protection Board grants 

8 a stay to a covered probationary employee under sub9 section (c), the head of the agency employing the covered 

10 probationary employee shall give priority to a request for 

11 a transfer submitted by the covered probationary em12 ployee.’’. 

13 (c) STUDY REGARDING RETALIATION AGAINST PRO14 BATIONARY EMPLOYEES.—The Comptroller General of 

15 the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

16 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen17 ate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Re18 form of the House of Representatives a report discussing 

19 retaliation against employees in probationary status relat20 ing to a disclosure by the employees of information de21 scribed in section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States 

22 Code, by the employees. 


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1 SEC. 103. ADEQUATE ACCESS OF SPECIAL COUNSEL TO IN2 FORMATION. 

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

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(5)(A) The Special Counsel, in carrying out this 

6 subchapter, is authorized to— 

7 ‘‘(i) have access to all records, reports, audits, 

8 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or 

9 other material available to the applicable agency 

10 which relate to a matter within the jurisdiction or 

11 authority of the Special Counsel; and 

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

13 or assistance as may be necessary for carrying out 

14 the duties and responsibilities of the Special Counsel 

15 under this subchapter. 

16 ‘‘(B) Upon request of the Special Counsel for infor17 mation or assistance under subparagraph (A)(ii), the head 

18 of the agency involved shall, insofar as is practicable and 

19 not in contravention of any existing statutory restriction 

20 or regulation of the agency from which the information 

21 or assistance is requested, furnish to the Special Counsel 

22 such information or assistance.’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. REMOVAL OR DEMOTION OF EMPLOYEES BASED 

2 ON RETALIATION AGAINST WHISTLE3 BLOWERS. 

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

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

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 7515. Removal or demotion of employees based on 

8 retaliation against whistleblowers 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘retalia10 tion against a whistleblower’ means a prohibited personnel 

11 practice described in paragraph (8) or subparagraph 

12 (A)(i), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (9) of section 

13 2302(b). 

14 ‘‘(b) REMOVAL OR DEMOTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency may 

16 remove or demote an employee of the agency if the 

17 head of the agency determines that the employee re18 taliated against a whistleblower. 

19 ‘‘(2) IMPOSITION OF ACTION.—If the head of 

20 an agency removes or demotes an employee under 

21 this section, the head of the agency may— 

22 ‘‘(A) remove the employee from the civil 

23 service; or 

24 ‘‘(B) demote the employee by means of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a reduction in grade for which the 

2 employee is qualified and that the head of 

3 the agency determines is appropriate; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) a reduction in annual rate of pay 

5 that the head of the agency determines is 

6 appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(c) PAY OF CERTAIN DEMOTED EMPLOYEES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law, any employee subject to a demotion 

10 under subsection (b)(2)(B)(i) shall, beginning on the 

11 date of the demotion, receive the annual rate of pay 

12 applicable to the applicable grade. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPEAL.—An employee demoted under 

14 subsection (b)(2)(B)(i) may not be placed on admin15 istrative leave or any other category of paid leave 

16 during the period during which an appeal (if any) 

17 under this section is ongoing. 

18 ‘‘(3) FAILURE TO REPORT.—An employee de19 moted under subsection (b)(2)(B)(i)— 

20 ‘‘(A) may only receive pay if the employee 

21 reports for duty; and 

22 ‘‘(B) if the employee does not report for 

23 duty, shall not receive pay or other benefits de24 scribed in subsection (f)(5). 


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1 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after removing or demoting an employee under subsection 

3 (b), the head of an agency shall submit to each committee 

4 of Congress with jurisdiction of the activities of the agency 

5 notice in writing of the removal or demotion and the rea6 son for the removal or demotion. 

7 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The procedures under sec9 tion 7513(b) and chapter 43, shall not apply to a re10 moval or demotion under this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPEAL.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B) and subsection (f), any removal or 

14 demotion under subsection (b) may be appealed 

15 to the Merit Systems Protection Board under 

16 section 7701. 

17 ‘‘(B) TIME FOR MAKING AN APPEAL.—An 

18 appeal under subparagraph (A) of a removal or 

19 demotion may only be made if the appeal is 

20 made not later than 7 days after the date of the 

21 removal or demotion. 

