Union Calendar No. 211
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3345
[Report No. 103–386]
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to eliminate
certain restrictions on employee training; to pro-
vide temporary authority to agencies relating to
voluntary separation incentive payments; and for
other purposes.
NOVEMBER 19, 1993
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 211
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3345
[Report No. 103–386]
To amend title 5, United States Code, to eliminate certain restrictions on
employee training; to provide temporary authority to agencies relating
to voluntary separation incentive payments; and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 22, 1993
Mr. CLAY (for himself, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. ACKERMAN,
Mr. SAWYER, Mr. KANJORSKI, Ms. NORTON, Miss COLLINS of Michigan,
Ms. BYRNE, Mr. WATT, Mr. WYNN, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr. BISHOP, Mr.
BROWN of Ohio, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mrs. MORELLA,
and Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service
NOVEMBER 19, 1993
Additional sponsor: Mrs. UNSOELD
NOVEMBER 19, 1993
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to eliminate certain
restrictions on employee training; to provide temporary
authority to agencies relating to voluntary separation
incentive payments; 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 ‘‘Federal Workforce
Restructuring Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. TRAINING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) in section 4101(4) by striking ‘‘fields’’ and
all that follows through the semicolon and inserting
‘‘fields which will improve individual and organiza-
tional performance and assist in achieving the
agency’s mission and performance goals;’’;
(2) in section 4103—
(A) in subsection (a)—
(i) by striking ‘‘In’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘maintain’’ and inserting ‘‘In
order to assist in achieving an agency’s
mission and performance goals by improv-
ing employee and organizational perform-
ance, the head of each agency, in conform-
ity with this chapter, shall establish, oper-
ate, maintain, and evaluate’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of
paragraph (2);
(iii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as
paragraph (4); and
(iv) by inserting after paragraph (2)
the following:
‘‘(3) provide that information concerning the
selection and assignment of employees for training
and the applicable training limitations and restric-
tions be made available to employees of the agency;
and’’; and
(B) in subsection (b)—
(i) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘de-
termines’’ and all that follows through the
period and inserting ‘‘determines that such
training would be in the interests of the
Government.’’; and
(ii) by striking paragraph (2) and re-
designating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(2);
(3) in section 4105—
(A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘(a)’’;
and
(B) by striking subsections (b) and (c);
(4) by repealing section 4106;
(5) in section 4107—
(A) by amending the catchline to read as
follows:
‘‘§ 4107. Restriction on degree training’’;
(B) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and
redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as sub-
sections (a) and (b), respectively;
(C) by amending subsection (a) (as so re-
designated)—
(i) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and
inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘by, in, or through a
non-Government facility’’; and
(D) by amending paragraph (1) of sub-
section (b) (as so redesignated) by striking
‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’;
(6) in section 4108(a) by striking ‘‘by, in, or
through a non-Government facility under this chap-
ter’’ and inserting ‘‘for more than a minimum period
prescribed by the head of the agency’’;
(7) in section 4113(b)—
(A) in the first sentence by striking ‘‘annu-
ally to the Office,’’ and inserting ‘‘to the Office,
at least once every 3 years, and’’; and
(B) by striking the matter following the
first sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘The
report shall set forth—
‘‘(1) information needed to determine that
training is being provided in a manner which is in
compliance with applicable laws intended to protect
or promote equal employment opportunity; and
‘‘(2) information concerning the expenditures of
the agency in connection with training and such
other information as the Office considers appro-
priate.’’;
(8) by repealing section 4114; and
(9) in section 4118—
(A) in subsection (a)(7) by striking ‘‘by,
in, and through non-Government facilities’’;
(B) by striking subsection (b); and
(C) by redesignating subsections (c) and
(d) as subsections (b) and (c), respectively.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
Title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in section 3381(e) by striking ‘‘4105(a),’’
and inserting ‘‘4105,’’; and
(2) in the analysis for chapter 41—
(A) by repealing the items relating to sec-
tions 4106 and 4114; and
(B) by amending the item relating to sec-
tion 4107 to read as follows:
‘‘4107. Restriction on degree training.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall become effective on the date of enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVES.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section—
(1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means an Executive
agency (as defined by section 105 of title 5, United
States Code), but does not include the Department
of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, or the
General Accounting Office; and
(2) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an employee
(as defined by section 2105 of title 5, United States
Code) who is employed by an agency, is serving
under an appointment without time limitation, and
has been currently employed for a continuous period
of at least 12 months; such term includes an individ-
ual employed by a county committee established
under section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation and Do-
mestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)), but does
not include—
(A) a reemployed annuitant under sub-
chapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title
5, United States Code, or another retirement
system for employees of the Government; or
(B) an employee having a disability on the
basis of which such employee is or would be eli-
gible for disability retirement under the applica-
ble retirement system referred to in subpara-
graph (A).
