Sec. 1704. Civilian personnel supporting the Space Force
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Chapter 947 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— by striking the table of sections and inserting the following: Subchapter Sec. I. General Civilian Personnel Matters 9371 II. Space Force Civilian Personnel Matters 9375 Sec. 9371. Air University: civilian faculty members. 9372. Production of supplies and munitions: hours and pay of laborers and mechanics. 9373. Civilian special agents of the Office of Special Investigations: authority to execute warrants and make arrests. ; and by redesignating sections 9375 and 9377 as sections 9372 and 9373, respectively.
Chapter 949 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— in the table of sections, by striking the item relating to section 9381 and inserting the following new item: 9391. Fatality reviews. ; and by redesignating section 9381 as section 9391. Chapter 947 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by subsection
(a)of this section, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter: Sec. 9375. Definitions and implementation. 9376. Space Force civilian personnel: general authority to establish excepted positions, appoint personnel, and fix rates of pay. 9377. Basic pay. 9378. Additional compensation, allowances, and incentives. 9379. Limitation on certain payments. 9380. Benefits for certain employees assigned outside the United States. 9381. Space Force Senior Executive Service. 9382. Space Force Senior Level positions. 9383. Time-limited appointments. 9384. Termination of Space Force employees. 9385. Reductions and other adjustments in force. 9386. Postemployment assistance: certain terminated Space Force employees. 9387. Appointment of Space Force employees to competitive service positions in the Department of Defense. 9388. Merit system principles; civil service protections; right of appeal. In this subchapter: The term competitive service has the meaning given such term in section 2102 of title 5. The term excepted service has the meaning given such term in section 2103 of title 5. The term preference eligible has the meaning given such term in section 2108(3) of title 5. The term Senior Executive Service position has the meaning given such term in section 3132(a)(2) of title 5. The term Space Force position means a position as a civilian employee of the Department of the Air Force supporting the Space Force or United States Space Command, as determined by the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense may implement this subchapter without regard to any provision of chapter 71 of title 5. The Secretary of Defense may— establish, as positions in the excepted service, such positions in the Department of the Air Force as the Secretary of Defense determines necessary to support the Space Force, including— Space Force Senior Level positions designated under section 9382 of this title; and positions in the Space Force Senior Executive Service; after taking into consideration the availability of preference eligibles for appointment to those positions (except with respect to positions referred to in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph (1)), appoint individuals to those positions; and fix the compensation of such individuals for service in those positions. The authority of the Secretary of Defense under subsection
(a)applies without regard to the provisions of any other law relating to the appointment, number, classification, or compensation of employees. The Secretary of Defense shall fix the rates of basic pay for positions established under section 9376 of this title in relation to the rates of pay provided for comparable positions in the Department of Defense and subject to the same limitations on maximum rates of pay established for employees of the Department of Defense by law or regulation, or based upon compensation for similar positions in a labor market, as necessary to recruit and retain employees in support of the Space Force. The rate of basic pay for any position under the authority of this subchapter may not exceed the rate payable for a position at Level II of the Executive Schedule. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Defense may, consistent with section 5341 of title 5, adopt such provisions of that title as to provide for prevailing rate systems of basic pay and may apply those provisions to positions for civilian employees in or under which the Department of Defense may employ individuals described by section 5342(a)(2)(A) of that title. The Secretary of Defense may provide employees in Space Force positions compensation in addition to basic pay, including benefits, incentives, and allowances, consistent with and not in excess of the level authorized for comparable positions authorized by title 5. In addition to basic pay, employees in Space Force positions who are citizens or nationals of the United States and are stationed outside the continental United States or in Alaska may be paid an allowance, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, while they are so stationed. An allowance under this subsection shall be based on— living costs substantially higher than in the District of Columbia; or conditions of environment that— differ substantially from conditions of environment in the continental United States; and warrant an allowance as a recruitment incentive. An allowance under this subsection may not exceed the allowance authorized to be paid by section 5941(a) of title 5 for employees whose rates of basic pay are fixed by statute. No allowance, differential, bonus, award, or other similar cash payment under this title may be paid to an employee in a calendar year if, or to the extent that, when added to the total basic pay paid or payable to such employee for service performed in such calendar year, such payment would cause the total to exceed the total annual compensation payable to the Vice President under section 104 of title 3 as of the end of such calendar year. The Secretary of Defense may provide to civilian personnel described in subsection