22 ‘‘(f) EXPEDITED REVIEW BY ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

23 JUDGE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an appeal 

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1 tection Board shall refer the appeal to an adminis2 trative law judge under section 7701(b)(1), who 

3 shall expedite the appeal and issue a decision not 

4 later than 45 days after the date of the appeal. 

5 ‘‘(2) FINALITY OF DECISION.—Notwithstanding 

6 any other provision of law, including section 7703, 

7 the decision of an administrative law judge under 

8 paragraph (1) shall be final and shall not be subject 

9 to any further appeal. 

10 ‘‘(3) DELAY IN DECISION.—If an administrative 

11 law judge cannot issue a decision before the end of 

12 the 45-day period described in paragraph (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) the removal or demotion is final; and 

14 ‘‘(B) not later than 14 days after the end 

15 of the 45-day period, the Merit Systems Protec16 tion Board shall submit to each committee of 

17 Congress with jurisdiction of the activities of 

18 the applicable agency a report that explains the 

19 reasons why a decision was not issued during 

20 the period. 

21 ‘‘(4) NO STAYS.—The Merit Systems Protection 

22 Board or administrative law judge may not stay any 

23 removal or demotion under this section. 

24 ‘‘(5) NO PAY OR BENEFITS DURING PENDING

25 APPEAL.—During the period beginning on the date 


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1 on which an employee appeals a removal from the 

2 civil service under subsection (e) and ending on the 

3 date that the administrative law judge issues a final 

4 decision on the appeal, the employee may not receive 

5 any pay, awards, bonuses, incentives, allowances, dif6 ferentials, student loan repayments, special pay7 ments, or benefits. 

8 ‘‘(6) ASSISTANCE BY AGENCY.—To the max9 imum extent practicable, the head of an agency shall 

10 provide to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and 

11 to any administrative law judge to whom an appeal 

12 under this section is referred, such information and 

13 assistance as may be necessary to ensure an appeal 

14 under this subsection is expedited. 

15 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON REMOVAL OR DEMOTION.—If 

16 an employee seeking corrective action (or on behalf of 

17 whom corrective action is sought) from the Office of Spe18 cial Counsel based on an alleged prohibited personnel 

19 practice, the head of an agency may not remove or demote 

20 the employee under subsection (b) without the approval 

21 of the Special Counsel under section 1214(f). 

22 ‘‘(h) RELATION TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The authority 

24 provided by this section is in addition to any author25 ity provided under this chapter or chapter 43. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NOT SUBJECT TO OTHER PROVISIONS.— 

2 The requirements under any other provision of this 

3 chapter shall not apply to any action under this sec4 tion.’’. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) The table of sections for subchapter II of 

7 chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, is amend8 ed by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘7515. Removal or demotion of employees based on retaliation against whistleblowers.’’. 

9 (2) Section 4303(f) of title 5, United States 

10 Code, is amended— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para12 graph (2); 

13 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

14 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(4) any removal or demotion under section 

17 7515.’’. 

18 SEC. 105. SUICIDE BY EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES. 

19 (a) REFERRAL.—The head of the Executive agency 

20 employing an executive branch employee who commits sui21 cide shall refer the matter to the Inspector General of the 

22 Executive agency, or senior ethics official of the Executive 

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1 eral, to determine whether the suicide of the executive 

2 branch employee was work-related. 

3 (b) INFORMATION TO NEXT OF KIN.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 the head of the Executive agency employing an exec6 utive branch employee who commits suicide shall 

7 provide the personnel file of the Executive agency to 

8 the next of kin of the executive branch employee. 

9 (2) NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION.—The 

10 head of an Executive agency may withhold informa11 tion in a personnel file under paragraph (1) if the 

12 head determines the disclosure of the information 

13 would likely compromise national security. 

14 SEC. 106. ACCESS TO MEDICAL FILES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except for an emergency situa16 tion, an executive branch employee may not access the 

17 medical record of another executive branch employee, un18 less the executive branch employee whose medical record 

19 will be accessed provides consent to the access. 

