I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7095 

To enhance accountability and efficiency in the Federal civil service, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2022 

Mr. HICE of Georgia (for himself, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. C. SCOTT

FRANKLIN of Florida, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. HIGGINS

of Louisiana, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. KELLER, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. NORMAN, 

and Ms. MACE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To enhance accountability and efficiency in the Federal civil 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Accountable Federal Employees Act’’ or the ‘‘Account6 able Feds Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—CREATING SCHEDULE F IN THE EXCEPTED SERVICE 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Findings. 

Sec. 103. Schedule F of the excepted service. 

Sec. 104. Executive agency actions. 

Sec. 105. Definitions. 

TITLE II—REMOVAL 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

Sec. 203. Principles for accountability in the Federal workforce. 

Sec. 204. Standard for negotiating grievance procedures. 

Sec. 205. Managing the Federal workforce. 

Sec. 206. Ensuring integrity of personnel files. 

Sec. 207. Data collection of adverse actions. 

Sec. 208. Implementation. 

Sec. 209. General provisions. 

TITLE III—UNION TIME 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Purposes. 

Sec. 303. Definitions. 

Sec. 304. Standards for reasonable and efficient taxpayer-funded union time 

usage. 

Sec. 305. Employee conduct with regard to agency time and resources. 

Sec. 306. Preventing unlawful or unauthorized expenditures. 

Sec. 307. Agency reporting requirements. 

Sec. 308. Public disclosure and transparency. 

Sec. 309. Implementation and renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements. 

TITLE IV—COST REDUCING IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Findings. 

Sec. 403. Definitions. 

Sec. 404. Interagency labor relations working group. 

Sec. 405. Collective bargaining objectives. 

Sec. 406. Collective bargaining procedures. 

Sec. 407. Permissive bargaining. 

Sec. 408. Efficient bargaining over procedures and appropriate arrangements. 

Sec. 409. Public accessibility. 

Sec. 410. Lack of report. 

Sec. 411. Application. 


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1 TITLE I—CREATING SCHEDULE 

2 F IN THE EXCEPTED SERVICE 

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Creating Schedule F 

5 in the Excepted Service Act’’. 

6 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) To effectively carry out the broad array of 

9 activities assigned to the executive branch under law, 

10 the President and his appointees must rely on men 

11 and women in the Federal service employed in posi12 tions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy13 making, or policy-advocating character. Faithful exe14 cution of the law requires that the President have 

15 appropriate management oversight regarding this se16 lect cadre of professionals. 

17 (2) The Federal Government benefits from ca18 reer professionals in positions that are not normally 

19 subject to change as a result of a Presidential tran20 sition but who discharge significant duties and exer21 cise significant discretion in formulating and imple22 menting executive branch policy and programs under 

23 the laws of the United States. The heads of execu24 tive departments and agencies (agencies) and the 

25 American people also entrust these career profesVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Mar 18, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7095.IH H7095

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1 sionals with non-public information that must be 

2 kept confidential. 

3 (3) With the exception of attorneys in the Fed4 eral service who are appointed pursuant to schedule 

5 A of the excepted service and members of the Senior 

6 Executive Service, appointments to these positions 

7 are generally made through the competitive service. 

8 Given the importance of the functions they dis9 charge, employees in such positions must display ap10 propriate temperament, acumen, impartiality, and 

11 sound judgment. 

12 (4) Due to these requirements, agencies should 

13 have a greater degree of appointment flexibility with 

14 respect to these employees than is afforded by the 

15 existing competitive service process. 

16 (5) Further, effective performance management 

17 of employees in confidential, policy-determining, pol18 icy-making, or policy-advocating positions is of the 

19 utmost importance. Unfortunately, the Government’s 

20 current performance management is inadequate, as 

21 recognized by Federal workers themselves. For in22 stance, the 2016 Merit Principles Survey reveals 

23 that less than a quarter of Federal employees believe 

24 their agency addresses poor performers effectively. 


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1 (6) Separating employees who cannot or will 

2 not meet required performance standards is impor3 tant, and it is particularly important with regard to 

4 employees in confidential, policy-determining, policy5 making, or policy-advocating positions. High per6 formance by such employees can meaningfully en7 hance agency operations, while poor performance 

8 can significantly hinder them. Senior agency officials 

9 report that poor performance by career employees in 

10 policy-relevant positions has resulted in long delays 

11 and substandard-quality work for important agency 

12 projects, such as drafting and issuing regulations. 

13 (7) Conditions of good administration make 

14 necessary an exception to the competitive hiring 

15 rules and examinations for career positions in the 

16 Federal service of a confidential, policy-determining, 

17 policy-making, or policy-advocating character. These 

18 conditions include the need to provide agency heads 

19 with additional flexibility to assess prospective ap20 pointees without the limitations imposed by competi21 tive service selection procedures. Placing these posi22 tions in the excepted service will mitigate undue lim23 itations on their selection. This action will also give 

24 agencies greater ability and discretion to assess crit25 ical qualities in applicants to fill these positions, 


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1 such as work ethic, judgment, and ability to meet 

2 the particular needs of the agency. These are all 

3 qualities individuals should have before wielding the 

4 authority inherent in their prospective positions, and 

5 agencies should be able to assess candidates without 

6 proceeding through complicated and elaborate com7 petitive service processes or rating procedures that 

8 do not necessarily reflect their particular needs. 

9 (8) Conditions of good administration similarly 

10 make necessary excepting such positions from the 

11 adverse action procedures set forth in chapter 75 of 

12 title 5, United States Code. Chapter 75 of title 5, 

13 United States Code, requires agencies to comply 

14 with extensive procedures before taking adverse ac15 tion against an employee. These requirements can 

16 make removing poorly performing employees dif17 ficult. Only a quarter of Federal supervisors are con18 fident that they could remove a poor performer. Ca19 reer employees in confidential, policy-determining, 

20 policy-making, and policy-advocating positions wield 

21 significant influence over Government operations 

22 and effectiveness. Agencies need the flexibility to ex23 peditiously remove poorly performing employees 

24 from these positions without facing extensive delays 

25 or litigation. 


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1 SEC. 103. SCHEDULE F OF THE EXCEPTED SERVICE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Appointments of individuals to 

3 positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-mak4 ing, or policy-advocating character that are not normally 

5 subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition 

6 shall be made under schedule F of the excepted service, 

7 as established by subsection (b). 

8 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Director of the Office of 

9 Personnel Management shall— 

10 (1) amend section 6.2 of title 5, Code of Fed11 eral Regulations, to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘OPM shall list positions that it excepts from the 

13 competitive service in Schedules A, B, C, D, E, and F, 

14 which schedules shall constitute parts of this rule, as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘Schedule A. Positions other than those of a con17 fidential or policy-determining character for which it is not 

18 practicable to examine shall be listed in Schedule A. 

19 ‘‘Schedule B. Positions other than those of a con20 fidential or policy-determining character for which it is not 

21 practicable to hold a competitive examination shall be list22 ed in Schedule B. Appointments to these positions shall 

23 be subject to such noncompetitive examination as may be 

24 prescribed by OPM. 


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1 ‘‘Schedule C. Positions of a confidential or policy-de2 termining character normally subject to change as a result 

3 of a Presidential transition shall be listed in Schedule C. 

4 ‘‘Schedule D. Positions other than those of a con5 fidential or policy-determining character for which the 

6 competitive service requirements make impracticable the 

7 adequate recruitment of sufficient numbers of students at8 tending qualifying educational institutions or individuals 

9 who have recently completed qualifying educational pro10 grams. These positions, which are temporarily placed in 

11 the excepted service to enable more effective recruitment 

12 from all segments of society by using means of recruiting 

13 and assessing candidates that diverge from the rules gen14 erally applicable to the competitive service, shall be listed 

15 in Schedule D. 