(c)allowances and benefits comparable to those provided by the Secretary of State to officers and employees of the Foreign Service under paragraphs
(2)through
(8)and
(13)of section 901 and sections 705 and 903 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 ( 22 U.S.C. 4081 (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), and (13), 4025, 4083) and under section 5924(4) of title 5. Subsection
(a)shall apply to civilian personnel of the Department of Defense who— are United States nationals; are assigned to duty outside the United States; and are designated by the Secretary of Defense for the purposes of subsection (a). The Secretary of Defense may establish a Space Force Senior Executive Service for Space Force positions established pursuant to section 9376(a) of this title that are equivalent to Senior Executive Service positions. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for the Space Force Senior Executive Service that are consistent with the requirements set forth in sections 3131, 3132(a)(2), 3396(c), 3592, 3595(a), 5384, and 6304 of title 5, subsections (a), (b), and
(c)of section 7543 of such title (except that any hearing or appeal to which a member of the Space Force Senior Executive Service is entitled shall be held or decided pursuant to those regulations), and subchapter II of chapter 43 of such title. To the extent that the Secretary determines it practicable to apply to members of, or applicants for, the Space Force Senior Executive Service other provisions of title 5 that apply to members of, or applicants for, the Senior Executive Service, the Secretary shall also prescribe regulations to implement those provisions with respect to the Space Force Senior Executive Service. The President, based on the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, may award a rank referred to in section 4507 of title 5 to a member of the Space Force Senior Executive Service. The award of such rank shall be made in a manner consistent with the provisions of that section. The Space Force Senior Executive Service shall be subject to a performance appraisal system that, as designed and applied, is certified by the Secretary of Defense under section 5307 of title 5 as making meaningful distinctions based on relative performance. The performance appraisal system applicable to the Space Force Senior Executive Service under paragraph
(1)may be the same performance appraisal system that is established and implemented within the Department of Defense for members of the Senior Executive Service. The Secretary of Defense may designate as a Space Force Senior Level position any Space Force position that, as determined by the Secretary— is classifiable above grade GS–15 of the General Schedule; does not satisfy functional or program management criteria for being designated a Space Force Senior Executive Service position; and has no more than minimal supervisory responsibilities. Subsection
(a)shall be carried out in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The President, based on the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, may award a rank referred to in section 4507a of title 5 to an employee in a Space Force Senior Level position designated under subsection (a). The award of such rank shall be made in a manner consistent with the provisions of that section. The Secretary of Defense may authorize time-limited appointments to Space Force positions. The Secretary of Defense shall review each time-limited appointment in a Space Force position at the end of the first year of the period of the appointment and determine whether the appointment should be continued for the remainder of the period. An employee serving in a Space Force position pursuant to a time-limited appointment is not eligible for a permanent appointment to a Space Force Senior Executive Service position (including a position in which the employee is serving) unless the employee is selected for the permanent appointment on a competitive basis. In this section, the term time-limited appointment means an appointment for a period not to exceed three years. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Defense may terminate the employment of any employee in a Space Force position if the Secretary— considers that action to be in the interests of the United States; and determines that the procedures prescribed in other provisions of law that authorize the termination of the employment of such employee cannot be invoked in a manner consistent with the national security. A decision by the Secretary of Defense to terminate the employment of an employee under this section is final and may not be appealed or reviewed outside the Department of Defense. Whenever the Secretary of Defense terminates the employment of an employee under the authority of this section, the Secretary shall promptly notify the congressional defense committees of such termination. Any termination of employment under this section shall not affect the right of the terminated employee to seek or accept employment with any other department or agency of the United States if that employee is declared eligible