20 (b) EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.—The Director of the 

21 Office of Management and Budget shall promulgate regu22 lations defining the term ‘‘emergency situation’’ for pur23 poses of this section. 


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1 SEC. 107. TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS. 

2 The head of each Executive agency shall provide 

3 training regarding how to respond to complaints alleging 

4 a violation of whistleblower protections available to execu5 tive branch employee of the Executive agency to— 

6 (1) executive branch employees appointed to su7 pervisory positions in the Executive agency who have 

8 not previously served as a supervisor; and 

9 (2) on an annual basis, to all executive branch 

10 employees of the Executive agency serving in a su11 pervisory position. 

12 SEC. 108. INFORMATION ON WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC13 TIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 23 of title 5, United 

15 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘§ 2307. Information on whistleblower protections 

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

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘new employee’ means an indi20 vidual— 

21 ‘‘(A) appointed to a position as an em22 ployee on or after the date of enactment of the 

23 Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection 

24 Act of 2015; and 

25 ‘‘(B) who has not previously served as an 

26 employee; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘whistleblower protections’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) the protections against and remedies 

4 for a prohibited personnel practice described in 

5 paragraph (8) or subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), 

6 or (D) of paragraph (9) of section 2302(b); and 

7 ‘‘(B) similar protections for an employee 

8 under any other provision of law. 

9 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION FOR NEW HIRES.—The head of 

10 each agency or other establishment in the Federal Govern11 ment shall provide each new employee of the agency or 

12 establishment information regarding the whistleblower 

13 protections available to the new employee and the role of 

14 the Office of Special Counsel. 

15 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION ONLINE.—The head of each agen16 cy or other establishment in the Federal Government shall 

17 make available information regarding whistleblower pro18 tections applicable to employees of the agency or other es19 tablishment on any online portal that is made available 

20 only to employees of the agency or other establishment.’’. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

22 The table of sections for chapter 23 of title 5, United 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘2307. Information on whistleblower protections.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES 

3 SEC. 201. PROTECTING MEDICAL PRIVACY OF EMPLOYEES 

4 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF5 FAIRS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 38, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 714. Accessing of medical records of employees 

10 ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF ACCESS.—(1) Not later than five 

11 days after an employee of the Department accesses the 

12 medical record of another employee of the Department, 

13 the Secretary shall notify the such other employee of such 

14 access. 

15 ‘‘(2) Notice under paragraph (1) shall include the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(A) The name of the employee accessing the 

18 medical record. 

19 ‘‘(B) The date and time the employee accessed 

20 the medical record. 

21 ‘‘(C) The period during which the employee 

22 accessed the medical record. 

23 ‘‘(D) A description of any modification of the 

24 medical record made by the employee. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF PROHIBITED ACCESS.—(1) 

2 If an employee of the Department receives notice under 

3 subsection (a) that a medical record of the employee was 

4 accessed by another employee of the Department and the 

5 employee believes that such access was conducted in viola6 tion of an applicable provision of Federal privacy law, the 

7 employee shall file a complaint with the Office of Account8 ability Review. 

9 ‘‘(2) If the Office of Accountability Review receives 

10 a complaint from an employee with respect to a notice that 

11 the employee received under subsection (a) not more than 

12 45 days after the notice was transmitted to the employee, 

13 the Office of Accountability Review shall, not later than 

14 30 days after receiving such complaint— 

15 ‘‘(A) determine whether the access identified in 

16 the notice was conducted in violation of an applica17 ble provision of Federal privacy law; and 

18 ‘‘(B) notify the employee of the determination. 

19 ‘‘(c) ACTION IN RESPONSE TO UNAUTHORIZED AC20 CESS.—(1) If the Office of Accountability Review deter21 mines that an employee of the Department has accessed 

22 the medical record of another employee of the Department 

23 in violation of an applicable provision of Federal privacy 

24 law, the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for the first such access, issue an order 

2 that, for the two-year period beginning on the date 

3 of the order, the employee is not eligible to receive 

4 any bonus or cash award from the Department, in5 cluding— 

6 ‘‘(i) an award under chapter 45 of title 5; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an award under section 5384 of title 

8 5; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) a retention bonus under section 5754 

10 of title 5; 

11 ‘‘(B) for the second such access, suspend the 

12 employee for not less than 14 days; and 

13 ‘‘(C) for the third such access, terminate the 

14 employee. 

