I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 722 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for investigative leave 

requirements for members of the Senior Executive Service, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 

Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. BROOKS

of Alabama, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. 

CALVERT, Mr. ROKITA, and Ms. JENKINS of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for investigative leave requirements for members of the Senior 

Executive Service, 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 ‘‘Government Employee 

5 Accountability Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SUSPENSION FOR 14 DAYS OR LESS FOR SENIOR EX2 ECUTIVE SERVICE EMPLOYEES. 

3 Paragraph (1) of section 7501 of title 5, United 

4 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) ‘employee’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) an individual in the competitive serv7 ice who is not serving a probationary or trial 

8 period under an initial appointment or who has 

9 completed 1 year of current continuous employ10 ment in the same or similar positions under 

11 other than a temporary appointment limited to 

12 1 year or less; or 

13 ‘‘(B) a career appointee in the Senior Ex14 ecutive Service who— 

15 ‘‘(i) has completed the probationary 

16 period prescribed under section 3393(d); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) was covered by the provisions of 

18 subchapter II of this chapter immediately 

19 before appointment to the Senior Executive 

20 Service;’’. 

21 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATIVE LEAVE AND TERMINATION AU22 THORITY FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE 

23 EMPLOYEES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 75 of title 5, United 

25 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol26 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—INVESTIGATIVE LEAVE FOR 

2 SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE EMPLOYEES 

3 ‘‘§ 7551. Definitions 

4 ‘‘For the purposes of this subchapter— 

5 ‘‘(1) ‘employee’ has the meaning given such 

6 term in section 7541; and 

7 ‘‘(2) ‘investigative leave’ means a temporary ab8 sence without duty for disciplinary reasons, of a pe9 riod not greater than 90 days. 

10 ‘‘§ 7552. Actions covered 

11 ‘‘This subchapter applies to investigative leave. 

12 ‘‘§ 7553. Cause and procedure 

13 ‘‘(a)(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of 

14 Personnel Management, an agency may place an employee 

15 on investigative leave, without loss of pay and without 

16 charge to annual or sick leave, only for misconduct, ne17 glect of duty, malfeasance, or misappropriation of funds. 

18 ‘‘(2) If an agency determines, as prescribed in regula19 tion by the Office of Personnel Management, that such 

20 employee’s conduct is flagrant and that such employee in21 tentionally engaged in such conduct, the agency may place 

22 such employee on investigative leave under this subchapter 

23 without pay. 

24 ‘‘(b)(1) At the end of each 45-day period during a 

25 period of investigative leave implemented under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Feb 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H722.IH H722

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1 tion, the relevant agency shall review the investigation into 

2 the employee with respect to the misconduct, neglect of 

3 duty, malfeasance, or misappropriation of funds. 

4 ‘‘(2) Not later than 5 business days after the end of 

5 each such 45-day period, the agency shall submit a report 

6 describing such review to the Committee on Oversight and 

7 Government Reform of the House of Representatives and 

8 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

9 Affairs of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(3) At the end of a period of investigative leave im11 plemented under this section, the agency shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) remove an employee placed on investiga13 tive leave under this section; 

14 ‘‘(B) suspend such employee without pay; or 

15 ‘‘(C) reinstate or restore such employee to duty. 

16 ‘‘(4) The agency may extend the period of investiga17 tive leave with respect to an action under this subchapter 

18 for an additional period not to exceed 90 days. 

19 ‘‘(c) An employee against whom an action covered by 

20 this subchapter is proposed is entitled to, before being 

21 placed on investigative leave under this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) at least 30 days’ advance written notice, 

23 stating specific reasons for the proposed action, un24 less— 


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1 ‘‘(A) there is reasonable cause to believe 

2 that the employee has committed a crime for 

3 which a sentence of imprisonment can be im4 posed; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the agency determines, as prescribed 

6 in regulation by the Office of Personnel Man7 agement, that the employee’s conduct with re8 spect to which an action covered by this sub9 chapter is proposed is flagrant and that such 

10 employee intentionally engaged in such conduct; 

11 ‘‘(2) a reasonable time, but not less than 7 

12 days, to answer orally and in writing and to furnish 

13 affidavits and other documentary evidence in sup14 port of the answer; 

15 ‘‘(3) be represented by an attorney or other 

16 representative; and 

17 ‘‘(4) a written decision and specific reasons 

18 therefor at the earliest practicable date. 

19 ‘‘(d) An agency may provide, by regulation, for a 

20 hearing which may be in lieu of or in addition to the op21 portunity to answer provided under subsection (c)(2). 

22 ‘‘(e) An employee against whom an action is taken 

23 under this section is entitled to appeal to the Merit Sys24 tems Protection Board under section 7701. 


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1 ‘‘(f) Copies of the notice of proposed action, the an2 swer of the employee when written, and a summary there3 of when made orally, the notice of decision and reasons 

4 therefor, and any order effecting an action covered by this 

5 subchapter, together with any supporting material, shall 

6 be maintained by the agency and shall be furnished to the 

7 Merit Systems Protection Board upon its request and to 

8 the employee affected upon the employee’s request. 