for such employment by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. The authority of the Secretary of Defense under this section may be delegated only to the Deputy Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the Air Force. An action to terminate employment of an employee by the Deputy Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the Air Force may be appealed to the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for the separation of employees in Space Force positions, including members of the Space Force Senior Executive Service and employees in Space Force Senior Level positions, during a reduction in force or other adjustment in force. Such regulations shall apply to such a reduction in force or other adjustment in force notwithstanding sections 3501(b) and 3502 of title 5. The determination of which employees shall be separated from employment in Space Force positions during a reduction in force or other adjustment in force shall be made primarily on the basis of performance. The regulations prescribed under this section relating to removal from the Space Force Senior Executive Service in a reduction in force or other adjustment in force shall be consistent with section 3595(a) of title 5. Subject to subsections
(b)and (c), the Secretary of Defense may, in the case of any individual who is a qualified former Space Force employee, use appropriated funds to— assist that individual in finding and qualifying for employment other than in a Space Force position; assist that individual in meeting the expenses of treatment of medical or psychological disabilities of that individual; and provide financial support to that individual during periods of unemployment. Assistance may be provided to a qualified former Space Force employee under subsection
(a)only if the Secretary determines that such assistance is essential to— maintain the judgment and emotional stability of the qualified former Space Force employee; and avoid circumstances that might lead to the unlawful disclosure of classified information to which the qualified former Space Force employee had access. Assistance may not be provided under this section in the case of any individual after the end of the five-year period beginning on the date of the termination of the employment of the individual in a Space Force position. In this section, the term qualified former Space Force employee means an individual who was employed in a Space Force position— who has been found to be ineligible for continued access to information designated as Sensitive Compartmented Information and employment in the Space Force; or whose employment in a Space Force position has been terminated. Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense may appoint an employee serving in a Space Force position in the excepted service to a position in the Department of Defense in the competitive service without competition. The Secretary may only exercise the authority under subsection
(a)if— the employee concerned has served continuously for at least two years in a Space Force position that is not time-limited under an excepted appointment or has been involuntarily separated from such position without personal cause within the preceding 12 months; the employee concerned meets the qualification standards and requirements for the competitive service position in accordance with Office of Personnel Management standards; and the employee concerned is considered for selection to competitive service positions in the same manner that other individuals are considered for appointments without competition. Section 2301 of title 5 shall apply to the exercise of authority under this subchapter (other than sections 9380 and 9386). If, in the case of a position established under authority other than section 9376(a)(1) of this title that is reestablished as an excepted service position under that section, the provisions of law referred to in paragraph
(2)applied to the person serving in that position immediately before the position is so reestablished and such provisions of law would not otherwise apply to the person while serving in the position as so reestablished, then such provisions of law shall, subject to paragraph (3), continue to apply to the person with respect to service in that position for as long as the person continues to serve in the position without a break in service. The provisions of law referred to in paragraph
(1)are the following provisions of title 5: Section 2302, relating to prohibited personnel practices. Chapter 75, relating to adverse actions. Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 75 of title 5, an appeal of an adverse action by an individual employee covered by paragraph
(1)shall be determined within the Department of Defense if the employee so elects. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe the procedures for initiating and determining appeals of adverse actions pursuant to elections made under subparagraph (A). The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to provide a right of appeal regarding a personnel action under this subchapter. The appeal shall be determined within the Department of Defense. An appeal determined at the highest level provided in the regulations shall be final and not subject to review outside the Department of Defense. A personnel action covered by the regulations is not subject to any other provision of law that provides appellate rights or procedures. .
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Sec. 1704
Civilian personnel supporting the Space Force
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