Sec. 103. Department of Veterans Affairs accountability, management, and leadership survey
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Starting not less than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and not less than once every two years thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a voluntary anonymous accountability, management, and leadership survey open to all employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Secretary shall ensure the following: Feedback collected and data compiled under this section is only to be disaggregated by— whether an employee is in a Senior Executive Service position (as such term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code) or other equivalent position or not; and Administration (namely Veterans Health Administration, National Cemetery Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and Central Office of the Department) or staff office or other entity where a survey participant is employed.
In carrying out paragraph (1), the granularity of data collected is not recorded or collected in a manner to allow the identification of employees within any unit of the Department which contains a relatively smaller number of employees and whose identities could potentially be ascertained. Feedback collected and data compiled under this section does not include any personally identifiable information. The protections for participants provided under this subsection are clearly made known within the survey and in educational and training material informing employees of the Department about the survey.
As part of the voluntary anonymous survey required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall inquire about the following: The knowledge level and understanding of employees regarding reporting and accountability structures within and outside of the Department regarding employment concerns, issues of waste, fraud, and abuse and other related matters. The knowledge level and understanding of employees regarding whistleblower protections including protections against prohibited personnel actions described in section 731(c) of title 38, United States Code.
The knowledge level and understanding of employees regarding where to seek assistance with equal employment opportunity, harassment, and other related matters. The knowledge level and understanding of how to report information to the Office of Inspector General of the Department, the Office of the Medical Inspector established by section 7306B of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 202, the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the Office of Special Counsel, the Comptroller General of the United States, and related entities.
To what extent employees feel comfortable reporting areas of concern to an individual in the supervisory chain of the employee. If the employee has reported areas of concern within their supervisor chain in the past, to what extent the employee feels the report was taken seriously and addressed. If the employee has reported areas of concern to a representative of a labor organization, to what extent the employee feels the labor organization was able to address it. The opinions and comments of survey participants on any topic the participants consider appropriate.
Such other matters the Secretary considers appropriate. At the end of each survey required by subsection (a), the Department shall provide employees with information and resources regarding the following: How to reach out to their appropriate labor representatives, where applicable. Resources and information on the legal protections for whistleblowers. Reporting information to the Office of Inspector General of the Department, the Office of the Medical Inspector established by section 301, the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the Office of Special Counsel, the Comptroller General of the United States, and related entities.
The Secretary shall not require an employee who chooses to participate in the survey to respond to every question of the survey required by subsection (a). Not later than 180 after the date of the completion of the initial survey conducted pursuant to subsection
(a)and each survey conducted thereafter, the Department shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the survey. Each report submitted pursuant to paragraph
(1)regarding a survey shall include the following, disaggregated as described in subsection (b)(1): A copy of the survey as it was presented, including any variations depending on employee status and Administration, staff office, or related element of the Department. The survey response rate. A description of outreach the Department conducted to notify employees of the survey and solicit responses. A description of incentives provided to employees for responding to the survey or workplace accommodations made for employees to respond to the survey during working hours. A description of safeguards instituted to ensure employee anonymity. Conclusions, recommendations, and plans of action based on survey responses to improve accountability, due process, employee retention and development, and leadership and management at the Department. The Secretary may enlist a reputable non-Department entity to develop, conduct, and analyze the surveys. The Secretary shall solicit formal written feedback from labor organization partners and other appropriate entities regarding the contents of the surveys conducted pursuant to subsection
(a)and the data analysis of each survey. The Secretary shall share these recommendations with the committees described in subsection (d)(1) and include feedback on whether or not the Secretary intends to follow the recommendations and explanations for any recommendations the Secretary does not follow. The requirements of this section shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act, but the Secretary may continue conducting surveys under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate. In this section, the term whistleblower has the meaning given such term in section 323 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by this Act.