or suspended, the location where the individual was em-
ployed immediately before being so removed, demoted or 
suspended, the proposed action, and the reason for such 
removal, demotion, or suspension. 
‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘senior executive po-
sition’ means, with respect to a career appointee (as that 
term is defined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5), a Senior 
Executive Service position (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 3132(a)(2) of title 5). 
‘‘(d) PROCEDURE.—(1) Subsection (b) of section 
7513 of title 5 shall apply with respect to a removal, demo-
tion, or suspension under this section, except that the pe-
riod for notice and response, which includes the advance 
notice period required by paragraph (1) of such subsection 
and the response period required by paragraph (2) of such 
subsection, shall not exceed a total of 10 business days. 
Subsection (c) of such section and section 7121 of such 
title shall not apply with respect to such a removal, demo-
tion, or suspension. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall issue a final decision with 
respect to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 
section— 
‘‘(A) in the case of a proposed removal, demo-
tion, or suspension to which an individual responds 
under paragraph (1), not later than five business 
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days after receiving the response of the individual; 
or 
‘‘(B) in the case of a proposed removal, demo-
tion, or suspension to which an individual does not 
respond, not later than 15 business days after the 
Secretary provides notice to the individual under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) The procedures under chapter 43 of title 5 shall 
not apply to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 
section. 
‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B) and subsection 
(e), any removal, demotion, or suspension under sub-
section (a) may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protec-
tion Board, which shall refer such appeal to an adminis-
trative judge pursuant to section 7701(b)(1) of title 5. 
‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a re-
moval, demotion, or suspension may only be made if such 
appeal is made not later than 7 days after the date of 
such removal, demotion, or suspension. 
‘‘(e) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of an 
appeal under subsection (d)(4)(A), the administrative 
judge shall expedite any such appeal under such section 
and, in any such case, shall issue a final and complete 
decision not later than 45 business days after the date 
of the appeal. 
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‘‘(2) Notwithstanding section 7701(c)(1)(B) of title 
5, the administrative judge shall uphold the decision of 
the Secretary to remove, demote, or suspend an employee 
under subsection (a) if the decision is supported by sub-
stantial evidence. If the decision of the Secretary is sup-
ported by substantial evidence, the administrative judge 
shall not mitigate the penalty prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3)(A) The decision of the administrative judge 
under paragraph (1) may be appealed to the Merit Sys-
tems Protection Board. 
‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a decision 
of an administrative judge may only be made if such ap-
peal is made not later than 7 business days after the date 
of the decision of the administrative judge. 
‘‘(4) In any case in which the administrative judge 
cannot issue a decision in accordance with the 45-day re-
quirement under paragraph (1), the Merit Systems Pro-
tection Board shall, not later than 14 business days after 
the expiration of the 45-day period, submit to the Commit-
tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives a report that explains the reasons why a deci-
sion was not issued in accordance with such requirement. 
‘‘(5)(A) A decision of the Merit Systems Protection 
Board under paragraph (3) may be appealed to the United 
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States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant 
to section 7703 of title 5. 
‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a decision 
of the Merit Systems Protection Board may only be made 
if such appeal is made not later than 7 business days after 
the date of the decision of the Board. 
‘‘(C) Any decision by such Court shall be in compli-
ance with section 7462(f)(2) of this title. 
‘‘(6) The Merit Systems Protection Board may not 
stay any removal, demotion, under this section. 
‘‘(7) During the period beginning on the date on 
which an individual appeals a removal from the civil serv-
ice under subsection (d) and ending on the date that the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 
issues a final decision on such appeal, such individual may 
not receive any pay, awards, bonuses, incentives, allow-
ances, differentials, student loan repayments, special pay-
ments, or benefits related to the employment of the indi-
vidual by the Department. 
‘‘(8) To the maximum extent practicable, the Sec-
retary shall provide to the Merit Systems Protection 
Board such information and assistance as may be nec-
essary to ensure an appeal under this subsection is expe-
dited. 
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‘‘(9) If an employee prevails on appeal under this sec-
tion, the employee shall be entitled to backpay (as pro-
vided in section 5596 of title 5). 
‘‘(10) This subsection shall supercede any collective 
bargaining agreement to the extent that such an agree-
ment conflicts with this subsection. 
‘‘(f) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—(1) In the 
case of an individual seeking corrective action (or on be-
half of whom corrective action is sought) from the Office 
of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited per-
sonnel practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5, the 
Secretary may not remove, demote, or suspend such indi-
vidual under subsection (a) without the approval of the 
Special Counsel under section 1214(f) of title 5. 
‘‘(2) In the case of an individual who has filed a whis-
tleblower complaint, as such term is defined in section 731 
of this title, the Secretary may not remove, demote, or 
suspend such individual under subsection (a) until a final 
decision with respect to the whistleblower complaint has 
been made. 
‘‘(g) TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICE 
OF SPECIAL COUNSEL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Special Counsel (established by section 
1211 of title 5) may terminate an investigation of a pro-
hibited personnel practice alleged by an employee or 
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former employee of the Department after the Special 
Counsel provides to the employee or former employee a 
written statement of the reasons for the termination of 
the investigation. Such statement may not be admissible 
as evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding 
without the consent of such employee or former employee. 
‘‘(h) VACANCIES.—In the case of an individual who 
is removed or demoted under subsection (a), to the max-
imum extent feasible, the Secretary shall fill the vacancy 
arising as a result of such removal or demotion. 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘individual’ means an individual 
occupying a position at the Department but does not 
include— 
‘‘(A) an individual appointed pursuant to 
section 7306, 7401(1), or 7405 of this title; 
‘‘(B) an individual who has not completed 
a probationary or trial period; or 
‘‘(C) a political appointee. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘suspend’ means the placing of 
an employee, for disciplinary reasons, in a temporary 
status without duties and pay for a period in excess 
of 14 days. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘grade’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 7511(a) of title 5. 
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