3.0.0 1130 2023-01-11T13:27:18Z 2023-01-11T13:27:18Z Senate S 2015-04-29 114 ssas00 Armed Services Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2015-04-29T18:31:24Z Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015 114 2190 HR 2015-08-13 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel. Identical bill CRS 2015-04-29 ssas00 Armed Services Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. IntroReferral 2015-04-29 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress B000711 Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] BARBARA BOXER D CA N W000779 Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] Ron Wyden D OR 2015-04-29 True M000133 Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] Edward Markey D MA J. 2015-04-29 True T000464 Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] Jon Tester D MT 2015-05-20 False G000555 Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] Kirsten Gillibrand D NY E. 2015-06-01 False Armed Forces and National Security Administrative remedies Employment discrimination and employee rights Evidence and witnesses Government studies and investigations Military personnel and dependents Personnel records Armed Forces and National Security 00 2015-04-29 Introduced in Senate 2015-07-09T21:13:51Z Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015

This bill revises whistle blower protections for members of the Armed Forces.

Prohibited personnel actions shall include:

  • a superior's failure to respond to retaliatory action or harassment taken against a subordinate; and
  • action that could be understood as an attempt to dissuade a service member from making or preparing a communication, or participating in any other activity.

A service member may opt out of a military branch investigation in favor of an investigation by the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DODIG).

An investigating Inspector General (IG) may impose a 90-day stay of a personnel action, which may be extended by the military department concerned to complete an investigation, in order to prevent undue hardship to a service member if reasonable grounds exist to believe that a prohibited personnel action has occurred.

Periodic notice must be given to service members on the progress of IG investigations.

IG recommendations for disposition of complaints must include recommendations for disciplinary actions against the person who committed the prohibited personnel action, against a superior who knew or should have known but failed to address the action, or both.

An investigating IG shall submit a substantiated investigation to the appropriate military corrections board unless the service member requests otherwise.

Service members may request a corrections board hearing under specified circumstances.

DODIG shall prescribe uniform standards for: (1) investigation of allegations of prohibited personnel actions, and (2) staff training.

The investigative evidentiary burden of proof shall be "clear and convincing evidence."

Provisions are revised for improvements to authorities and procedures for correction of military records, including permitting a claimant to seek judicial review of a board's determination in an appropriate U.S. court.

The Inspector General Act of 1978 is amended to include the Inspectors General of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the National Guard Bureau, and the Coast Guard in the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.

]]> Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015 Display Title Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015 Official Title as Introduced A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to improve procedures for legal justice for members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015 Introduced in Senate 2015-04-29T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114s1130is/xml/BILLS-114s1130is.xml 2015-04-29 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.