16 ‘‘Schedule E. Position of administrative law judge ap17 pointed under 5 U.S.C. 3105. Conditions of good adminis18 tration warrant that the position of administrative law 

19 judge be placed in the excepted service and that appoint20 ment to this position not be subject to the requirements 

21 of 5 CFR, part 302, including examination and rating re22 quirements, though each agency shall follow the principle 

23 of veteran preference as far as administratively feasible. 

24 ‘‘Schedule F. Positions of a confidential, policy-deter25 mining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character not 


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1 normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential 

2 transition shall be listed in Schedule F. In appointing an 

3 individual to a position in Schedule F, each agency shall 

4 follow the principle of veteran preference as far as admin5 istratively feasible’’; 

6 (2) amend section 6.4 of title 5, Code of Fed7 eral Regulations, to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘Except as required by statute, the Civil Service Rules 

9 and Regulations shall not apply to removals from positions 

10 listed in Schedules A, C, D, E, or F, or from positions 

11 excepted from the competitive service by statute. The Civil 

12 Service Rules and Regulations shall apply to removals 

13 from positions listed in Schedule B of persons who have 

14 competitive status.’’; 

15 (3) adopt such regulations as the Director de16 termines may be necessary to implement this title, 

17 including, as appropriate, amendments to or rescis18 sions of regulations that are inconsistent with, or 

19 that would impede the implementation of, this title, 

20 giving particular attention to— 

21 (A) section 302.101 of title 5, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations; 

23 (B) subpart D of part 212 of such title; 

24 and 


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1 (C) subparts A and C of part 213 of such 

2 title; and 

3 (4) provide guidance on conducting a swift, or4 derly transition from the existing appointment proc5 esses to the schedule F process established by this 

6 title. 

7 SEC. 104. EXECUTIVE AGENCY ACTIONS. 

8 (a) REVIEW.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Executive agency head 

10 shall conduct, not later than 90 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, a preliminary review of the 

12 positions in the Executive agency that are covered 

13 by subchapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, and shall conduct a complete review of 

15 the positions in the agency not later than 210 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act. Thereafter, 

17 each agency head shall conduct a review of such po18 sitions that are covered by subchapter II of chapter 

19 75 of title 5, United States Code, on at least an an20 nual basis. 

21 (2) PETITIONS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Following a review 

23 under paragraph (1), each agency head shall, 

24 for positions not excepted from the competitive 

25 service by statute, petition the Director to place 


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1 in schedule F any such competitive service, 

2 schedule A, schedule B, or schedule D positions 

3 in the Executive agency that the agency head 

4 determines to be of a confidential, policy-deter5 mining, policy-making, or policy-advocating 

6 character and that are not normally subject to 

7 change as a result of a Presidential transition. 

8 (B) PETITION EXPLANATION.—Any peti9 tion submitted under subparagraph (A) shall 

10 include a written explanation documenting the 

11 basis for the agency head’s determination that 

12 such position should be placed in schedule F. 

13 (3) DETERMINATIONS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Following a review 

15 under paragraph (1), each agency head shall, 

16 for positions excepted from the competitive 

17 service by statute, determine which such posi18 tions are of a confidential, policy-determining, 

19 policy-making, or policy-advocating character 

20 and are not normally subject to change as a re21 sult of a Presidential transition. 

22 (B) DETERMINATION EFFECT.—A position 

23 which the agency head determines under sub24 paragraph (A) to be of a confidential, policy-de25 termining, policy-making, or policy-advocating 


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1 character and not normally subject to change as 

2 a result of a Presidential transition shall be 

3 considered a schedule F position for the pur4 poses of Executive agency actions under sub5 sections (d) and (f). 

6 (C) PUBLICATION.—An agency head shall 

7 publish each determination made under sub8 paragraph (A) in the Federal Register. 

9 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements set forth in 

10 subsection (a) shall apply to currently existing positions 

11 and newly created positions. 

12 (c) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.—When con13 ducting the review required by subsection (a), each agency 

14 head should give particular consideration to the appro15 priateness of either petitioning the Director to place in 

16 schedule F or including in the determination published in 

17 the Federal Register, as applicable, positions of which the 

18 duties include any of the following: 

19 (1) Substantive participation in the advocacy 

20 for or development or formulation of policy, espe21 cially— 

22 (A) substantive participation in the devel23 opment or drafting of regulations and guidance; 

24 or 


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1 (B) substantive policy-related work in an 

2 Executive agency or Executive agency compo3 nent that primarily focuses on policy. 

4 (2) The supervision of attorneys. 

5 (3) Substantial discretion to determine the 

6 manner in which the Executive agency exercises 

7 functions committed to the agency by law. 

8 (4) Viewing, circulating, or otherwise working 

9 with proposed regulations, guidance, executive or10 ders, or other non-public policy proposals or delib11 erations generally covered by deliberative process 

12 privilege and either— 

13 (A) directly reporting to or regularly work14 ing with an individual appointed by either the 

15 President or an agency head who is paid at a 

16 rate not less than that earned by employees at 

17 Grade 13 of the General Schedule; or 

18 (B) working in the Executive agency or 

19 Executive agency component executive secre20 tariat (or equivalent). 

21 (5) Conducting, on the Executive agency’s be22 half, collective bargaining negotiations under chapter 

23 71 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 (d) PETITION DECISION.—The Director shall 

25 promptly determine whether to grant any petition under 


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1 subsection (a). Not later than December 31 of each year, 

2 the Director shall report to the President, through the Di3 rector of the Office of Management and Budget and the 

4 Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, concerning 

5 the number of petitions granted and denied for that year 

6 for each Executive agency. 

7 (e) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING EXCLUSIONS.—Each 

8 agency head shall, as necessary and appropriate, expedi9 tiously petition the Federal Labor Relations Authority to 

10 determine whether any schedule F position must be ex11 cluded from a collective bargaining unit under section 

12 7112(b) of title 5, United States Code, paying particular 

13 attention to the question of whether incumbents in such 

14 positions are required or authorized to formulate, deter15 mine, or influence the policies of the agency. 

16 (f) PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES.—Agency 

17 heads shall establish rules to prohibit the personnel prac18 tices prohibited by section 2302(b) of title 5, United 

19 States Code, with respect to any employee or applicant 

20 for employment in schedule F of the excepted service. 

21 SEC. 105. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this title: 

23 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 

24 means the head of an Executive agency. 


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1 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 

3 (3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 

4 agency’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

5 105 of title 5, United States Code, but excluding the 

6 Government Accountability Office. 

7 (4) NORMALLY SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS A RE8 SULT OF A PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION.—The term 

9 ‘‘normally subject to change as a result of a Presi10 dential transition’’ refers to positions whose occu11 pants are, as a matter of practice, expected to resign 

12 upon a Presidential transition, including all positions 

13 whose appointment requires the assent of the White 

14 House Office of Presidential Personnel. 

15 TITLE II—REMOVAL 

16 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Account18 ability and Streamlining Removal Procedures Consistent 

19 with Merit System Principles Act’’. 

20 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress finds the following: 

22 (1) Federal merit system principles call for 

23 holding Federal employees accountable for perform24 ance and conduct. 


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1 (2) They state that employees should maintain 

2 high standards of integrity, conduct, and concern for 

3 the public interest, and that the Federal workforce 

4 should be used efficiently and effectively. They fur5 ther state that employees should be retained based 

6 on the adequacy of their performance, inadequate 

7 performance should be corrected, and employees 

8 should be separated who cannot or will not improve 

9 their performance to meet required standards. 

10 (3) Unfortunately, implementation of America’s 

11 civil service laws has fallen far short of these ideals. 

12 (4) The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 

13 has consistently found that less than one-third of 

14 Federal employees believe that the Government deals 

15 with poor performers effectively. 

16 (5) Failure to address unacceptable perform17 ance and misconduct undermines morale, burdens 

18 good performers with subpar colleagues, and inhibits 

19 the ability of any agency to accomplish their mis20 sions. 