9 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—REMOVAL OF SENIOR 

10 EXECUTIVE SERVICE EMPLOYEES 

11 ‘‘§ 7561. Definition 

12 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter, the term ‘em13 ployee’ has the meaning given such term in section 7541. 

14 ‘‘§ 7562. Removal of Senior Executive Service employ15 ees 

16 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and 

17 consistent with the requirements of subsection (b), the 

18 head of an agency may remove an employee for serious 

19 neglect of duty, misappropriation of funds, or malfeasance 

20 if the head of the agency— 

21 ‘‘(1) determines that the employee knowingly 

22 acted in a manner that endangers the interest of the 

23 agency mission; 

24 ‘‘(2) considers the removal to be necessary or 

25 advisable in the interests of the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) determines that the procedures prescribed 

2 in other provisions of law that authorize the removal 

3 of such employee cannot be invoked in a manner 

4 that the head of an agency considers consistent with 

5 the efficiency of the Government. 

6 ‘‘(b) An employee may not be removed under this sec7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(1) on any basis that would be prohibited 

9 under— 

10 ‘‘(A) any provision of law referred to in 

11 section 2302(b)(1); or 

12 ‘‘(B) paragraphs (8) or (9) of section 

13 2302(b); or 

14 ‘‘(2) on any basis, described in paragraph (1), 

15 as to which any administrative or judicial pro16 ceeding— 

17 ‘‘(A) has been commenced by or on behalf 

18 of such employee; and 

19 ‘‘(B) is pending. 

20 ‘‘(c) An employee removed under this section shall be 

21 notified of the reasons for such removal. Within 30 days 

22 after the notification, the employee is entitled to submit 

23 to the official designated by the head of the agency state24 ments or affidavits to show why the employee should be 

25 restored to duty. If such statements and affidavits are 


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1 submitted, the head of the agency shall provide a written 

2 response, and may restore the employee’s employment if 

3 the head of the agency chooses. 

4 ‘‘(d) Whenever the head of the agency removes an 

5 employee under the authority of this section, the head of 

6 the agency shall notify Congress of such termination, and 

7 the specific reasons for the action. 

8 ‘‘(e) An employee against whom an action is taken 

9 under this section is entitled to appeal to the Merit Sys10 tems Protection Board under section 7701 of this title. 

11 ‘‘(f) Copies of the notice of proposed action, the an12 swer of the employee when written, and a summary there13 of when made orally, the notice of decision and reasons 

14 therefor, and any order effecting an action covered by this 

15 subchapter, together with any supporting material, shall 

16 be maintained by the agency and shall be furnished to the 

17 Merit Systems Protection Board upon its request and to 

18 the employee affected upon the employee’s request. 

19 ‘‘(g) A removal under this section does not affect the 

20 right of the employee affected to seek or accept employ21 ment with any other department or agency of the United 

22 States if that employee is declared eligible for such em23 ployment by the Director of the Office of Personnel Man24 agement. 


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1 ‘‘(h) The authority of the head of the agency under 

2 this section may not be delegated.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of chapter 75 of title 5, United States 

5 Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to sec6 tion 7543 the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—INVESTIGATIVE LEAVE FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE

EMPLOYEES

‘‘7551. Definitions. 

‘‘7552. Actions covered. 

‘‘7553. Cause and procedure. 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—REMOVAL OF SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE EMPLOYEES

‘‘7561. Definition. 

‘‘7562. Removal of Senior Executive Service employees.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE EM8 PLOYEES. 

9 Section 7543 of title 5, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘misappro12 priation of funds,’’ after ‘‘malfeasance,’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 

14 (1) to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) at least 30 days’ advance written notice, 

16 stating specific reasons for the proposed action, un17 less— 

18 ‘‘(A) there is reasonable cause to believe 

19 that the employee has committed a crime for 


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1 which a sentence of imprisonment can be im2 posed; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the agency determines, as prescribed 

4 in regulation by the Office of Personnel Man5 agement, that the employee’s conduct with re6 spect to which an action covered by this sub7 chapter is proposed is flagrant and that such 

8 employee intentionally engaged in such con9 duct;’’. 

10 SEC. 5. MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS AMENDMENTS. 

11 (a) REINSTATEMENT IN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE

12 SERVICE.—Section 3593 of title 5, United States Code, 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘mis15 appropriation of funds,’’ after ‘‘malfeasance,’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘or malfea17 sance’’ and inserting ‘‘malfeasance, or misappropria18 tion of funds’’. 

19 (b) PLACEMENT IN OTHER PERSONNEL SYSTEMS.— 

20 Section 3594(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

21 by striking ‘‘or malfeasance’’ and inserting ‘‘malfeasance, 

22 or misappropriation of funds’’. 

Æ 


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