I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3115 
To provide that all Federal employees in the executive branch of the Federal 
Government are at-will employees, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2023 
Mr. ROY (for himself, Mrs. HOUCHIN, Mr. OGLES, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. MCCLIN-
TOCK, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. BISHOP of 
North Carolina, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Ms. HAGEMAN, and Mrs. LUNA) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Oversight and Accountability 
A BILL 
To provide that all Federal employees in the executive branch 
of the Federal Government are at-will employees, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Service Reform 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT FOR FEDERAL EXECUTIVE 
BRANCH EMPLOYEES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
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(1) the term ‘‘adverse personnel action’’ means, 
with respect to an employee, a removal, a suspension 
for more than 14 days, a reduction in grade, a re-
duction in pay, or a furlough of 30 days or less; 
(2) the term ‘‘career employee’’ means any em-
ployee who is not a political appointee; 
(3) the term ‘‘covered position’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 2302(a)(2)(B) of title 
5, United States Code; 
(4) the term ‘‘employee’’— 
(A) has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 2105 of title 5, United States Code; and 
(B) includes— 
(i) an officer or employee of the 
United States Postal Service or the Postal 
Regulatory Commission; and 
(ii) notwithstanding subsection (b) of 
section 7425 of title 38, United States 
Code, any employee described in subsection 
(a) of such section 7425; and 
(5) the term ‘‘political appointee’’ means any 
employee who— 
(A) is appointed by the President; 
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(B) is a noncareer appointee (as that term 
is defined in section 3132(a)(7) of title 5, 
United States Code); 
(C) occupies a position under schedule C of 
subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations, or any successor regulations; 
or 
(D) occupies any other position in the civil 
service (as that term is defined in section 2101 
of title 5, United States Code) that is classified 
as a political position after the date of enact-
ment of this Act under regulations prescribed 
by the Director of the Office of Personnel Man-
agement. 
(b) AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, rule, or regulation, and except as 
provided in paragraph (2), any employee in the exec-
utive branch of the Federal Government— 
(A) shall be considered at-will; 
(B) may be subject to any adverse per-
sonnel action (up to and including removal) for 
good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all; and 
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(C) may not challenge or otherwise appeal 
an action described in subparagraph (B), except 
as provided in subsections (c) and (g). 
(2) LIMITATION.—An employee may not be 
subject to any adverse personnel action under this 
Act for a reason that is prohibited under section 
2302(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
(3) PROCEDURES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall es-
tablish procedures to enforce compliance with 
paragraph (2). 
(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this paragraph may be construed to grant an 
employee the right to review or appeal an ad-
verse personnel action outside of the procedures 
described in subparagraph (A), subsection (g), 
or subsection (h), as applicable. 
(c) REMOVAL OF CAREER EMPLOYEES.—With re-
spect to the removal of a career employee, the following 
procedures shall apply: 
(1) Before the applicable agency removes the 
career employee— 
(A) the agency official authorized to pro-
pose such action (referred to in this subsection 
as the ‘‘proposing official’’) shall provide the ca-
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reer employee with written notification of the 
proposed removal and the reasons for the pro-
posed removal; and 
(B) the career employee shall have 14 days 
to provide a written response to the notification 
received under subparagraph (A), except that 
the head of the applicable agency shall have 
sole and exclusive discretion to alter that re-
sponse period on a case-by-case basis. 
(2) Under procedures prescribed by the applica-
ble agency head, in the sole and exclusive discretion 
of the agency head, an agency official (who, except 
when the proposing official is the agency head, shall 
be an agency official other than the proposing offi-
cial) (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘deciding 
official’’)— 
(A) shall review the proposed removal and 
the response of the career employee under para-
graph (1); 
(B) may, in the sole and exclusive discre-
tion of the deciding official, conduct a hearing 
on the matter; and 
(C) after the review conducted under sub-
paragraph (A), and any hearing conducted 
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under subparagraph (B), shall decide whether 
to remove or retain the career employee. 