21 (6) This title advances the ability of supervisors 

22 in agencies to promote civil servant accountability 

23 consistent with merit system principles while simul24 taneously recognizing employees’ procedural rights 

25 and protections. 


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1 SEC. 203. PRINCIPLES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE FED2 ERAL WORKFORCE. 

3 In managing the Federal workforce, and in addition 

4 to the other requirements of this title, each agency shall, 

5 to the greatest extent practicable, adhere to and carry out 

6 the following principles: 

7 (1) Removing unacceptable performers should 

8 be a straightforward process that minimizes the bur9 den on supervisors. Agencies shall limit opportunity 

10 periods to demonstrate acceptable performance 

11 under section 4302(c)(6) of title 5, United States 

12 Code, to the amount of time that provides sufficient 

13 opportunity to demonstrate acceptable performance. 

14 (2) Supervisors and deciding officials shall not 

15 be required to use progressive discipline. The penalty 

16 for an instance of misconduct should be tailored to 

17 the facts and circumstances. 

18 (3) Each employee’s work performance and dis19 ciplinary history is unique, and disciplinary action 

20 should be calibrated to the specific facts and cir21 cumstances of each individual employee’s situation. 

22 Conduct that justifies discipline of one employee at 

23 one time does not necessarily justify similar dis24 cipline of a different employee at a different time— 

25 particularly where the employees are in different 

26 work units or chains of supervision—and agencies 


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1 are not prohibited from removing an employee sim2 ply because they did not remove a different employee 

3 for comparable conduct. Nonetheless, employees 

4 should be treated equitably, so agencies should con5 sider appropriate comparators as they evaluate po6 tential disciplinary actions. 

7 (4) Suspension should not be a substitute for 

8 removal in circumstances in which removal would be 

9 appropriate. Agencies should not require suspension 

10 of an employee before proposing to remove that em11 ployee, except as may be appropriate under applica12 ble facts. 

13 (5) When taking disciplinary action, agencies 

14 should have discretion to take into account an em15 ployee’s disciplinary record and past work record, in16 cluding all past misconduct—not only similar past 

17 misconduct. Agencies should provide an employee 

18 with appropriate notice when taking a disciplinary 

19 action. 

20 (6) To the extent practicable, agencies should 

21 issue decisions on proposed removals taken under 

22 chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, within 15 

23 business days of the end of the employee reply pe24 riod following a notice of proposed removal. 


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1 (7) To the extent practicable, agencies should 

2 limit the written notice of adverse action to the 30 

3 days prescribed in section 7513(b)(1) of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

5 (8) The removal procedures set forth in chapter 

6 75 of title 5, United States Code, should be used in 

7 appropriate cases to address instances of unaccept8 able performance. 

9 (9) A probationary period should be used as the 

10 final step in the hiring process of a new employee. 

11 Supervisors should use that period to assess how 

12 well an employee can perform the duties of a job. A 

13 probationary period can be a highly effective tool to 

14 evaluate a candidate’s potential to be an asset to an 

15 agency before the candidate’s appointment becomes 

16 final. 

17 (10) Following issuance of regulations under 

18 section 208 of this title, agencies should prioritize 

19 performance over length of service when determining 

20 which employees will be retained following a reduc21 tion in force. 

22 SEC. 204. STANDARD FOR NEGOTIATING GRIEVANCE PRO23 CEDURES. 

24 Whenever reasonable in view of the particular cir25 cumstances, agency heads shall endeavor to exclude from 


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1 the application of any grievance procedures negotiated 

2 under section 7121 of title 5, United States Code, any 

3 dispute concerning decisions to remove any employee from 

4 Federal service for misconduct or unacceptable perform5 ance. Each agency shall commit the time and resources 

6 necessary to achieve this goal and to fulfill its obligation 

7 to bargain in good faith. If an agreement cannot be 

8 reached, the agency shall promptly request the assistance 

9 of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and, as 

10 necessary, the Federal Service Impasses Panel in the reso11 lution of the disagreement. Not later than 30 days after 

12 the date of adoption of any collective bargaining agree13 ment that fails to achieve this goal, the agency head shall 

14 provide an explanation to the President, through the Di15 rector of the Office of Personnel Management (in this title 

16 referred to as the ‘‘Director’’). 

17 SEC. 205. MANAGING THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE. 

18 To promote good morale in the Federal workforce, 

19 employee accountability, and high performance, and to en20 sure the effective and efficient accomplishment of agency 

21 missions and the efficiency of the Federal service, no agen22 cy shall— 

23 (1) subject to grievance procedures or binding 

24 arbitration disputes concerning— 

25 (A) the assignment of ratings of record; or 


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1 (B) the award of any form of incentive 

2 pay, including cash awards; quality step in3 creases; or recruitment, retention, or relocation 

4 payments; 

5 (2) make any agreement, including a collective 

6 bargaining agreement— 

7 (A) that limits the agency’s discretion to 

8 employ the removal procedures set forth in 

9 chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, to 

10 address unacceptable performance of an em11 ployee; 

12 (B) that requires the use of procedures 

13 under chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code 

14 (including any performance assistance period or 

15 similar informal period to demonstrate im16 proved performance prior to the initiation of an 

17 opportunity period under section 4302(c)(6) of 

18 such title), before removing an employee for un19 acceptable performance; or 

20 (C) that limits the agency’s discretion to 

21 remove an employee from Federal service with22 out first engaging in progressive discipline; or 

23 (3) generally afford an employee more than a 

24 30-day period to demonstrate acceptable perform25 ance under section 4302(c)(6) of title 5, United 


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1 States Code, except when the agency determines in 

2 its sole and exclusive discretion that a longer period 

3 is necessary to provide sufficient time to evaluate an 

4 employee’s performance. 

5 SEC. 206. ENSURING INTEGRITY OF PERSONNEL FILES. 

6 Agencies shall not agree to erase, remove, alter, or 

7 withhold from another agency any information about a ci8 vilian employee’s performance or conduct in that employ9 ee’s official personnel records, including an employee’s Of10 ficial Personnel Folder and Employee Performance File, 

11 as part of, or as a condition to, resolving a formal or infor12 mal complaint by the employee or settling an administra13 tive challenge to an adverse personnel action. 

14 SEC. 207. DATA COLLECTION OF ADVERSE ACTIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2021 and for each 

16 fiscal year thereafter, each agency shall provide, to the Di17 rector, the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 

18 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Home19 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, a 

20 report containing information on— 

21 (1) the number of civilian employees in a proba22 tionary period or otherwise employed for a specific 

23 term who were removed by the agency; 

24 (2) the number of civilian employees rep25 rimanded in writing by the agency; 


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1 (3) the number of civilian employees afforded 

2 an opportunity period by the agency under section 

3 4302(c)(6) of title 5, United States Code, breaking 

4 out the number of such employees receiving an op5 portunity period longer than 30 days; 

6 (4) the number of adverse personnel actions 

7 taken against civilian employees by the agency, bro8 ken down by type of adverse personnel action, in9 cluding reduction in grade or pay (or equivalent), 

10 suspension, and removal; 

11 (5) the number of decisions on proposed remov12 als by the agency taken under chapter 75 of title 5, 

13 United States Code, not issued within 15 business 

14 days of the end of the employee reply period; 

15 (6) the number of adverse personnel actions by 

16 the agency for which employees received written no17 tice in excess of the 30 days prescribed in section 

18 7513(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code; 

19 (7) the number and key terms of settlements 

20 reached by the agency with civilian employees in 

21 cases arising out of adverse personnel actions; and 

22 (8) the resolutions of litigation about adverse 

23 personnel actions involving civilian employees 

24 reached by the agency. 