15 ‘‘(2) Any action under paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall be taken in accordance with chapter 

17 75 of title 5; and 

18 ‘‘(B) may be appealed to the Merit Systems 

19 Protection Board under section 7701 of title 5. 

20 ‘‘(d) APPLICABLE PROVISION OF FEDERAL PRIVACY

21 LAW DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘applicable pro22 vision of Federal privacy law’ includes the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) The Federal regulations (concerning the 

24 privacy of individually identifiable health informa25 tion) promulgated under section 264(c) of the 


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1 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 

2 of 1996. 

3 ‘‘(2) Section 552a of title 5 (commonly known 

4 as the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’).’’. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

6 The table of sections for chapter 7 of title 38, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new item: 

‘‘714. Accessing of medical records of employees.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR EMPLOYEES OF 

10 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

11 (a) OUTREACH ON AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES.— 

12 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a program 

13 of outreach to employees of the Department of Veterans 

14 Affairs to inform them of the mental health services avail15 able to them. 

16 (b) STUDY ON USE OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFES17 SIONALS OF THE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE SERVICES

18 TO EMPLOYEES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

20 Affairs shall conduct a study to assess the feasibility 

21 of using mental health professionals who provide 

22 mental health services for the Department of Vet23 erans Affairs to provide mental health services to 

24 employees of the Department. 


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1 (2) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study re2 quired by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit 

3 to Congress a report on the findings of the Secretary 

4 with respect to the study. 

5 SEC. 203. PROTOCOLS TO ADDRESS THREATS AGAINST EM6 PLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET7 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

8 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop pro9 tocols to address threats from individuals receiving health 

10 care from the Department of Veterans Affairs directed to11 wards employees of the Department who are providing 

12 such health care. 

13 SEC. 204. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED 

14 STATES STUDY ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF 

15 CHIEFS OF POLICE OF DEPARTMENT OF VET16 ERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTERS. 

17 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

18 conduct a study to assess the reporting, accountability, 

19 and chain of command structure of the Department of 

20 Veterans Affairs police officers at medical centers of the 

21 Department. 

22 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

23 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dr. 

24 Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2015’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—EMPLOYEES GENERALLY 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Stays; probationary employees. 

Sec. 103. Adequate access of Special Counsel to information. 

Sec. 104. Prohibited personnel practices. 

Sec. 105. Discipline of supervisors based on retaliation against whistleblowers. 

Sec. 106. Suicide by employees. 

Sec. 107. Training for supervisors. 

Sec. 108. Information on whistleblower protections. 

TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES 

Sec. 201. Prevention of unauthorized access to medical records of employees of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 202. Outreach on availability of mental health services available to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 203. Protocols to address threats against employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 204. Comptroller General of the United States study on accountability of 

chiefs of police of Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. 

3 TITLE I—EMPLOYEES 

4 GENERALLY 

5 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title— 

7 (1) the terms ‘‘agency’’ and ‘‘personnel action’’ 

8 have the meanings given such terms under section 

9 2302 of title 5, United States Code; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an employee (as 

11 defined in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code) 

12 of an agency. 


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1 SEC. 102. STAYS; PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES. 

2 (a) REQUEST BY SPECIAL COUNSEL.—Section 

3 1214(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(E) If the Merit Systems Protections Board grants 

6 a stay under this subsection, the head of the agency employ7 ing the employee shall give priority to a request for a trans8 fer submitted by the employee.’’. 

9 (b) INDIVIDUAL RIGHT OF ACTION FOR PROBATIONARY

10 EMPLOYEES.—Section 1221 of title 5, United States Code, 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(k) If the Merit Systems Protection Board grants a 

13 stay to an employee in probationary status under sub14 section (c), the head of the agency employing the employee 

15 shall give priority to a request for a transfer submitted by 

16 the employee.’’. 

17 (c) STUDY REGARDING RETALIATION AGAINST PROBA18 TIONARY EMPLOYEES.—The Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 

20 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

21 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 

22 House of Representatives a report discussing retaliation 

23 against employees in probationary status. 


