[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3586 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3586

     To amend title 5, United States Code, to strengthen veterans' 
preference, to increase employment opportunities for veterans, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 1996

   Mr. Mica introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 5, United States Code, to strengthen veterans' 
preference, to increase employment opportunities for veterans, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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) A preference eligible or an individual who has been separated 
from the armed forces under honorable conditions after 4 or more years 
of active service shall not be denied the opportunity to compete for a 
vacant position within an agency, in the competitive service or the 
excepted service, by reason of--
            ``(1) not having acquired competitive status; or
            ``(2) not being an employee of such agency.''.
    (b) Civil Service Employment Information.--
            (1) Vacant positions.--Section 3327(b) of title 5, United 
        States Code, is amended by striking ``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, excluding 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 subsection (b)(2), include a notation as to 
the applicability of section 3304(f) with respect thereto.''.
    (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 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 applications are being 
        or will soon be accepted and for which competition is 
        restricted to individuals having competitive status or 
        employees of such agency, excluding any position under 
        paragraph (1).''.
            (2) Additional information.--Section 3330(c) of title 5, 
        United States Code, is amended 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 applicability 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 ELIGIBLES IN REDUCTIONS IN 
              FORCE.

    Section 3502 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by section 
1034 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 
(Public Law 104-106; 110 Stat. 430), is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(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 essential functions of any other 
position at the same grade (or occupational level) in the competitive 
area. In such cases, the minimum competitive level shall consist of all 
such positions for which the preference eligible is qualified.
    ``(2) A preference eligible shall be considered qualified to 
perform the essential functions of a position if, by reason of 
experience, training, or education, a reasonable person could conclude 
that the preference eligible would be able to perform those functions 
successfully within a period of 270 days. A preference eligible shall 
not be considered unqualified solely because he fails to meet minimum 
qualifications relating to the grade (or occupational level) of 
required previous experience established for such position by the 
Office of Personnel Management or the agency.
    ``(h) A preference eligible whose current or most recent 
performance 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, to be assigned to any 
position for which he is qualified under subsection (g)(2)--
            ``(1) that is within the preference eligible's commuting 
        area and that is then occupied by an individual, other than 
        another preference eligible, who was placed in such position 
        (whether by appointment or otherwise) within 6 months before 
        the reduction in force; or
            ``(2) that is within the preference eligible's competitive 
        area and that is not more than 3 grades (or appropriate grade 
        intervals or equivalent) below the position from which the 
        preference eligible was released, except that, in the case of a 
        preference eligible with a compensable service-connected 
        disability of 30 percent or more, this paragraph shall be 
        applied by substituting `5 grades' for `3 grades'.
In the event that a preference eligible is entitled to assignment to 
more than 1 position under this subsection, the agency shall assign the 
preference eligible to the position requiring the least (or no) 
reduction in basic pay.
    ``(i) A preference eligible may challenge the classification of any 
position to which the preference eligible asserts assignment rights in 
an action before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
    ``(j)(1) As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection, each agency shall establish an agencywide priority 
placement program to facilitate employment placement for preference 
eligibles who--
            ``(A) are scheduled to be separated from service due to a 
        reduction in force; or
            ``(B) are separated from service due to a reduction in 
        force.
    ``(2) Each agencywide priority placement program shall include 
provisions under which a vacant position shall not be filled by the 
appointment or transfer of any individual from outside of that agency 
or by the appointment or transfer of any individual other than a 
preference eligible from within that agency if--
            ``(A) there is then available any individual described in 
        paragraph (3) who is qualified for the position; and
            ``(B) the position--
                    ``(i) is at the same grade (or pay level) or not 
                more than 1 grade (or pay level) below that of the 
                position last held by such individual before placement 
                in the new position; and
                    ``(ii) is within the same commuting area as the 
                individual's residence or last-held position.
    ``(3) For purposes of an agencywide priority placement program, an 
individual shall be considered to be described in this paragraph if 
such individual's most recent performance rating was at least fully 
successful (or the equivalent), and such individual is either--
            ``(A) a preference eligible of such agency who is scheduled 
        to be separated, as described in paragraph (1)(A); or
            ``(B) a preference eligible who became a former employee of 
        such agency as a result of a separation, as described in 
        paragraph (1)(B).
    ``(4) A preference eligible shall cease to be eligible to 
participate in a program under this subsection upon the earlier of--
            ``(A) the conclusion of the 12-month period beginning on 
        the date on which the preference eligible first became eligible 
        to participate under paragraph (3); or
            ``(B) the date on which the individual declines a bona fide 
        offer (or, if the individual does not act on the offer, the 
        last day for accepting such offer) from the affected agency of 
        a position described in paragraph (2)(B).''.