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1 (b) PUBLICATION.—To enhance public accountability 

2 of agencies for their management of the Federal work3 force, the Director shall, consistent with applicable law, 

4 publish the information received under subsection (a) of 

5 this section, at the minimum level of aggregation nec6 essary to protect personal privacy. The Director may with7 hold particular information if publication would unduly 

8 risk disclosing information protected by law, including per9 sonally identifiable information. 

10 (c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 60 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue 

12 guidance regarding the implementation of this section, in13 cluding with respect to any exemptions necessary for com14 pliance with applicable law and the reporting format for 

15 submissions required by subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 208. IMPLEMENTATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall examine 

19 whether existing regulations effectuate the principles set 

20 forth in section 203 and the requirements of sections 204, 

21 205, 206, and 207. To the extent necessary or appro22 priate, the Director shall, as soon as practicable, propose 

23 for notice and public comment appropriate regulations to 

24 effectuate the principles set forth in section 203 and the 

25 requirements of sections 204, 205, 206, and 207. 


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1 (b) REVISION OF POLICIES.—The head of each agen2 cy shall take steps to conform internal agency discipline 

3 and unacceptable performance policies to the principles 

4 and requirements of this title. Each agency head shall— 

5 (1) not later than 45 days after the date of en6 actment of this Act, revise its discipline and unac7 ceptable performance policies to conform to the prin8 ciples and requirements of this title, in areas where 

9 new final Office of Personnel Management regula10 tions are not required, and shall further revise such 

11 policies as necessary to conform to any new final Of12 fice regulations, within 45 days of the issuance of 

13 such regulations; and 

14 (2) renegotiate, as applicable, any collective 

15 bargaining agreement provisions that are incon16 sistent with any part of this title or any final Office 

17 of Personnel Management regulations promulgated 

18 pursuant to this title. 

19 (c) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—In carrying out sub20 section (b)(2), each agency shall give any contractually re21 quired notice of its intent to alter the terms of such agree22 ment and reopen negotiations. Each agency shall subse23 quently conform such terms to the requirements of this 

24 title, and to any final Office regulations issued pursuant 


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1 to this title, on the earliest practicable date permitted by 

2 law. 

3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 15 months after the 

4 adoption of any final rules issued pursuant to subsection 

5 (a) of this section, the Director shall submit to the Presi6 dent a report, through the Director of the Office of Man7 agement and Budget, evaluating the effect of those rules, 

8 including their effect on the ability of Federal supervisors 

9 to hold employees accountable for their performance. 

10 (e) GOVERNMENT-WIDE TRAINING.—Within a rea11 sonable amount of time following the adoption of any final 

12 rules issued pursuant to subsection (a), the Director and 

13 the Chief Human Capital Officers Council shall undertake 

14 a Government-wide initiative to educate Federal super15 visors about holding employees accountable for unaccept16 able performance or misconduct under those rules. 

17 SEC. 209. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

18 (a) CONSULTATION REQUIRED; COLLECTIVE BAR19 GAINING.—Agencies shall consult with employee labor rep20 resentatives about the implementation of this title. 

21 (b) APPLICATION.—Nothing in this title shall abro22 gate any collective bargaining agreement in effect on the 

23 date of enactment of this title. 

24 (c) DEFINITION OF AGENCY.—In this title, the term 

25 ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Executive 


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1 agency’’ in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, but 

2 not including the Government Accountability Office. 

3 TITLE III—UNION TIME 

4 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Trans6 parency, Accountability, and Efficiency in Taxpayer7 Funded Federal Union Time Use Act’’. 

8 SEC. 302. PURPOSES. 

9 The purposes of this title are as follows: 

10 (1) An effective and efficient government keeps 

11 careful track of how it spends the taxpayers’ money 

12 and eliminates unnecessary, inefficient, or unreason13 able expenditures. To advance this policy, executive 

14 branch employees should spend their duty hours per15 forming the work of the Federal Government and 

16 serving the public. 

17 (2) Federal law allows Federal employees to 

18 represent labor organizations and perform other 

19 non-agency business while being paid by American 

20 taxpayers (taxpayer-funded union time). The Con21 gress, however, has also instructed the executive 

22 branch to interpret the law in a manner consistent 

23 with the requirements of an effective and efficient 

24 government. 


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1 (3) To that end, agencies should ensure that 

2 taxpayer-funded union time is used efficiently and 

3 authorized in amounts that are reasonable, nec4 essary, and in the public interest. Federal employees 

5 should spend the clear majority of their duty hours 

6 working for the public. No agency should pay for 

7 Federal labor organizations’ expenses, except where 

8 required by law. Agencies should eliminate unre9 stricted grants of taxpayer-funded union time and 

10 instead require employees to obtain specific author11 ization before using such time. Agencies should also 

12 monitor use of taxpayer-funded union time, ensure it 

13 is used only for authorized purposes, and make in14 formation regarding its use readily available to the 

15 public. 

16 SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS. 

17 For purposes of this title, the following definitions 

18 shall apply: 

19 (1) AGENCY.—Except for purposes of section 

20 305, the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the 

21 term in section 7103(a)(3) of title 5, United States 

22 Code, but includes only executive agencies. For pur23 poses of section 305, the term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

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1 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code, but excludes 

2 the Government Accountability Office. 

3 (2) AGENCY BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘agency 

4 business’’ means work performed by Federal employ5 ees, including detailees or assignees, on behalf of an 

6 agency, but does not include work performed on tax7 payer-funded union time. 

8 (3) BARGAINING UNIT.—The term ‘‘bargaining 

9 unit’’ means a group of employees represented by an 

10 exclusive representative in an appropriate unit for 

11 collective bargaining under subchapter II of chapter 

12 71 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

14 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 

15 (5) DISCOUNTED USE OF GOVERNMENT PROP16 ERTY.—The term ‘‘discounted use of government 

17 property’’ means charging less to use government 

18 property than the value of the use of such property, 

19 as determined by the General Services Administra20 tion, where applicable, or otherwise by the generally 

21 prevailing commercial cost of using such property. 

22 (6) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ has the 

23 meaning given the term in section 7103(a)(2) of title 

24 5, United States Code, except for purposes of section 

25 305, in which case it means an individual employed 


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1 in an ‘‘Executive agency’’ as that term is defined in 

2 section 105 of title 5, United States Code, but ex3 cluding the Government Accountability Office. 

4 (7) GRIEVANCE.—The term ‘‘grievance’’ has 

5 the meaning given the term in section 7103(a)(9) of 

6 title 5, United States Code. 

7 (8) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

8 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

9 section 7103(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (9) PAID TIME.—The term ‘‘paid time’’ means 

11 time for which an employee is paid by the Federal 

12 Government, including both duty time, in which the 

13 employee performs agency business, and taxpayer14 funded union time. It does not include time spent on 

15 paid or unpaid leave, or an employee’s off-duty 

16 hours. 

17 (10) TAXPAYER-FUNDED UNION TIME.—The 

18 term ‘‘taxpayer-funded union time’’ means official 

19 time granted to an employee pursuant to section 

20 7131 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (11) UNION TIME RATE.—The term ‘‘union 

22 time rate’’ means the total number of duty hours in 

23 the fiscal year that employees in a bargaining unit 

24 used for taxpayer-funded union time, divided by the 

25 number of employees in such bargaining unit. 


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1 SEC. 304. STANDARDS FOR REASONABLE AND EFFICIENT 

2 TAXPAYER-FUNDED UNION TIME USAGE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—No agency shall agree to author4 ize any amount of taxpayer-funded union time under sec5 tion 7131(d) of title 5, United States Code, unless such 

6 time is reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest. 

7 Notwithstanding such section 7131(d), agreements au8 thorizing taxpayer-funded union time that would cause the 

9 union time rate in a bargaining unit to exceed 1 hour 

10 should ordinarily, taking into account the size of the bar11 gaining unit, and the amount of taxpayer-funded union 

12 time anticipated to be granted under sections 7131(a) and 

13 7131(c) of such title, not be considered reasonable, nec14 essary, and in the public interest, or to satisfy the ‘‘effec15 tive and efficient’’ goal set forth in section 302 of this 

16 title and section 7101(b) of such title. Agencies shall com17 mit the time and resources necessary to strive for a nego18 tiated union time rate of 1 hour or less, and to fulfill their 

19 obligation to bargain in good faith. 

