I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2850 

To provide for enhanced retirement benefits for administrative law judges. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2009 

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. FRANK of 

Massachusetts, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To provide for enhanced retirement benefits for 

administrative law judges. 

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; REFERENCES. 

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

5 ‘‘Administrative Law Judges Retirement Act of 2009’’. 

6 (b) REFERENCES.—Whenever in this Act an amend7 ment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section 

8 or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be 

9 made to a section or other provision of title 5, United 

10 States Code. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE CIVIL SERVICE RE2 TIREMENT SYSTEM. 

3 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 8331 is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (30), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (2) in paragraph (31), by striking the period 

7 and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

9 ‘‘(32) ‘administrative law judge’ means an ad10 ministrative law judge appointed under section 3105 

11 or a similar prior provision of law.’’. 

12 (b) DEDUCTIONS, CONTRIBUTIONS, AND DEPOS13 ITS.—Section 8334 is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘or cus15 toms and border protection officer,’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘customs and border protection officer, or adminis17 trative law judge,’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

19 (A) in the first sentence of clause (i), by 

20 striking ‘‘clause (ii),’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (ii) 

21 or (iii),’’; and 

22 (B) by adding after clause (ii) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(iii) In the case of an administrative law judge, the 

25 amount to be contributed under this subparagraph shall 

26 (instead of the amount described in clause (i)) be equal 


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1 to the amount derived by multiplying the administrative 

2 law judge’s basic pay by the percentage that is 1 percent3 age point less than the percentage applicable under sub4 section (c).’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (c), by adding after the item 

6 relating to a nuclear materials courier the following: 

‘‘Administrative law judge ......................... 5 .......... June 11, 1947, to June 

30, 1948. 

6 .......... July 1, 1948, to October 31, 1956. 

6.5 ....... November 1, 1956, to 

December 31, 1969. 

7 .......... January 1, 1970, to December 31, 1998. 

7.25 ..... January 1, 1999, to December 31, 1999. 

7.4 ....... January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2000. 

7 .......... January 1, 2001, to 

(but not including) 

the effective date of 

the Administrative 

Law Judges Retirement Act of 2009. 

8 .......... The effective date of the 

Administrative Law 

Judges Retirement 

Act of 2009 and 

thereafter.’’. 

7 (c) IMMEDIATE RETIREMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8336 is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(q) An employee who is separated from the service 

11 after completing 10 years of service as an administrative 

12 law judge and becoming 60 years of age is entitled to an 

13 annuity. An employee who is separated from the service 


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1 voluntarily after completing 10 years of service as an ad2 ministrative law judge but before becoming 60 years of 

3 age is entitled to a reduced annuity.’’. 

4 (2) DISCONTINUED SERVICE OR EARLY VOL5 UNTARY RETIREMENT.—Section 8336(d) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In the case of 

7 an administrative law judge, the preceding provi8 sions of this subsection shall be applied by treating 

9 any reference in such provisions to removal or sepa10 ration for ‘misconduct or delinquency’ or for ‘mis11 conduct or unacceptable performance’ to refer to re12 moval under section 1215, 7521, or 7532.’’. 

13 (d) COMPUTATION OF ANNUITY.—Section 8339 is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘(r), and (s)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘(r), (s), and (v)’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the 

18 following: ‘‘The annuity computed under subsections 

19 (f) and (v) for a employee retiring under the second 

sentence of section 8336(q) is reduced by 1 20 ⁄12 of 1 

21 percent for each full month not in excess of 60 

months, and 1 22 ⁄6 of 1 percent for each full month in 

23 excess of 60 months, the employee is under 60 years 

24 of age at the date of separation.’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘(r), or (s)’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘(r), (s), or (v)’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(v) The annuity of an employee retiring under sec5 tion 8336(q) is computed under subsection (a), except, if 

6 the employee has had at least 5 years’ service as an ad7 ministrative law judge, the employee’s annuity is com8 puted with respect to— 

9 ‘‘(1) such employee’s service as an administra10 tive law judge; and 

11 ‘‘(2) such employee’s military service not ex12 ceeding 5 years; 

by multiplying 21 13 ⁄2 percent of such employee’s average pay 

14 by the years of that service.’’. 

15 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) Sections 8337(a) and 8339(g) are amended by striking 

17 ‘‘or (s)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘(s), or (v)’’. 

18 (2) Subsections (j), (k)(1), (l), and (m) of section 

19 8339, subsections (b)(1) and (d) of section 8341, section 

20 8343a(c), and section 8344(a)(A) are amended by striking 

21 ‘‘and (s)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘(s), and 

22 (v)’’. 

23 (3) Subsections (j)(3) (in the third sentence before 

24 the sentence containing subparagraph (A)), (j)(5)(C)(iii), 


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1 and (k)(2)(C) of section 8339 are amended by striking 

2 ‘‘and (r)’’ and inserting ‘‘(r), and (v)’’. 

3 (4) Section 8335(a) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘8331(29)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘8331(30)(A)’’. 

5 SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE FEDERAL EMPLOY6 EES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM. 

7 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 8401 is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (35), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) in paragraph (36), by striking the period 

11 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(37) ‘administrative law judge’ means an ad14 ministrative law judge appointed under section 3105 

15 or a similar prior provision of law.’’. 