(3) The determination of a deciding official 
under paragraph (2) shall be the final decision of 
the applicable agency with respect to the career em-
ployee, unless, not later than 7 days after the date 
on which the deciding official makes that determina-
tion, the agency head reverses the determination of 
the deciding official, in which case the decision of 
the agency head shall be the final agency decision. 
(4) The final decision of an agency under para-
graph (3) shall be final and not subject to any ap-
peal or challenge, except that the President may 
overrule that final decision of the agency in accord-
ance with such procedures or regulations as the 
President may prescribe. 
(d) APPLICATION.—Chapter 43 of title 5, United 
States Code, shall not apply to any personnel action taken 
with respect to an employee under this Act. 
(e) ABOLISHMENT OF MSPB.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Merit Systems Protection 
Board (referred to in this subsection as the 
‘‘Board’’) is hereby abolished. 
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(2) DISPOSAL OF ASSETS, OBLIGATIONS, AND 
LIABILITIES.—The Chairman of the Board may take 
such actions as are necessary to dispose of the as-
sets, obligations, and liabilities of the Board. 
(f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) REPEAL.—The following provisions of title 
5, United States Code, are hereby repealed: 
(A) Subchapter I of chapter 12. 
(B) Section 1212(c). 
(C) With respect to section 1214, the fol-
lowing provisions: 
(i) Subsection (b)(1). 
(ii) Subparagraphs (B) through (D) 
of subsection (b)(2). 
(iii) Paragraphs (3) and (4) of sub-
section (b). 
(iv) Subsections (c), (g), and (i). 
(D) Sections 1215 and 1221. 
(E) Section 4303. 
(F) Chapter 75. 
(G) Chapter 77. 
(2) OTHER AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 71 of title 
5, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in section 7103(a)(14)— 
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(i) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(B) and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and 
(D), respectively; and 
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(A) the following: 
‘‘(B) relating to adverse personnel actions, 
as provided by the Public Service Reform Act;’’; 
and 
(B) in section 7121(c), by amending para-
graph (3) to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) any adverse personnel action under the 
Public Service Reform Act;’’. 
(g) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period described 
in subsection (c)(1)(B), the Office of Special Counsel 
may make a recommendation to the applicable agen-
cy head or deciding official (as described in sub-
section (c)(2)) regarding whether an adverse per-
sonnel action proposed against an individual was in 
retaliation for making a disclosure described in sec-
tion 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States Code. 
(2) APPEAL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual in a cov-
ered position who is subject to an adverse per-
sonnel action and who claims that action was 
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taken for a reason prohibited under paragraph 
(8) or (9) of section 2302(b) of title 5, United 
States Code, may appeal that action to the 
United States court of appeals in the circuit in 
which the duty station of the individual is lo-
cated. 
(B) DECISION.— 
(i) FRIVOLOUS
OR
BAD
FAITH
AP-
PEAL.—If the court, in an appeal brought 
by an individual under subparagraph (A), 
finds that the appeal is brought in bad 
faith or is frivolous, the annuity of the in-
dividual under chapter 83 or 84 of title 5, 
United States Code, shall be reduced by 25 
percent. 
(ii) SUCCESSFUL APPEAL.—If an indi-
vidual prevails in an appeal brought under 
subparagraph (A), the individual shall— 
(I) be placed, as nearly as pos-
sible, in the position the individual 
would have been in had the adverse 
personnel action not been taken 
against the individual; and 
(II) be reimbursed for— 
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(aa) attorney fees, back pay, 
and related benefits in accord-
ance with section 5596 of title 5, 
United States Code; and 
(bb) medical costs incurred, 
travel expenses, any other rea-
sonable 
and 
foreseeable 
con-
sequential damages, and compen-
satory damages (including inter-
est, reasonable expert witness 
fees, and costs). 
(h) EEOC APPEALS.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, including section 717 of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16), an individual who is 
an employee (or an applicant for a position as an em-
ployee) and who alleges that the individual was subject 
to an adverse personnel action that is a prohibited per-
sonnel action described in section 2302(b)(1) of title 5, 
United States Code, shall seek relief for that action from 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as if that 
individual were an employee of an employer, as that term 
is defined in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
(42 U.S.C. 2000e). 
Æ 
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