20 (b) REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an agency agrees to au22 thorize amounts of taxpayer-funded union time 

23 under section 7131(d) of title 5, United States Code, 

24 that would cause the union time rate in a bargaining 

25 unit to exceed 1 hour (or proposes to the Federal 

26 Service Impasses Panel or an arbitrator engaging in 


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1 interest arbitration an amount that would cause the 

2 union time rate in a bargaining unit to exceed 1 

3 hour), the agency head shall report this agreement 

4 or proposal to the President (through the Director 

5 of the Office of Personnel Management), the Com6 mittee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 

7 Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland 

8 Security and Governmental Affairs within 15 days of 

9 such an agreement or proposal. Such report shall ex10 plain why such expenditures are reasonable, nec11 essary, and in the public interest, describe the ben12 efit (if any) the public will receive from the activities 

13 conducted by employees on such taxpayer-funded 

14 union time, and identify the total cost of such time 

15 to the agency. This reporting duty may not be dele16 gated. 

17 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Each agency head shall re18 quire relevant subordinate agency officials to inform 

19 the agency head 5 business days in advance of pre20 senting or accepting a proposal that would result in 

21 a union time rate of greater than 1 hour for any 

22 bargaining unit, if the subordinate agency officials 

23 anticipate they will present or agree to such a provi24 sion. 


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1 (3) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of this sub2 section shall not apply to a union time rate estab3 lished pursuant to an order of the Federal Service 

4 Impasses Panel or an arbitrator engaging in interest 

5 arbitration, provided that the agency had proposed 

6 that the Panel or arbitrator establish a union time 

7 rate of 1 hour or less. 

8 (c) APPLICATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

9 construed to prohibit any agency from authorizing tax10 payer-funded union time as required under sections 

11 7131(a) and 7131(c) of title 5, United States Code, or 

12 to direct an agency to negotiate to include in a collective 

13 bargaining agreement a term that precludes an agency 

14 from granting taxpayer-funded union time pursuant to 

15 those provisions. 

16 SEC. 305. EMPLOYEE CONDUCT WITH REGARD TO AGENCY 

17 TIME AND RESOURCES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that Federal resources 

19 are used effectively and efficiently and in a manner con20 sistent with both the public interest and section 309, all 

21 employees shall adhere to the following requirements: 

22 (1) Employees may not engage in lobbying ac23 tivities during paid time, except in their official ca24 pacities as an employee. 


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1 (2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

2 employees shall spend at least three-quarters of their 

3 paid time, measured each fiscal year, performing 

4 agency business or attending necessary training (as 

5 required by their agency), in order to ensure that 

6 they develop and maintain the skills necessary to 

7 perform their agency duties efficiently and effec8 tively. 

9 (B) Employees who have spent one-quarter of 

10 their paid time in any fiscal year on non-agency 

11 business may continue to use taxpayer-funded union 

12 time in that fiscal year for purposes covered by sec13 tions 7131(a) or 7131(c) of title 5, United States 

14 Code. 

15 (C) Any time in excess of one-quarter of an em16 ployee’s paid time used to perform non-agency busi17 ness in a fiscal year shall count toward the limita18 tion set forth in subparagraph (A) in subsequent fis19 cal years. 

20 (3) No employee, when acting on behalf of a 

21 Federal labor organization, may be permitted the 

22 free or discounted use of government property or 

23 any other agency resources if such free or dis24 counted use is not generally available for non-agency 

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1 Federal organizations. Such property and resources 

2 include office or meeting space, reserved parking 

3 spaces, phones, photocopy machines, computers, and 

4 computer systems. 

5 (4) Employees may not be permitted reimburse6 ment for expenses incurred performing non-agency 

7 business, unless required by law or regulation. 

8 (5)(A) Employees may not use taxpayer-funded 

9 union time to prepare or pursue grievances (includ10 ing arbitration of grievances) brought against an 

11 agency under procedures negotiated pursuant to sec12 tion 7121 of title 5, United States Code, except 

13 where such use is otherwise authorized by law or 

14 regulation. 

15 (B) The prohibition in subparagraph (A) does 

16 not apply to— 

17 (i) an employee using taxpayer-funded 

18 union time to prepare for, confer with an exclu19 sive representative regarding, or present a 

20 grievance brought on the employee’s own be21 half; or to appear as a witness in any grievance 

22 proceeding; or 

23 (ii) an employee using taxpayer-funded 

24 union time to challenge an adverse personnel 

25 action taken against the employee in retaliation 


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1 for engaging in federally protected whistle2 blower activity, including for engaging in activ3 ity protected under section 2302(b)(8) of title 

4 5, United States Code, under section 78u5 6(h)(1) of title 15, United States Code, under 

6 section 3730(h) of title 31, United States Code, 

7 or under any other similar whistleblower law. 

8 (b) ADVANCE AUTHORIZATION.—Employees may not 

9 use taxpayer-funded union time without advance written 

10 authorization from their agency, except where obtaining 

11 prior approval is deemed impracticable under regulations 

12 or guidance adopted pursuant to subsection (c). 

13 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this 

15 section shall become effective 45 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act. The Office of Personnel 

17 Management shall be responsible for administering 

18 the requirements of this section. Not later than 45 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di20 rector shall examine whether existing regulations are 

21 consistent with the rules set forth in this section. If 

22 the regulations are not, the Director shall propose 

23 for notice and public comment, as soon as prac24 ticable, appropriate regulations to clarify and assist 


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1 agencies in implementing these rules, consistent with 

2 applicable law. 

3 (2) AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—The head of each 

4 agency is responsible for ensuring compliance by em5 ployees within such agency with the requirements of 

6 this section. Each agency head shall examine wheth7 er existing regulations, policies, and practices are 

8 consistent with the rules set forth in this section. If 

9 they are not, the agency head shall take all appro10 priate steps to bring them into compliance with this 

11 section as soon as practicable. 

12 (d) APPLICATION.—Nothing in this title shall be con13 strued to prohibit agencies from permitting employees to 

14 take unpaid leave to perform representational activities 

15 under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, including 

16 for purposes covered by section 7121(b)(1)(C) of such 

17 title. 

18 SEC. 306. PREVENTING UNLAWFUL OR UNAUTHORIZED EX19 PENDITURES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any employee who uses taxpayer21 funded union time without advance written agency author22 ization required by section 305(b), or for purposes not spe23 cifically authorized by the agency, shall be considered ab24 sent without leave and subject to appropriate disciplinary 

25 action. Repeated misuse of taxpayer-funded union time 


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1 may constitute serious misconduct that impairs the effi2 ciency of the Federal service. In such instances, agencies 

3 shall take appropriate disciplinary action to address such 

4 misconduct. 

5 (b) PROCEDURE FOR AUTHORIZING UNION TIME.— 

6 As soon as practicable, but not later than 180 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, each agency shall de8 velop and implement a procedure governing the authoriza9 tion of taxpayer-funded union time under section 305(b). 

10 Such procedure shall, at a minimum, require a requesting 

11 employee to specify the number of taxpayer-funded union 

12 time hours to be used and the specific purposes for which 

13 such time will be used, providing sufficient detail to iden14 tify the tasks the employee will undertake. That procedure 

15 shall also allow the authorizing official to assess whether 

16 it is reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest to 

17 grant such amount of time to accomplish such tasks. For 

18 continuing or ongoing requests, each agency shall require 

19 requests for authorization renewals to be submitted not 

20 less than once per pay period. Each agency shall further 

21 require separate advance authorization for any use of tax22 payer-funded union time in excess of previously authorized 

23 hours or for purposes for which such time was not pre24 viously authorized. 


