Sec. 122. Prohibition on award of bonuses to employees of Department of Veterans Affairs under consideration for adverse actions or subject of adverse findings
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Chapter 7 of title 38, United States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 715, as added by section 121, the following new section: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may not pay any bonus to any employee of the Department, including an employee in a senior executive position (as defined in section 713(d) of this title), while the Secretary is considering carrying out an adverse personnel action with respect to the employee under this title or title 5.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in a case in which the Secretary makes an adverse finding relating to an employee of the Department, the Secretary may not award a bonus to such employee until the earlier of— such date as the Secretary considers appropriate, but not sooner than the date that is two years after the end of the fiscal year in which the adverse finding was made and not more than five years after the end of such fiscal year; or the date that the finding is found to have been made in error.
The Secretary may base an adverse finding under paragraph
(1)on an investigation by, determination of, or information provided by the Inspector General of the Department or another senior ethics official of the Department or the Comptroller General of the United States in connection with the carrying out by such official of an activity, authority, or function under a provision of law other than this section. If the Secretary makes an adverse finding relating to an employee under subsection (b), the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, shall issue an order directing the employee to repay the amount of any bonus awarded to the employee during the year during which the adverse finding is made, unless such finding is found to have been made in error. A hearing under paragraph
(1)shall be conducted in accordance with regulations relating to hearings promulgated by the Secretary under chapter 75 of title 5. As a condition of receiving a bonus awarded after the date of the enactment of this section, an employee of the Department shall sign a certification stating that the employee shall repay the bonus in accordance with a final order issued in accordance with subsection (c). An employee determined to be ineligible for a bonus under subsection
(b)or against whom an order is issued under subsection
(c)may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under section 7701 of title 5. The Secretary may promulgate such rules as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section. In this section: The term adverse finding relating to an employee means a determination that the conduct of the employee— violated a policy of the Department for which the employee may be removed or suspended for a period of not less than 14 days; or violated a law for which the employee may be imprisoned for more than 1 year. The term adverse personnel action means any of the adverse actions described in section 7461(c)(2) of this title. The term bonus means any bonus or cash award, including— an award under chapter 45 of title 5; an award under section 5384 of such title; and a retention bonus under section 5754 of such title. . The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is further amended by inserting after the item relating to section 715, as added by section 121, the following new item: 716. Prohibition on award of bonuses to employees under consideration for adverse actions or subject of adverse findings. .