SEC. 4. IMPROVED REDRESS FOR VETERANS.

    (a) Administrative Redress.--Subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3331. Administrative redress
    ``(a) Any preference eligible or other individual described in 
section 3304(f) who alleges that an agency has violated such 
individual's rights under any statute or regulation relating to 
veterans' preference, or any right provided by section 3304(f), may 
file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary shall 
process such complaint in accordance with sections 4322 and 4326 of 
title 38.
    ``(b) Any preference eligible or other individual described in 
section 3304(f) may pursue an allegation described in subsection (a) in 
accordance with section 4324 of title 38.
``Sec. 3332. Judicial redress
    ``In lieu of the administrative redress provided under section 
3331, a preference eligible or other individual described in section 
3304(f) may file an action with the appropriate United States district 
court not later than 1 year after the occurrence of the alleged 
violation.
``Sec. 3333. Remedy
    ``(a) If the Merit Systems Protection Board (in a proceeding under 
section 3331) or a court (in a proceeding under section 3332) 
determines that an agency has violated a right described in section 
3331, the Board or court shall order the agency to comply with such 
provisions and award compensation for any loss of wages or benefits 
suffered by the individual by reason of the violation involved. If the 
Board or court determines that such violation was willful, it shall 
award an amount equal to backpay as liquidated damages.
    ``(b) A preference eligible or individual described in section 
3304(f) who prevails in an action under section 3331 or 3332 shall be 
awarded reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees, and other 
litigation expenses.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after 
the item relating to section 3330 the following:

``3331. Administrative redress.
``3332. Judicial redress.
``3333. Remedy.''.

SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF VETERANS' PREFERENCE.

    (a) Amendment to Title 5, United States Code.--Paragraph (3) of 
section 2108 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement 
Administration Senior Executive Service, or the General Accounting 
Office;'' and inserting ``or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 
Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service;''.
    (b) Amendment to Title 3, United States Code.--Chapter 2 of title 
3, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 115. Veterans' preference
    ``(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), appointments under 
sections 105, 106, and 107 shall be made in accordance with section 
2108, and sections 3309 through 3312, of title 5.
    ``(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any appointment to a 
position the rate of basic pay for which is at least equal to the 
minimum rate established for positions in the Senior Executive Service 
under section 5382 of title 5 and the duties of which are comparable to 
those described in section 3132(a)(2) of such title or to any other 
position if, with respect to such position, the President makes 
certification--
            ``(1) that such position is--
                    ``(A) a confidential or policy-making position; or
                    ``(B) a position for which political affiliation or 
                political philosophy is otherwise an important 
                qualification; and
            ``(2) that any individual selected for such position is 
        expected to vacate the position at or before the end of the 
        President's term (or terms) of office.
Each individual appointed to a position described in the preceding 
sentence shall be notified in writing of the expectation described in 
paragraph (2) at the time of appointment.''
    (c) Legislative Branch Appointments.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        appointments to positions in the legislative branch of the 
        Government shall be made in accordance with section 2108, and 
        sections 3309 through 3312, of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Exclusions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
                    (A) an appointment made by the President with the 
                advice and consent of the Senate;
                    (B) an appointment made by a Member of Congress or 
                by a committee or subcommittee of either House of 
                Congress; or
                    (C) an appointment to a position the rate of basic 
                pay for which is at least equal to the minimum rate 
                established for positions in the Senior Executive 
                Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States 
                Code, and the duties of which are comparable to those 
                described in section 3132(a)(2) of such title.
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