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1 SEC. 103. ADEQUATE ACCESS OF SPECIAL COUNSEL TO IN2 FORMATION. 

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

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(5) The Special Counsel, in carrying out this sub6 chapter, is authorized to— 

7 ‘‘(A) have access to all records, reports, audits, 

8 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or 

9 other material available to the applicable agency 

10 which relate to a matter within the jurisdiction or 

11 authority of the Special Counsel; and 

12 ‘‘(B) request from any agency such information 

13 or assistance as may be necessary for carrying out the 

14 duties and responsibilities of the Special Counsel 

15 under this subchapter.’’. 

16 SEC. 104. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES. 

17 Section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

20 end; 

21 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(14) access the medical record of another em2 ployee for the purpose of retaliation for a disclosure 

3 or activity protected under paragraph (8) or (9).’’. 

4 SEC. 105. DISCIPLINE OF SUPERVISORS BASED ON RETAL5 IATION AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

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

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

8 the following: 

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

10 against whistleblowers 

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

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ has the meaning given 

13 that term under section 2302; 

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

15 means taking or failing to take an action in violation 

16 of paragraph (8), (9), or (14) of section 2302(b) 

17 against an employee of an agency; and 

18 ‘‘(3) the term ‘supervisor’ means a supervisor, as 

19 defined under section 7103(a), who is employed by an 

20 agency, as defined under paragraph (1) of this sub21 section. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROPOSED ADVERSE ACTIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with para24 graph (2), the head of an agency shall propose 

25 against a supervisor whom the head of that agency, 


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1 an administrative law judge, the Merit Systems Pro2 tection Board, the Office of Special Counsel, an adju3 dicating body provided under a union contract, a 

4 Federal judge, or the Inspector General of the agency 

5 determines committed a prohibited personnel action 

6 the following adverse actions: 

7 ‘‘(A) With respect to the first prohibited 

8 personnel action, an adverse action that is not 

9 less than a 12-day suspension. 

10 ‘‘(B) With respect to the second prohibited 

11 personnel action, removal. 

12 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.— 

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

14 an adverse action under paragraph (1) is pro15 posed is entitled to written notice. 

16 ‘‘(B) ANSWER AND EVIDENCE.— 

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

18 is notified under subparagraph (A) that the 

19 supervisor is the subject of a proposed ad20 verse action under paragraph (1) is entitled 

21 to 14 days following such notification to an22 swer and furnish evidence in support of the 

23 answer. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NO EVIDENCE.—After the end of 

25 the 14-day period described in clause (i), if 


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1 a supervisor does not furnish evidence as 

2 described in clause (i) or if the head of the 

3 agency determines that such evidence is not 

4 sufficient to reverse the proposed adverse ac5 tion, the head of the agency shall carry out 

6 the adverse action. 

7 ‘‘(C) SCOPE OF PROCEDURES.—Paragraphs 

8 (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of section 7513, sub9 section (c) of such section, paragraphs (1) and 

10 (2) of subsection (b) of section 7543, and sub11 section (c) of such section shall not apply with 

12 respect to an adverse action carried out under 

13 this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON OTHER ADVERSE ACTIONS.— 

15 With respect to a prohibited personnel action, if the head 

16 of the agency carries out an adverse action against a super17 visor under another provision of law, the head of the agency 

18 may carry out an additional adverse action under this sec19 tion based on the same prohibited personnel action.’’. 

20 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

21 table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, 

22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

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


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1 SEC. 106. SUICIDE BY EMPLOYEES. 

2 (a) REFERRAL.—The head of an agency shall refer to 

3 the Office of Special Counsel, along with any information 

4 known to the agency regarding the circumstances described 

5 in paragraphs (2) and (3), any instance in which the head 

6 of the agency has information indicating— 

7 (1) an employee of the agency committed suicide; 

8 (2) prior to the death of the employee, the em9 ployee made any disclosure of information which rea10 sonably evidences— 

11 (A) any violation of any law, rule, or regu12 lation; or 

13 (B) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of 

14 funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 

15 and specific danger to public health or safety; 

16 and 

17 (3) after a disclosure described in paragraph (2), 

18 a personnel action was taken against the employee. 

