I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3586

To amend title 5, United States Code, to strengthen veterans’ preference,

to increase employment opportunities for veterans, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 5, 1996

Mr. MICA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Government Reform and Oversight

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to strengthen veterans’ preference, to increase employment opportunities for

veterans, 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 ‘‘Veterans Employment

5 Opportunities Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. EQUAL ACCESS FOR VETERANS.

7 (a) COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—Section 3304 of title 5,

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

9 following:
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1 ‘‘(f) A preference eligible or an individual who has

2 been separated from the armed forces under honorable

3 conditions after 4 or more years of active service shall not

4 be denied the opportunity to compete for a vacant position

5 within an agency, in the competitive service or the ex6 cepted service, by reason of—

7 ‘‘(1) not having acquired competitive status; or

8 ‘‘(2) not being an employee of such agency.’’.

9 (b) CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION.—

10 (1) VACANT POSITIONS.—Section 3327(b) of

11 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (1), by redesignating

13 paragraph (2) as paragraph (3), and by inserting

14 after paragraph (1) the following:

15 ‘‘(2) each vacant position in the agency for

16 which competition is restricted to individuals having

17 competitive status or employees of such agency, ex18 cluding any position under paragraph (1), and’’.

19 (2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Section 3327

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

21 at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(c) Any notification provided under this section

23 shall, for all positions under subsection (b)(1) as to which

24 section 3304(f) applies and for all positions under sub-
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1 section (b)(2), include a notation as to the applicability

2 of section 3304(f) with respect thereto.’’.

3 (c) GOVERNMENTWIDE LISTS.—

4 (1) VACANT POSITIONS.—Section 3330(b) of

5 title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as

6 follows:

7 ‘‘(b) The Office of Personnel Management shall cause

8 to be established and kept current—

9 ‘‘(1) a comprehensive list of all announcements

10 of vacant positions in the competitive service within

11 each agency that are to be filled by appointment for

12 more than 1 year and for which applications are

13 being or will soon be accepted from outside the

14 agency’s work force; and

15 ‘‘(2) a comprehensive list of all announcements

16 of vacant positions within each agency for which ap17 plications are being or will soon be accepted and for

18 which competition is restricted to individuals having

19 competitive status or employees of such agency, ex20 cluding any position under paragraph (1).’’.

21 (2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Section

22 3330(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended

23 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (2), by

24 redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4), and

25 by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
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1 ‘‘(3) for all positions under subsection (b)(1) as

2 to which section 3304(f) applies and for all positions

3 under subsection (b)(2), a notation as to the applica4 bility of section 3304(f) with respect thereto; and’’

5 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

6 3330(d) of title 5, United States Code, is amended

7 by striking ‘‘The list’’ and inserting ‘‘Each list

8 under subsection (b)’’.

9 SEC. 3. SPECIAL PROTECTIONS FOR PREFERENCE ELIGI10 BLES IN REDUCTIONS IN FORCE.

11 Section 3502 of title 5, United States Code, as

12 amended by section 1034 of the National Defense Author13 ization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–106;

14 110 Stat. 430), is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(g)(1) A position occupied by a preference eligible

17 shall not be placed in a single-position competitive level

18 if the preference eligible is qualified to perform the essen19 tial functions of any other position at the same grade (or

20 occupational level) in the competitive area. In such cases,

21 the minimum competitive level shall consist of all such po22 sitions for which the preference eligible is qualified.

23 ‘‘(2) A preference eligible shall be considered quali24 fied to perform the essential functions of a position if, by

25 reason of experience, training, or education, a reasonable
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1 person could conclude that the preference eligible would

2 be able to perform those functions successfully within a

3 period of 270 days. A preference eligible shall not be con4 sidered unqualified solely because he fails to meet mini5 mum qualifications relating to the grade (or occupational

6 level) of required previous experience established for such

7 position by the Office of Personnel Management or the

8 agency.

9 ‘‘(h) A preference eligible whose current or most re10 cent performance rating is at least fully successful (or the

11 equivalent) shall have, in addition to such assignment

12 rights as are prescribed by regulation, the right, in lieu

13 of separation, to be assigned to any position for which he

14 is qualified under subsection (g)(2)—

15 ‘‘(1) that is within the preference eligible’s com16 muting area and that is then occupied by an individ17 ual, other than another preference eligible, who was

18 placed in such position (whether by appointment or

19 otherwise) within 6 months before the reduction in

20 force; or

21 ‘‘(2) that is within the preference eligible’s com22 petitive area and that is not more than 3 grades (or

23 appropriate grade intervals or equivalent) below the

24 position from which the preference eligible was re25 leased, except that, in the case of a preference eligi-
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1 ble with a compensable service-connected disability

2 of 30 percent or more, this paragraph shall be ap3 plied by substituting ‘5 grades’ for ‘3 grades’.

4 In the event that a preference eligible is entitled to assign5 ment to more than 1 position under this subsection, the

6 agency shall assign the preference eligible to the position

7 requiring the least (or no) reduction in basic pay.

8 ‘‘(i) A preference eligible may challenge the classifica9 tion of any position to which the preference eligible asserts

10 assignment rights in an action before the Merit Systems

11 Protection Board.

12 ‘‘(j)(1) As soon as practicable after the date of the

13 enactment of this subsection, each agency shall establish

14 an agencywide priority placement program to facilitate

15 employment placement for preference eligibles who—

16 ‘‘(A) are scheduled to be separated from service

17 due to a reduction in force; or

18 ‘‘(B) are separated from service due to a reduc19 tion in force.