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1 (c) MONITORING USE OF UNION TIME.—As soon as 

2 practicable, but not later than 180 days after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act, each agency shall develop and im4 plement a system to monitor the use of taxpayer-funded 

5 union time to ensure that it is used only for authorized 

6 purposes, and that it is not used contrary to law or regula7 tion. In developing these systems, each agency shall give 

8 special attention to ensuring taxpayer-funded union time 

9 is not used for— 

10 (1) internal union business in violation of sec11 tion 7131(b) of title 5, United States Code; 

12 (2) lobbying activities in violation of section 

13 1913 of title 18, United States Code, or in violation 

14 of section 305(a)(1) of this title; or 

15 (3) political activities in violation of subchapter 

16 III of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 SEC. 307. AGENCY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall submit, by a 

19 date as determined by the Director, an annual report to 

20 the Director, the Committee on Oversight and Reform of 

21 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

22 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the fol23 lowing: 


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1 (1) The purposes for which the agency has au2 thorized the use of taxpayer-funded union time, and 

3 the amounts of time used for each such purpose. 

4 (2) The job title and total compensation of each 

5 employee who has used taxpayer-funded union time 

6 in the fiscal year, as well as the total number of 

7 hours each employee spent on these activities and 

8 the proportion of each employee’s total paid hours 

9 that number represents. 

10 (3) If the agency has allowed labor organiza11 tions or individuals on taxpayer-funded union time 

12 the free or discounted use of government property, 

13 the total value of such free or discounted use. 

14 (4) Any expenses, including travel or per diem 

15 expenses, the agency paid for activities conducted on 

16 taxpayer-funded union time. 

17 (5) The amount of any reimbursement paid by 

18 the labor organizations for the use of government 

19 property. 

20 (b) NOTIFICATION; REPORT.— 

21 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Agencies shall notify the 

22 Interagency Labor Relations Working Group (estab23 lished under title IV of this Act) if a bargaining 

24 unit’s union time rate exceeds 1 hour. 


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1 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act and annually there3 after, the Director shall submit, to the Committee 

4 on Oversight and Reform of the House of Represent5 atives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

6 Governmental Affairs, a report summarizing the 

7 number and contents of notifications received under 

8 paragraph (1) during the previous year. 

9 (c) EXPLANATION.—If an agency’s aggregate union 

10 time rate (defined in this subsection as the average of the 

11 union time rates in each agency bargaining unit, weighted 

12 by the number of employees in each unit) has increased 

13 overall from the last fiscal year, the agency shall explain 

14 this increase in the report required under subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 308. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AND TRANSPARENCY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall publish 

18 a standardized form that each agency shall use in pre19 paring the reports required by section 307. 

20 (b) ANALYSIS.—Not later than June 30 of each year, 

21 the Director shall analyze the agency submissions under 

22 section 307 and publish an annual report detailing— 

23 (1) for each agency and for agencies in the ag24 gregate, the number of employees using taxpayer25 funded union time, the number of employees using 


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1 taxpayer-funded union time separately listed by in2 tervals of the proportion of paid time spent on such 

3 activities, the number of hours spent on taxpayer4 funded union time, the cost of taxpayer-funded 

5 union time (measured by the compensation of the 

6 employees involved), the aggregate union time rate, 

7 the number of bargaining unit employees, and the 

8 percentage change in each of these values from the 

9 previous fiscal year; 

10 (2) for each agency and in the aggregate, the 

11 value of the free or discounted use of any govern12 ment property the agency has provided to labor or13 ganizations, and any expenses, such as travel or per 

14 diems, the agency paid for activities conducted on 

15 taxpayer-funded union time, as well as the amount 

16 of any reimbursement paid for such use of govern17 ment property, and the percentage change in each of 

18 these values from the previous fiscal year; 

19 (3) the purposes for which taxpayer-funded 

20 union time was granted; and 

21 (4) the information required by section 

22 307(a)(2) for employees using taxpayer-funded 

23 union time, sufficiently aggregated that such disclo24 sure would not unduly risk disclosing information 


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1 protected by law, including personally identifiable in2 formation. 

3 (c) ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE.—The Director shall, 

4 after consulting with the Chief Human Capital Officers 

5 designated under chapter 14 of title 5, United States 

6 Code, promulgate any additional guidance that may be 

7 necessary or appropriate to assist the heads of agencies 

8 in complying with the requirements of this title. 

9 SEC. 309. IMPLEMENTATION AND RENEGOTIATION OF COL10 LECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall implement the 

12 requirements of this title not later than 45 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, except for section 305(b), 

14 which shall be effective for employees at an agency when 

15 such agency implements the procedure required by section 

16 306(b). The head of each agency shall designate an official 

17 within the agency tasked with ensuring implementation of 

18 this title, and shall report the identity of such official to 

19 the Office of Personnel Management not later than 30 

20 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) CONSULTATION.—Each agency shall consult with 

22 employee labor representatives about the implementation 

23 of this title. On the earliest date permitted by law, and 

24 to effectuate the terms of this title, any agency that is 

25 party to a collective bargaining agreement that has at 


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1 least one provision that is inconsistent with any part of 

2 this title shall give any contractually required notice of its 

3 intent to alter the terms of such agreement and either re4 open negotiations and negotiate to obtain provisions con5 sistent with this title, or subsequently terminate such pro6 vision and implement the requirements of this title. 

7 (c) APPLICATION.—Nothing in this title shall abro8 gate any collective bargaining agreement in effect on the 

9 date of enactment of this title. 

10 TITLE IV—COST REDUCING IN 

11 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 

12 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Developing Efficient, 

14 Effective, and Cost-Reducing Approaches to Federal Sec15 tor Collective Bargaining Act’’. 

16 SEC. 402. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) Section 7101(b) of title 5, United States 

19 Code, requires the Federal Service Labor-Manage20 ment Relations Statute (in this section referred to as 

21 the ‘‘Statute’’) to be interpreted in a manner con22 sistent with the requirement of an effective and effi23 cient Government. Unfortunately, implementation of 

24 the Statute has fallen short of these goals. CBAs 

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1 gaining representatives often make it harder for 

2 agencies to reward high performers, hold low per3 formers accountable, or flexibly respond to oper4 ational needs. Many agencies and collective bar5 gaining representatives spend years renegotiating 

6 CBAs, with taxpayers paying for both sides’ nego7 tiators. Agencies must also engage in prolonged ne8 gotiations before making even minor operational 

9 changes, like relocating office space. 

10 (2) The Federal Government must do more to 

11 apply the Statute in a manner consistent with effec12 tive and efficient Government. 

13 (3) To fulfill this obligation, agencies should se14 cure CBAs that— 

15 (A) promote an effective and efficient 

16 means of accomplishing agency missions; 

17 (B) encourage the highest levels of em18 ployee performance and ethical conduct; 

19 (C) ensure employees are accountable for 

20 their conduct and performance on the job; 

21 (D) expand agency flexibility to address 

22 operational needs; 

23 (E) reduce the cost of agency operations, 

24 including with respect to the use of taxpayer25 funded union time; 


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1 (F) are consistent with applicable laws, 

2 rules, and regulations; 

3 (G) do not cover matters that are not, by 

4 law, subject to bargaining; and 

5 (H) preserve management rights under 

6 section 7106(a) of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (4) Further, agencies that form part of an ef8 fective and efficient Government should not take 

9 more than a year to renegotiate CBAs. 

10 SEC. 403. DEFINITIONS. 

11 For purposes of this title: 

12 (1) CBA.—The term ‘‘CBA’’ means a collective 

13 bargaining agreement of a fixed or indefinite dura14 tion reached through substantive bargaining, as op15 posed to— 

16 (A) agreements reached through impact 

17 and implementation bargaining pursuant to sec18 tions 7106(b)(2) and 7106(b)(3) of title 5, 

19 United States Code; or 

20 (B) mid-term agreements, negotiated while 

21 the basic comprehensive labor contract is in ef22 fect, about subjects not included in such con23 tract. 