19 (b) OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REVIEW.—For any 

20 referral to the Office of Special Counsel under subsection 

21 (a), the Office of Special Counsel shall— 

22 (1) examine whether any personnel action was 

23 taken because of any disclosure of information de24 scribed in subsection (a)(2); and 


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1 (2) take any action the Office of Special Counsel 

2 determines appropriate under subchapter II of chap3 ter 12 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 107. TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS. 

5 In consultation with the Office of Special Counsel and 

6 the Inspector General of the agency (or senior ethics official 

7 of the agency for an agency without an Inspector General), 

8 the head of each agency shall provide training regarding 

9 how to respond to complaints alleging a violation of whis10 tleblower protections (as defined in section 2307 of title 5, 

11 United States Code, as added by section 108) available to 

12 employees of the agency— 

13 (1) to employees appointed to supervisory posi14 tions in the agency who have not previously served as 

15 a supervisor; and 

16 (2) on an annual basis, to all employees of the 

17 agency serving in a supervisory position. 

18 SEC. 108. INFORMATION ON WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC19 TIONS. 

20 (a) EXISTING PROVISION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302 of title 5, 

22 United States Code, is amended— 

23 (A) by striking subsection (c); and 


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1 (B) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), 

2 and (f) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respec3 tively. 

4 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND5 MENTS.— 

6 (A) Section 4505a(b)(2) of title 5, United 

7 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

8 2302(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2302(c)’’. 

9 (B) Section 5755(b)(2) of title 5, United 

10 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

11 2302(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2302(c)’’. 

12 (C) Section 110(b)(2) of the Whistleblower 

13 Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (5 U.S.C. 

14 2302 note) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

15 2303(f)(1) or (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

16 2303(e)(1) or (2)’’. 

17 (D) Section 704 of the Homeland Security 

18 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 344) is amended by strik19 ing ‘‘2302(c)’’ each place it appears and insert20 ing ‘‘2307’’. 

21 (E) Section 1217(d)(3) of the Panama 

22 Canal Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3657(d)(3)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘section 2302(d)’’ and in24 serting ‘‘section 2302(c)’’. 


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1 (F) Section 1233(b) of the Panama Canal 

2 Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3673(b)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘section 2302(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

4 2302(c)’’. 

5 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Chapter 23 of title 

6 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 2307. Information on whistleblower protections 

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

10 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ has the meaning given 

11 that term in section 2302; 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘new employee’ means an indi13 vidual— 

14 ‘‘(A) appointed to a position as an em15 ployee of an agency on or after the date of enact16 ment of the Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower 

17 Protection Act of 2015; and 

18 ‘‘(B) who has not previously served as an 

19 employee; and 

20 ‘‘(3) the term ‘whistleblower protections’ means 

21 the protections against and remedies for a prohibited 

22 personnel practice described in paragraph (8), sub23 paragraph (A)(i), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (9), 

24 or paragraph (14) of section 2302(b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF HEAD OF AGENCY.—The 

2 head of each agency shall be responsible for the prevention 

3 of prohibited personnel practices, for the compliance with 

4 and enforcement of applicable civil service laws, rules, and 

5 regulations, and other aspects of personnel management, 

6 and for ensuring (in consultation with the Special Counsel 

7 and the Inspector General of the agency) that employees of 

8 the agency are informed of the rights and remedies available 

9 to them under this chapter and chapter 12, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) information regarding whistleblower protec11 tions available to new employees during the proba12 tionary period; 

13 ‘‘(2) the role of the Office of Special Counsel and 

14 the Merit Systems Protection Board with regard to 

15 whistleblower protections; and 

16 ‘‘(3) how to make a lawful disclosure of informa17 tion that is specifically required by law or Executive 

18 order to be kept classified in the interest of national 

19 defense or the conduct of foreign affairs to the Special 

20 Counsel, the Inspector General of an agency, Con21 gress, or other agency employee designated to receive 

22 such disclosures. 