20 ‘‘(2) Each agencywide priority placement program

21 shall include provisions under which a vacant position

22 shall not be filled by the appointment or transfer of any

23 individual from outside of that agency or by the appoint24 ment or transfer of any individual other than a preference

25 eligible from within that agency if—
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1 ‘‘(A) there is then available any individual de2 scribed in paragraph (3) who is qualified for the po3 sition; and

4 ‘‘(B) the position—

5 ‘‘(i) is at the same grade (or pay level) or

6 not more than 1 grade (or pay level) below that

7 of the position last held by such individual be8 fore placement in the new position; and

9 ‘‘(ii) is within the same commuting area as

10 the individual’s residence or last-held position.

11 ‘‘(3) For purposes of an agencywide priority place12 ment program, an individual shall be considered to be de13 scribed in this paragraph if such individual’s most recent

14 performance rating was at least fully successful (or the

15 equivalent), and such individual is either—

16 ‘‘(A) a preference eligible of such agency who is

17 scheduled to be separated, as described in paragraph

18 (1)(A); or

19 ‘‘(B) a preference eligible who became a former

20 employee of such agency as a result of a separation,

21 as described in paragraph (1)(B).

22 ‘‘(4) A preference eligible shall cease to be eligible

23 to participate in a program under this subsection upon

24 the earlier of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the conclusion of the 12-month period be2 ginning on the date on which the preference eligible

3 first became eligible to participate under paragraph

4 (3); or

5 ‘‘(B) the date on which the individual declines

6 a bona fide offer (or, if the individual does not act

7 on the offer, the last day for accepting such offer)

8 from the affected agency of a position described in

9 paragraph (2)(B).’’.

10 SEC. 4. IMPROVED REDRESS FOR VETERANS.

11 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REDRESS.—Subchapter I of

12 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by

13 adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘§ 3331. Administrative redress

15 ‘‘(a) Any preference eligible or other individual de16 scribed in section 3304(f) who alleges that an agency has

17 violated such individual’s rights under any statute or regu18 lation relating to veterans’ preference, or any right pro19 vided by section 3304(f), may file a complaint with the

20 Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary shall process such

21 complaint in accordance with sections 4322 and 4326 of

22 title 38.

23 ‘‘(b) Any preference eligible or other individual de24 scribed in section 3304(f) may pursue an allegation de-
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1 scribed in subsection (a) in accordance with section 4324

2 of title 38.

3 ‘‘§ 3332. Judicial redress

4 ‘‘In lieu of the administrative redress provided under

5 section 3331, a preference eligible or other individual de6 scribed in section 3304(f) may file an action with the ap7 propriate United States district court not later than 1 year

8 after the occurrence of the alleged violation.

9 ‘‘§ 3333. Remedy

10 ‘‘(a) If the Merit Systems Protection Board (in a pro11 ceeding under section 3331) or a court (in a proceeding

12 under section 3332) determines that an agency has vio13 lated a right described in section 3331, the Board or court

14 shall order the agency to comply with such provisions and

15 award compensation for any loss of wages or benefits suf16 fered by the individual by reason of the violation involved.

17 If the Board or court determines that such violation was

18 willful, it shall award an amount equal to backpay as liq19 uidated damages.

20 ‘‘(b) A preference eligible or individual described in

21 section 3304(f) who prevails in an action under section

22 3331 or 3332 shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees,

23 expert witness fees, and other litigation expenses.’’.

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

25 at the beginning of chapter 33 of title 5, United States
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1 Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to sec2 tion 3330 the following:

‘‘3331. Administrative redress.

‘‘3332. Judicial redress.

‘‘3333. Remedy.’’.

3 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.

4 (a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

5 CODE.—Paragraph (3) of section 2108 of title 5, United

6 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the Federal Bureau

7 of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration

8 Senior Executive Service, or the General Accounting Of9 fice;’’ and inserting ‘‘or the Federal Bureau of Investiga10 tion and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Execu11 tive Service;’’.

12 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 3, UNITED STATES

13 CODE.—Chapter 2 of title 3, United States Code, is

14 amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘§ 115. Veterans’ preference

16 ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), appoint17 ments under sections 105, 106, and 107 shall be made

18 in accordance with section 2108, and sections 3309

19 through 3312, of title 5.

20 ‘‘(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any appoint21 ment to a position the rate of basic pay for which is at

22 least equal to the minimum rate established for positions

23 in the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title

24 5 and the duties of which are comparable to those de-
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1 scribed in section 3132(a)(2) of such title or to any other

2 position if, with respect to such position, the President

3 makes certification—

4 ‘‘(1) that such position is—

5 ‘‘(A) a confidential or policy-making posi6 tion; or

7 ‘‘(B) a position for which political affili8 ation or political philosophy is otherwise an im9 portant qualification; and

10 ‘‘(2) that any individual selected for such posi11 tion is expected to vacate the position at or before

12 the end of the President’s term (or terms) of office.

13 Each individual appointed to a position described in the

14 preceding sentence shall be notified in writing of the ex15 pectation described in paragraph (2) at the time of ap16 pointment.’’

17 (c) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPOINTMENTS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), appointments to positions in the legisla20 tive branch of the Government shall be made in ac21 cordance with section 2108, and sections 3309

22 through 3312, of title 5, United States Code.

23 (2) EXCLUSIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not

24 apply to—
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1 (A) an appointment made by the President

2 with the advice and consent of the Senate;

3 (B) an appointment made by a Member of

4 Congress or by a committee or subcommittee of

5 either House of Congress; or

6 (C) an appointment to a position the rate

7 of basic pay for which is at least equal to the

8 minimum rate established for positions in the

9 Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of

10 title 5, United States Code, and the duties of

11 which are comparable to those described in sec12 tion 3132(a)(2) of such title.

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