24 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

25 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 


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1 (3) TAXPAYER-FUNDED UNION TIME.—The 

2 term ‘‘taxpayer-funded union time’’ means time 

3 granted to a Federal employee to perform non-agen4 cy business during duty hours pursuant to section 

5 7131 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 SEC. 404. INTERAGENCY LABOR RELATIONS WORKING 

7 GROUP. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established an 

9 Interagency Labor Relations Working Group (referred to 

10 in this title as the ‘‘Labor Relations Group’’). 

11 (b) ORGANIZATION.—The Labor Relations Group 

12 shall consist of— 

13 (1) the Director of the Office of Personnel 

14 Management; 

15 (2) a representative who is a supervisor or a 

16 management official described under section 

17 7103(a)(2)(B)(iii) of title 5, United States Code, 

18 from each agency participating in the Labor Rela19 tions Group under subsection (d), as determined by 

20 the head of such agency in consultation with the Di21 rector; and 

22 (3) any employee who is such a supervisor or a 

23 management official within the Office of Personnel 

24 Management, as assigned by the Director. 


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1 (c) CHAIR; ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Direc2 tor shall chair the Labor Relations Group and, subject to 

3 the availability of appropriations, provide administrative 

4 support for the Labor Relations Group. 

5 (d) AGENCIES.— 

6 (1) PARTICIPATION.—Agencies with at least 

7 1,000 employees represented by a collective bar8 gaining representative pursuant to chapter 71 of 

9 title 5, United States Code, shall participate in the 

10 Labor Relations Group. Agencies with a smaller 

11 number of employees represented by a collective bar12 gaining representative may, at the election of their 

13 agency head and with the concurrence of the Direc14 tor, participate in the Labor Relations Group. 

15 (2) SUPPORT.—Agencies participating in the 

16 Labor Relations Group shall provide assistance help17 ful in carrying out the responsibilities outlined in 

18 subsection (e) of this section. Such assistance shall 

19 include designating an agency employee to serve as 

20 a point of contact with the Office of Personnel Man21 agement responsible for providing the Labor Rela22 tions Group with sample language for proposals and 

23 counterproposals on significant matters proposed for 

24 inclusion in CBAs, as well as for analyzing and dis25 cussing with the Office of Personnel Management 


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1 and the Labor Relations Group the effects of signifi2 cant CBA provisions on agency effectiveness and ef3 ficiency. Participating agencies shall provide other 

4 assistance as necessary to support the Labor Rela5 tions Group in its mission. 

6 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS.—The Labor 

7 Relations Group shall assist the Director on matters in8 volving labor-management relations in the executive 

9 branch. Its responsibilities shall include the following: 

10 (1) Gathering information to support agency 

11 negotiating efforts, including the submissions re12 quired under section 409 of this title, and creating 

13 an inventory of language on significant subjects of 

14 bargaining that have relevance to more than one 

15 agency and that have been proposed for inclusion in 

16 at least one CBA. 

17 (2) Developing model ground rules for negotia18 tions that, if implemented, would minimize delay, set 

19 reasonable limits for good-faith negotiations, call for 

20 the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to 

21 mediate disputed issues not resolved within a reason22 able time, and, as appropriate, promptly bring re23 maining unresolved issues to the Federal Service Im24 passes Panel (in this title referred to as the 

25 ‘‘Panel’’) for resolution. 


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1 (3) Analyzing provisions of CBAs on subjects of 

2 bargaining that have relevance to more than one 

3 agency, particularly those that may infringe on, or 

4 otherwise affect, reserved management rights. Such 

5 analysis shall include an assessment of CBA provi6 sions that cover comparable subjects, without in7 fringing, or otherwise affecting, reserved manage8 ment rights. The analysis shall also assess the con9 sequences of such CBA provisions on Federal effec10 tiveness, efficiency, cost of operations, and employee 

11 accountability and performance. The analysis shall 

12 take particular note of how certain provisions may 

13 impede the policies set forth in section 402 of this 

14 title or the orderly implementation of laws, rules, or 

15 regulations. The Labor Relations Group may exam16 ine general trends and commonalities across CBAs, 

17 and their effects on bargaining-unit operations, but 

18 need not separately analyze every provision of each 

19 CBA in every Federal bargaining unit. 

20 (4) Sharing information and analysis, including 

21 significant proposals and counterproposals offered in 

22 bargaining, in order to reduce duplication of efforts 

23 and encourage common approaches across agencies, 

24 as appropriate. 


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1 (5) Establishing ongoing communications 

2 among agencies engaging with the same labor orga3 nizations in order to facilitate common solutions to 

4 common bargaining initiatives. 

5 (6) Assisting the Director in developing, where 

6 appropriate, Government-wide approaches to bar7 gaining issues that advance the policies set forth in 

8 section 402 of this title. 

9 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

10 first meeting of the Labor Relations Group, the Director, 

11 as the Chair of the group, shall submit, to the President 

12 (through the Office of Management and Budget), the 

13 Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Rep14 resentatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, a report pro16 posing recommendations for meeting the goals set forth 

17 in section 402 of this title and for improving the organiza18 tion, structure, and functioning of labor relations pro19 grams across agencies. 

20 SEC. 405. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING OBJECTIVES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency that en22 gages in collective bargaining under chapter 71 of title 5, 

23 United States Code, shall direct appropriate officials with24 in each agency to prepare a report on all operative CBAs 

25 at least 1 year before their expiration or renewal date. The 


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1 report shall recommend new or revised CBA language the 

2 agency could seek to include in a renegotiated agreement 

3 that would better support the objectives of section 402 of 

4 this title. The officials preparing the report shall consider 

5 the analysis and advice of the Labor Relations Group in 

6 making recommendations for revisions. These reports 

7 shall be deemed guidance and advice for agency manage8 ment related to collective bargaining under section 

9 7114(b)(4)(C) of title 5, United States Code, and thus not 

10 subject to disclosure to the exclusive representative or its 

11 authorized representative. 

12 (b) CBA NEGOTIATION REQUIREMENTS.—Consistent 

13 with the requirements and provisions of chapter 71 of title 

14 5, United States Code, and other applicable laws and reg15 ulations, an agency, when negotiating with a collective 

16 bargaining representative, shall— 

17 (1) establish collective bargaining objectives 

18 that advance the policies of section 402 of this title, 

19 with such objectives informed, as appropriate, by the 

20 reports required by subsection (a) of this section; 

21 (2) consider the analysis and advice of the 

22 Labor Relations Group in establishing these collec23 tive bargaining objectives and when evaluating col24 lective bargaining representative proposals; 


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1 (3) make every effort to secure a CBA that 

2 meets these objectives; and 

3 (4) ensure management and supervisor partici4 pation in the negotiating team representing the 

5 agency. 

6 SEC. 406. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCEDURES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—To achieve the purposes of this 

8 title, agencies shall begin collective bargaining negotia9 tions by making their best effort to negotiate ground rules 

10 that minimize delay, set reasonable time limits for good11 faith negotiations, call for Federal Mediation and Concilia12 tion Service mediation of disputed issues not resolved 

13 within those time limits, and, as appropriate, promptly 

14 bring remaining unresolved issues to the Panel for resolu15 tion. For collective bargaining negotiations, a negotiating 

16 period of six weeks or less to achieve ground rules, and 

17 a negotiating period of between four and six months for 

18 a CBA under those ground rules, shall ordinarily be con19 sidered reasonable and to satisfy the goal set forth in sec20 tion 402(3)(A) of this title. Agencies shall commit the time 

21 and resources necessary to satisfy these temporal objec22 tives and to fulfill their obligation to bargain in good faith. 