23 ‘‘(c) TIMING.—The head of each agency shall ensure 

24 that the information required to be provided under sub25 section (b) is provided to each new employee of the agency 


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1 not later than 6 months after the date the new employee 

2 is appointed. 

3 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION ONLINE.—The head of each agency 

4 shall make available information regarding whistleblower 

5 protections applicable to employees of the agency on the 

6 public website of the agency, and on any online portal that 

7 is made available only to employees of the agency if one 

8 exists. 

9 ‘‘(e) DELEGEES.—Any employee to whom the head of 

10 an agency delegates authority for personnel management, 

11 or for any aspect thereof, shall, within the limits of the scope 

12 of the delegation, be responsible for the activities described 

13 in subsection (b).’’. 

14 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

15 table of sections for chapter 23 of title 5, United States 

16 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘2307. Information on whistleblower protections.’’. 

17 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF 

18 VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES 

19 SEC. 201. PREVENTION OF UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO 

20 MEDICAL RECORDS OF EMPLOYEES OF THE 

21 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

22 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

25 Veterans Affairs shall— 


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1 (A) develop a plan to prevent access to the 

2 medical records of employees of the Department 

3 of Veterans Affairs by employees of the Depart4 ment who are not authorized to access such 

5 records; 

6 (B) submit to the appropriate committees of 

7 Congress the plan developed under subparagraph 

8 (A); and 

9 (C) upon request, provide a briefing to the 

10 appropriate committees of Congress with respect 

11 to the plan developed under subparagraph (A). 

12 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required under para13 graph (1) shall include the following: 

14 (A) A detailed assessment of strategic goals 

15 of the Department for the prevention of unau16 thorized access to the medical records of employ17 ees of the Department. 

18 (B) A list of circumstances in which an em19 ployee of the Department who is not a health 

20 care provider or an assistant to a health care 

21 provider would be authorized to access the med22 ical records of another employee of the Depart23 ment. 

24 (C) Steps that the Secretary will take to ac25 quire new or implement existing technology to 


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1 prevent an employee of the Department from ac2 cessing the medical records of another employee 

3 of the Department without a specific need to ac4 cess such records. 

5 (D) Steps the Secretary will take, including 

6 plans to issue new regulations, as necessary, to 

7 ensure that an employee of the Department may 

8 not access the medical records of another em9 ployee of the Department for the purpose of re10 trieving demographic information if that demo11 graphic information is available to the employee 

12 in another location or through another format. 

13 (E) A proposed timetable for the implemen14 tation of such plan. 

15 (F) An estimate of the costs associated with 

16 implementing such plan. 

17 (b) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE18 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees 

19 of Congress’’ means— 

20 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

21 Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Veterans’ 

22 Affairs of the Senate; and 

23 (2) the Committee on Oversight and Government 

24 Reform and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

25 House of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 202. OUTREACH ON AVAILABILITY OF MENTAL HEALTH 

2 SERVICES AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES OF THE 

3 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a pro5 gram of outreach to employees of the Department of Vet6 erans Affairs to inform those employees of any mental 

7 health services, including telemedicine options, that are 

8 available to them. 

9 SEC. 203. PROTOCOLS TO ADDRESS THREATS AGAINST EM10 PLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET11 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

12 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure protocols 

13 are in effect to address threats from individuals receiving 

14 health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs di15 rected towards employees of the Department who are pro16 viding such health care. 

17 SEC. 204. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES 

18 STUDY ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF CHIEFS OF 

19 POLICE OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF20 FAIRS MEDICAL CENTERS. 

21 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

22 conduct a study to assess the reporting, staffing, account23 ability, and chain of command structure of the Department 

24 of Veterans Affairs police officers at medical centers of the 

25 Department. 


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Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide 

greater whistleblower protections for Federal employees, 

increased awareness of Federal whistleblower protections, 

and increased accountability and required discipline for 

Federal supervisors who retaliate against whistleblowers, 

and for other purposes.’’. 


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Calendar No. 499 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2127 

[Report No. 114–262] 

A BILL 

To provide appropriate protections to probationary 

protections, and for other purposes. vide greater awareness of Federal whistleblower sel with adequate access to information, to proFederal employees, to provide the Special CounMAY 26, 2016 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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