[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1496 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1496

 To provide that all Federal employees in the executive branch of the 
   Federal Government are at-will employees, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2023

   Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself and Mr. Schmitt) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide that all Federal employees in the executive branch of the 
   Federal Government are at-will employees, 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 ``Public Service Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT FOR FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BRANCH EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``adverse personnel action'' means, with 
        respect to an employee, a removal, a suspension for more than 
        14 days, a reduction in grade, a reduction in pay, or a 
        furlough of 30 days or less;
            (2) the term ``career employee'' means any employee who is 
        not a political appointee;
            (3) the term ``covered position'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 2302(a)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code;
            (4) the term ``employee''--
                    (A) has the meaning given the term in section 2105 
                of title 5, United States Code; and
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) an officer or employee of the United 
                        States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory 
                        Commission; and
                            (ii) notwithstanding subsection (b) of 
                        section 7425 of title 38, United States Code, 
                        any employee described in subsection (a) of 
                        such section 7425; and
            (5) the term ``political appointee'' means any employee 
        who--
                    (A) is appointed by the President;
                    (B) is a noncareer appointee (as that term is 
                defined in section 3132(a)(7) of title 5, United States 
                Code);
                    (C) occupies a position under schedule C of subpart 
                C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                or any successor regulations; or
                    (D) occupies any other position in the civil 
                service (as that term is defined in section 2101 of 
                title 5, United States Code) that is classified as a 
                political position after the date of enactment of this 
                Act under regulations prescribed by the Director of the 
                Office of Personnel Management.
    (b) At-Will Employment.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, rule, or regulation, and except as provided in paragraph 
        (2), any employee in the executive branch of the Federal 
        Government--
                    (A) shall be considered at-will;
                    (B) may be subject to any adverse personnel action 
                (up to and including removal) for good cause, bad 
                cause, or no cause at all; and
                    (C) may not challenge or otherwise appeal an action 
                described in subparagraph (B), except as provided in 
                subsections (c) and (g).
            (2) Limitation.--An employee may not be subject to any 
        adverse personnel action under this Act for a reason that is 
        prohibited under section 2302(b) of title 5, United States 
        Code.
            (3) Procedures.--
                    (A) In general.--The President shall establish 
                procedures to enforce compliance with paragraph (2).
                    (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph may be construed to grant an employee the 
                right to review or appeal an adverse personnel action 
                outside of the procedures described in subparagraph 
                (A), subsection (g), or subsection (h), as applicable.
    (c) Removal of Career Employees.--With respect to the removal of a 
career employee, the following procedures shall apply:
            (1) Before the applicable agency removes the career 
        employee--
                    (A) the agency official authorized to propose such 
                action (referred to in this subsection as the 
                ``proposing official'') shall provide the career 
                employee with written notification of the proposed 
                removal and the reasons for the proposed removal; and
                    (B) the career employee shall have 14 days to 
                provide a written response to the notification received 
                under subparagraph (A), except that the head of the 
                applicable agency shall have sole and exclusive 
                discretion to alter that response period on a case-by-
                case basis.
            (2) Under procedures prescribed by the applicable agency 
        head, in the sole and exclusive discretion of the agency head, 
        an agency official (who, except when the proposing official is 
        the agency head, shall be an agency official other than the 
        proposing official) (referred to in this subsection as the 
        ``deciding official'')--
                    (A) shall review the proposed removal and the 
                response of the career employee under paragraph (1);
                    (B) may, in the sole and exclusive discretion of 
                the deciding official, conduct a hearing on the matter; 
                and
                    (C) after the review conducted under subparagraph 
                (A), and any hearing conducted under subparagraph (B), 
                shall decide whether to remove or retain the career 
                employee.
            (3) The determination of a deciding official under 
        paragraph (2) shall be the final decision of the applicable 
        agency with respect to the career employee, unless, not later 
        than 7 days after the date on which the deciding official makes 
        that determination, the agency head reverses the determination 
        of the deciding official, in which case the decision of the 
        agency head shall be the final agency decision.