16 (b) EARLY RETIREMENT.—Section 8414(b) is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) In the case of an administrative law judge, the 

19 preceding provisions of this subsection shall be applied by 

20 treating any reference in such provisions to removal or 

21 separation for ‘misconduct or delinquency’ or for ‘mis22 conduct or unacceptable performance’ to refer to removal 

23 under section 1215, 7521, or 7532.’’. 

24 (c) COMPUTATION OF ANNUITY.—Section 8415 is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (h)(2), by striking all that fol2 lows ‘‘air traffic controller,’’ and inserting ‘‘customs 

3 and border protection officer, or administrative law 

4 judge.’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(n) The annuity of an administrative law judge, or 

7 a former administrative law judge, retiring under this sub8 chapter is computed under subsection (a), except that if 

9 the individual has had at least 5 years of service as an 

10 administrative law judge, so much of the annuity as is 

11 computed with respect to such type of service, not exceed12 ing a total of 20 years, shall be computed by multiplying 

17 13 ⁄10 percent of such employee’s average pay by the years 

14 of that service.’’. 

15 (d) DEDUCTIONS FROM PAY.—Section 8422(a)(3) is 

16 amended by adding after the item relating to a customs 

17 and border protection officer the following: 

‘‘Administrative law judge ......................... 7 .......... January 1, 1987, to December 31, 1998. 

7.25 ..... January 1, 1999, to December 31, 1999. 

7.4 ....... January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2000. 

7 .......... January 1, 2001, to 

(but not including) 

the effective date of 

the Administrative 

Law Judges Retirement Act of 2009. 


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8 .......... The effective date of the 

Administrative Law 

Judges Retirement 

Act of 2009 and 

thereafter.’’. 

1 (e) GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 8423 is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘and 

4 employees under sections 302 and 303 of the Cen5 tral Intelligence Agency Retirement Act, multiplied 

6 by’’ and inserting ‘‘employees under sections 302 

7 and 303 of the Central Intelligence Agency Retire8 ment Act, and administrative law judges, multiplied 

9 by’’; 

10 (2) by amending paragraph (2) of subsection 

11 (a) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(2) In determining any normal-cost percentage to 

13 be applied under this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(A) amounts provided for under section 8422 

15 shall be taken into account; and 

16 ‘‘(B) amounts provided by or for administrative 

17 law judges under subchapter III of chapter 83 (in18 cluding sections 8334 and 8348, and whether pro19 vided before, on, or after the effective date of this 

20 subparagraph) shall, to the extent they exceed the 

21 normal cost of the benefits which are (i) provided for 


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1 under subchapter III of chapter 83, and (ii) attrib2 utable to service performed as an administrative law 

3 judge (within the meaning of such subchapter), be 

4 taken into account as if they had been provided by 

5 or for administrative law judges under this chap6 ter.’’; and 

7 (3) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by inserting ‘‘ad8 ministrative law judges,’’ after ‘‘military reserve 

9 technicians,’’ each place it appears. 

10 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act and the amendments 

12 made by this Act— 

13 (1) shall take effect 6 months after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act; and 

15 (2) except as provided in subsection (b), shall 

16 apply only with respect to administrative law judges 

17 first appointed on or after the effective date of this 

18 Act. 

19 (b) EXCEPTION.— 

20 (1) ELECTION FOR INCUMBENTS.—The amend21 ments made by this Act shall apply with respect to 

22 any individual serving as an administrative law 

23 judge on the effective date of this Act if appropriate 

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1 sonnel Management within 12 months after such ef2 fective date. 

3 (2) TREATMENT OF PRIOR SERVICE.— 

4 (A) DEPOSIT REQUIREMENT.—An indi5 vidual who makes an election under paragraph 

6 (1) shall, with respect to any administrative law 

7 judge service performed by such individual prior 

8 to the date as of which deductions from such 

9 individual’s pay begin to be made in accordance 

10 with the amendments made by this Act, be re11 quired to pay into the Civil Service Retirement 

12 and Disability Fund an amount equal to the 

13 difference between— 

14 (i) the unrefunded individual contribu15 tions that were made for such prior serv16 ice; and 

17 (ii) the individual contributions that 

18 would have been required if the rate (or 

19 rates) in effect for such prior service had 

20 been equal to the rate (or rates) actually in 

21 effect for such prior service, increased by 1 

22 percentage point, 

23 without interest. 

24 (B) EFFECT OF NOT MAKING DEPOSIT.— 

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1 paragraph (A) are not paid by an individual 

2 making an election under paragraph (1), any 

3 annuity based on the service of such indi4 vidual— 

5 (i) shall be computed in accordance 

6 with the amendments made by this Act; 

7 but 

8 (ii) shall be reduced in a manner simi9 lar to that set forth in section 

10 8334(d)(2)(B) of title 5, United States 

11 Code. 

12 (3) SURVIVOR ANNUITANTS.—In the case of an 

13 individual described in paragraph (1) who dies be14 fore the end of the 12-month period beginning on 

15 the effective date of this Act, any application or de16 posit under this subsection may, for purposes of any 

17 survivor annuity based on the service of such indi18 vidual, also be made by a survivor of such individual. 

19 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

20 term ‘‘administrative law judge’’ means an administrative 

21 law judge appointed under section 3105 of title 5, United 

22 States Code, or a similar prior provision of law. 


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1 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Office of Personnel Man2 agement may prescribe any regulations necessary to carry 

3 out this section. 

Æ 


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