(b) AUTHORITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to avoid or mini-
mize the need for involuntary separations due to a
reduction in force, reorganization, transfer of func-
tion, or other similar action, and subject to para-
graphs (2) and (3), the head of an agency may pay,
or authorize the payment of, voluntary separation
incentive payments to agency employees—
(A) in any component of the agency;
(B) in any occupation;
(C) in any geographic location; or
(D) on the basis of any combination of fac-
tors under subparagraphs (A) through (C).
(2) REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO EMPLOY-
EES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive an
incentive payment, an employee must agree,
during the applicable period under subpara-
graph (B), to separate from service with the
agency (whether by retirement or resignation)
before such period ends.
(B) DESIGNATION OF PERIOD.—The appli-
cable period, for purposes of any agency compo-
nent, occupation, geographic location, or com-
bination thereof—
(i) shall be a continuous 90-day pe-
riod;
(ii) shall be designated by the head of
the agency involved; and
(iii) shall end not later than Decem-
ber 31, 1994.
(C) EXCEPTION.—An employee who does
not separate from service before the end of the
applicable period under subparagraph (B) shall
be ineligible for an incentive payment under
this section unless—
(i) the agency head determines that,
in order to ensure the performance of the
agency’s mission, it is necessary to delay
such employee’s separation; and
(ii) the employee completes any addi-
tional period of service agreed to (ending
not later than 2 years after the last day of
the period otherwise applicable under sub-
paragraph (B)).
(3) REQUIREMENTS
APPLICABLE
TO
AGEN-
CIES.—Before offering any voluntary separation in-
centive payments to employees within any agency
component, occupation, geographic location, or com-
bination thereof, the head of the agency involved
shall make available to all employees of such agency,
and to the exclusive representative of any such em-
ployees, a written plan which—
(A) shall specify which agency components,
occupations, geographic locations, or combina-
tions thereof have been identified for incentives,
and the percentage of employees within each
who are supervisors or managers;
(B) shall indicate the beginning and end-
ing dates of any periods under paragraph
(2)(B), and the agency components, occupa-
tions, geographic locations, or combinations
thereof to which they apply;
(C) shall state whether any additional per-
sonnel reductions are anticipated after any ex-
ercise of authority under this section and, if so,
what types of retraining, placement, or other
similar measures will be provided in order to
avoid involuntary separations; and
(D) shall include any other information
which may be necessary in order to permit em-
ployees who are eligible for voluntary separation
incentive payments to make an informed deci-
sion.
(c) AMOUNT AND TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.—A
voluntary separation incentive payment—
(1) shall be paid in a lump sum after the em-
ployee’s separation;
(2) shall be equal to the lesser of—
(A) an amount equal to the amount the
employee would be entitled to receive under sec-
tion 5595(c) of title 5, United States Code, if
the employee were entitled to payment under
such section; or
(B) $25,000;
(3) shall not be a basis for payment, and shall
not be included in the computation, of any other
type of Government benefit;
(4) shall not be taken into account in determin-
ing the amount of any severance pay to which an
employee may be entitled under section 5595 of title
5, United States Code, based on any other separa-
tion; and
(5) shall be paid from appropriations or funds
available for the payment of the basic pay of the
employee.
(d) EFFECT OF SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYMENT WITH
THE GOVERNMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee who has re-
ceived a voluntary separation incentive payment
under this section and accepts employment with the
Government of the United States within 2 years
after the date of the separation on which the pay-
ment is based shall be required to repay the entire
amount of the incentive payment to the agency that
paid the incentive payment.
(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—
(A) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—If the employ-
ment is with an Executive agency (as defined in
section 105 of title 5, United States Code), the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management
may, at the request of the head of the agency,
waive the repayment if the employment is in a
position for which there is exceptional difficulty
in recruiting a qualified employee.
(B) LEGISLATIVE
BRANCH.—If the em-
ployment is with an entity in the legislative
branch, the head of the entity or the appointing
official may waive the repayment if the employ-
ment is in a position for which there is excep-
tional difficulty in recruiting a qualified em-
ployee.
(C) JUDICIAL
BRANCH.—If the employ-
ment is with the judicial branch, the Director of
the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts may waive the repayment if the employ-
ment is in a position for which there is excep-
tional difficulty in recruiting a qualified em-
ployee.
(e) REGULATIONS.—The Director of the Office of
Personnel Management may prescribe any regulations
necessary for the administration of subsections (a)
through (d).
(f) EMPLOYEES OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH.—The
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts may, by regulation, establish a program consistent
with the program established by subsections (a) through
(d) for individuals serving in the judicial branch.