            (4) The final decision of an agency under paragraph (3) 
        shall be final and not subject to any appeal or challenge, 
        except that the President may overrule that final decision of 
        the agency in accordance with such procedures or regulations as 
        the President may prescribe.
    (d) Application.--Chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, shall 
not apply to any personnel action taken with respect to an employee 
under this Act.
    (e) Abolishment of MSPB.--
            (1) In general.--Effective on the date of enactment of this 
        Act, the Merit Systems Protection Board (referred to in this 
        subsection as the ``Board'') is hereby abolished.
            (2) Disposal of assets, obligations, and liabilities.--The 
        Chairman of the Board may take such actions as are necessary to 
        dispose of the assets, obligations, and liabilities of the 
        Board.
    (f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Repeal.--The following provisions of title 5, United 
        States Code, are hereby repealed:
                    (A) Subchapter I of chapter 12.
                    (B) Section 1212(c).
                    (C) With respect to section 1214, the following 
                provisions:
                            (i) Subsection (b)(1).
                            (ii) Subparagraphs (B) through (D) of 
                        subsection (b)(2).
                            (iii) Paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection 
                        (b).
                            (iv) Subsections (c), (g), and (i).
                    (D) Sections 1215 and 1221.
                    (E) Section 4303.
                    (F) Chapter 75.
                    (G) Chapter 77.
            (2) Other amendments.--Chapter 71 of title 5, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) in section 7103(a)(14)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 
                        (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; 
                        and
                            (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
                        the following:
                    ``(B) relating to adverse personnel actions, as 
                provided by the Public Service Reform Act;''; and
                    (B) in section 7121(c), by amending paragraph (3) 
                to read as follows:
            ``(3) any adverse personnel action under the Public Service 
        Reform Act;''.
    (g) Whistleblower Protections.--
            (1) In general.--During the period described in subsection 
        (c)(1)(B), the Office of Special Counsel may make a 
        recommendation to the applicable agency head or deciding 
        official (as described in subsection (c)(2)) regarding whether 
        an adverse personnel action proposed against an individual was 
        in retaliation for making a disclosure described in section 
        2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Appeal.--
                    (A) In general.--An individual in a covered 
                position who is subject to an adverse personnel action 
                and who claims that action was taken for a reason 
                prohibited under paragraph (8) or (9) of section 
                2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, may appeal that 
                action to the United States court of appeals in the 
                circuit in which the duty station of the individual is 
                located.
                    (B) Decision.--
                            (i) Frivolous or bad faith appeal.--If the 
                        court, in an appeal brought by an individual 
                        under subparagraph (A), finds that the appeal 
                        is brought in bad faith or is frivolous, the 
                        annuity of the individual under chapter 83 or 
                        84 of title 5, United States Code, shall be 
                        reduced by 25 percent.
                            (ii) Successful appeal.--If an individual 
                        prevails in an appeal brought under 
                        subparagraph (A), the individual shall--
                                    (I) be placed, as nearly as 
                                possible, in the position the 
                                individual would have been in had the 
                                adverse personnel action not been taken 
                                against the individual; and
                                    (II) be reimbursed for--
                                            (aa) attorney fees, back 
                                        pay, and related benefits in 
                                        accordance with section 5596 of 
                                        title 5, United States Code; 
                                        and
                                            (bb) medical costs 
                                        incurred, travel expenses, any 
                                        other reasonable and 
                                        foreseeable consequential 
                                        damages, and compensatory 
                                        damages (including interest, 
                                        reasonable expert witness fees, 
                                        and costs).
    (h) EEOC Appeals.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
including section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-
16), an individual who is an employee (or an applicant for a position 
as an employee) and who alleges that the individual was subject to an 
adverse personnel action that is a prohibited personnel action 
described in section 2302(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, shall 
seek relief for that action from the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission as if that individual were an employee of an employer, as 
that term is defined in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
U.S.C. 2000e).
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