23 Any negotiations to establish ground rules that do not con24 clude after a reasonable period shall be expeditiously ad25 vanced to mediation and, as necessary, to the Panel. 


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1 (b) NEGOTIATIONS DEADLINES.—During any collec2 tive bargaining negotiations under chapter 71 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, and consistent with section 7114(b) 

4 of that chapter, the agency shall negotiate in good faith 

5 to reach agreement on a CBA, memorandum of under6 standing, or any other type of binding agreement that pro7 motes the policies outlined in section 402 of this title. If 

8 such negotiations last longer than the period established 

9 by the CBA ground rules—or, absent a preset deadline, 

10 a reasonable time—the agency shall consider whether re11 questing assistance from the Federal Mediation and Con12 ciliation Service and, as appropriate, the Panel, would bet13 ter promote effective and efficient Government than would 

14 continuing negotiations. Such consideration should evalu15 ate the likelihood that continuing negotiations without 

16 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service assistance or 

17 referral to the Panel would produce an agreement con18 sistent with the goals of section 402 of this title, as well 

19 as the cost to the public of continuing to pay for both 

20 agency and collective bargaining representative negoti21 ating teams. Upon the conclusion of the sixth month of 

22 any negotiation, the agency head shall receive notice from 

23 appropriate agency staff and shall receive monthly notifi24 cations thereafter regarding the status of negotiations 

25 until they are complete. The agency head shall notify the 


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1 President through the Office of Personnel Management of 

2 any negotiations that have lasted longer than nine months, 

3 in which the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Con4 ciliation Service either has not been requested or, if re5 quested, has not resulted in agreement or advancement 

6 to the Panel. 

7 (c) FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH.—If 

8 the commencement or any other stage of bargaining is de9 layed or impeded because of a collective bargaining rep10 resentative’s failure to comply with the duty to negotiate 

11 in good faith pursuant to section 7114(b) of title 5, United 

12 States Code, the agency shall consider whether to— 

13 (1) file an unfair labor practice complaint under 

14 section 7118 of title 5, United States Code, after 

15 considering evidence of bad-faith negotiating, includ16 ing refusal to meet to bargain, refusal to meet as 

17 frequently as necessary, refusal to submit proposals 

18 or counterproposals, undue delays in bargaining, 

19 undue delays in submission of proposals or counter20 proposals, inadequate preparation for bargaining, 

21 and other conduct that constitutes bad-faith negoti22 ating; or 

23 (2) propose a new contract, memorandum, or 

24 other change in agency policy and implement that 


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1 proposal if the collective bargaining representative 

2 does not offer counterproposals in a timely manner. 

3 (d) NO DELAY FOR UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE COM4 PLAINT.—An agency’s filing of an unfair labor practice 

5 complaint under section 7118 of title 5, United States 

6 Code, against a collective bargaining representative shall 

7 not further delay negotiations. Agencies shall negotiate in 

8 good faith or request assistance from the Federal Medi9 ation and Conciliation Service and, as appropriate, the 

10 Panel, while such an unfair labor practice complaint is 

11 pending. 

12 (e) WRITTEN PROPOSAL EXCHANGE.—In developing 

13 proposed ground rules, and during any negotiations, agen14 cy negotiators shall request the exchange of written pro15 posals, so as to facilitate resolution of negotiability issues 

16 and assess the likely effects of specific proposals on agency 

17 operations and management rights. To the extent that an 

18 agency’s CBAs, ground rules, or other agreements contain 

19 requirements for a bargaining approach other than the ex20 change of written proposals addressing specific issues, the 

21 agency shall, at the soonest opportunity, take steps to 

22 eliminate them. If such requirements are based on now23 revoked Executive orders, including Executive Order 

24 12871 (58 Fed. Reg. 52201; relating to Labor-Manage25 ment Partnerships) and Executive Order 13522 (74 Fed. 


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1 Reg. 66203; relating to Creating Labor-Management Fo2 rums to Improve Delivery of Government Services), agen3 cies shall take action to rescind these requirements. 

4 (f) AGREEMENT REVIEW.—Pursuant to section 

5 7114(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code, the agency head 

6 shall review all binding agreements with collective bar7 gaining representatives to ensure that all their provisions 

8 are consistent with all applicable laws, rules, and regula9 tions. When conducting this review, the agency head shall 

10 ascertain whether the agreement contains any provisions 

11 concerning subjects that are non-negotiable, including pro12 visions that violate Government-wide requirements set 

13 forth in any applicable law, rule, or regulation. If an 

14 agreement contains any such provisions, the agency head 

15 shall disapprove such provisions. The agency head shall 

16 take all practicable steps to render the determinations re17 quired by this subsection within 30 days of the date the 

18 agreement is executed, in accordance with section 7114(c) 

19 of title 5, United States Code, so as not to permit any 

20 part of an agreement to become effective that is contrary 

21 to applicable law, rule, or regulation. 

22 SEC. 407. PERMISSIVE BARGAINING. 

23 The heads of agencies subject to the provisions of 

24 chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, may not nego25 tiate over the substance of the subjects set forth in section 


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1 7106(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, and shall in2 struct subordinate officials that they may not negotiate 

3 over those same subjects. 

4 SEC. 408. EFFICIENT BARGAINING OVER PROCEDURES AND 

5 APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENTS. 

6 (a) MATTERS COVERED BY EXISTING AGREE7 MENTS.—Before beginning negotiations during a CBA 

8 over matters addressed by sections 7106(b)(2) or 

9 7106(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code, agencies shall 

10 evaluate whether or not such matters are already covered 

11 by the CBA and therefore are not subject to the duty to 

12 bargain. If such matters are already covered by a CBA, 

13 the agency shall not bargain over such matters. 

14 (b) PERMISSIBLE BARGAINING.—Consistent with 

15 section 402 of this title, agencies that engage in bar16 gaining over procedures pursuant to section 7106(b)(2) of 

17 title 5, United States Code, shall, consistent with their ob18 ligation to negotiate in good faith, bargain over only those 

19 items that constitute procedures associated with the exer20 cise of management rights, which do not include measures 

21 that excessively interfere with the exercise of such rights. 

22 Likewise, consistent with section 402 of this title, agencies 

23 that engage in bargaining over appropriate arrangements 

24 pursuant to section 7106(b)(3) of title 5, United States 

25 Code, shall, consistent with their obligation to negotiate 


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1 in good faith, bargain over only those items that constitute 

2 appropriate arrangements for employees adversely af3 fected by the exercise of management rights. In such nego4 tiations, agencies shall ensure that a resulting appropriate 

5 arrangement does not excessively interfere with the exer6 cise of management rights. 

7 SEC. 409. PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY. 

8 (a) REPORT CBAS.—Each agency subject to chapter 

9 71 of title 5, United States Code, that engages in any ne10 gotiation with a collective bargaining representative, as de11 fined therein, shall submit to the Director each CBA cur12 rently in effect and its expiration date. Such agency shall 

13 also submit any new CBA and its expiration date to the 

14 Director within 30 days of its effective date, and submit 

15 new arbitral awards to the Director within 10 business 

16 days of receipt. The Director shall make each CBA pub17 licly accessible on the internet as soon as practicable. 

18 (b) CBA REPORT FORMAT.—Within 90 days of the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall prescribe 

20 a reporting format for submissions required by subsection 

21 (a) of this section. Within 30 days of the Director’s having 

22 prescribed the reporting format, agencies shall use this re23 porting format and make the submissions required under 

24 subsection (a) of this section. 


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1 SEC. 410. LACK OF REPORT. 

2 The failure to produce a report for the agency head 

3 prior to the termination or renewal of a CBA under sec4 tion 405(a) shall not prevent an agency from opening a 

5 CBA for renegotiation. 

6 SEC. 411. APPLICATION. 

7 Nothing in this title shall abrogate any collective bar8 gaining agreement in effect on the date of enactment of 

9 this title. 

Æ 


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