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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Employment
Opportunities Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. EQUAL ACCESS FOR VETERANS.
(a) COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—Section 3304 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(f)(1) No preference eligible, and no individual
(other than a preference eligible) who has been separated
from the armed forces under honorable conditions after
3 or more years of active service, shall be denied the op-
portunity to compete for an announced vacant position
within an agency, in the competitive service or the ex-
cepted service, by reason of—
‘‘(A) not having acquired competitive status; or
‘‘(B) not being an employee of such agency.
‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an agen-
cy from filling a vacant position (whether by appointment
or otherwise) solely from individuals on a priority place-
ment list consisting of individuals who have been sepa-
rated from the agency due to a reduction in force and sur-
plus employees (as defined under regulations prescribed
by the Office).’’.
(b) CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION.—
(1) VACANT
POSITIONS.—Section 3327(b) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking
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‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (1), by redesignating
paragraph (2) as paragraph (3), and by inserting
after paragraph (1) the following:
‘‘(2) each vacant position in the agency for
which competition is restricted to individuals having
competitive status or employees of such agency, ex-
cluding any position under paragraph (1), and’’.
(2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Section 3327
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(c) Any notification provided under this section
shall, for all positions under subsection (b)(1) as to which
section 3304(f) applies and for all positions under sub-
section (b)(2), include a notation as to the applicability
of section 3304(f) with respect thereto.
‘‘(d) In consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the
Office shall submit to Congress and the President, no less
frequently than every 2 years, a report detailing, with re-
spect to the period covered by such report—
‘‘(1) the number of positions listed under this
section during such period;
‘‘(2) the number of preference eligibles and
other individuals described in section 3304(f)(1) re-
ferred to such positions during such period; and
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‘‘(3) the number of preference eligibles and
other individuals described in section 3304(f)(1) ap-
pointed to such positions during such period.’’.
(c) GOVERNMENTWIDE LISTS.—
(1) VACANT
POSITIONS.—Section 3330(b) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘(b) The Office of Personnel Management shall cause
to be established and kept current—
‘‘(1) a comprehensive list of all announcements
of vacant positions (in the competitive service and
the excepted service, respectively) within each agency
that are to be filled by appointment for more than
1 year and for which applications are being or will
soon be accepted from outside the agency’s work
force; and
‘‘(2) a comprehensive list of all announcements
of vacant positions within each agency for which ap-
plications are being or will soon be accepted and for
which competition is restricted to individuals having
competitive status or employees of such agency, ex-
cluding any position required to be listed under
paragraph (1).’’.
(2) 
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION.—Section
3330(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
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by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (2), by
redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4), and
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
‘‘(3) for all positions under subsection (b)(1) as
to which section 3304(f) applies and for all positions
under subsection (b)(2), a notation as to the applica-
bility of section 3304(f) with respect thereto; and’’.
(3) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
3330(d) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by striking ‘‘The list’’ and inserting ‘‘Each list
under subsection (b)’’.
SEC. 3. SPECIAL PROTECTIONS FOR PREFERENCE ELIGI-
BLES IN REDUCTIONS IN FORCE.
Section 3502 of title 5, United States Code, as
amended by section 1034 of the National Defense Author-
ization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (Public Law 104–106;
110 Stat. 430), is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(g)(1) A position occupied by a preference eligible
shall not be placed in a single-position competitive level
if the preference eligible is qualified to perform the essen-
tial functions of any other position at the same grade (or
occupational level) in the competitive area. In such cases,
the preference eligible shall be entitled to be placed in an-
other competitive level for which such preference eligible
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is qualified. If the preference eligible is qualified for more
than one competitive level, such preference eligible shall
be placed in the competitive level containing the most posi-
tions.
‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) a preference eligible shall be considered
qualified to perform the essential functions of a posi-
tion if, by reason of experience, training, or edu-
cation (and, in the case of a disabled veteran, with
reasonable accommodation), a reasonable person
could conclude that the preference eligible would be
able to perform those functions successfully within a
period of 150 days; and
‘‘(B) a preference eligible shall not be consid-
ered unqualified solely because such preference eligi-
ble does not meet the minimum qualification require-
ments relating to previous experience in a specified
grade (or occupational level), if any, that are estab-
lished for such position by the Office of Personnel
Management or the agency.
‘‘(h) In connection with any reduction in force, a
preference eligible whose current or most recent perform-
ance rating is at least fully successful (or the equivalent)
shall have, in addition to such assignment rights as are
prescribed by regulation, the right, in lieu of separation,
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to be assigned to any position within the agency conduct-
ing the reduction in force—
‘‘(1) for which such preference eligible is quali-
fied under subsection (g)(2)—
‘‘(A) that is within the preference eligible’s
commuting area and at the same grade (or oc-
cupational level) as the position from which the
preference eligible was released, and that is
then occupied by an individual, other than an-
other preference eligible, who was placed in
such position (whether by appointment or oth-
erwise) within 6 months before the reduction in
force if, within 12 months prior to the date on
which such individual was so placed in such po-
sition, such individual had been employed in the
same competitive area as the preference eligible;
or
‘‘(B) that is within the preference eligible’s
competitive area and that is then occupied by
an individual, other than another preference eli-
gible, who was placed in such position (whether
by appointment or otherwise) within 6 months
before the reduction in force; or
‘‘(2) for which such preference eligible is quali-
fied that is within the preference eligible’s competi-