Sec. 133. FAA ACCOUNTABILITY ENHANCEMENT
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## SEC. 133 FAA ACCOUNTABILITY ENHANCEMENT ###
(a)Enhancement of the Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office in the Federal Aviation Administration ####
(1)Renaming of the office #####
(A)In general Section 106(t)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “an Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office” and inserting “the Office of Whistleblower Protection and Aviation Safety Investigations”. #####
(B)Conforming amendment The heading of subsection
(t)of section 106 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office” and inserting “Office of Whistleblower Protection and Aviation Safety Investigations”. ####
(2)Duties #####
(A)In general Section 106(t)(3)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— ######
(i)in clause (i), by striking “(if the certificate holder does not have a similar in-house whistleblower or safety and regulatory noncompliance reporting process)” and inserting “(if the certificate holder does not have a similar in-house whistleblower or safety and regulatory noncompliance reporting process established under or pursuant to a safety management system)”; ######
(ii)in clause (ii), by striking “and” at the end; ######
(iii)in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and ######
(iv)by adding at the end the following: > > ###### “(iv) > > receive allegations of whistleblower retaliation by employees of the Agency; > > > ###### “(v) > > coordinate with and provide all necessary assistance to the Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility, the inspector general of the Department of Transportation, and the Office of Special Counsel on investigations relating to whistleblower retaliation by employees of the Agency; and > > > ###### “(vi) > > investigate allegations of whistleblower retaliation by employees of the Agency that have been delegated to the Office by the Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility, the inspector general of the Department of Transportation, or the Office of Special Counsel.” > . #####
(B)Limitation Section 106(t)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: > > ##### “(E) Limitation of duties > > The Director may only perform duties of the Director described in paragraph (3)(A).” > . #####
(C)Conforming amendments Section 106(t)(7) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— ######
(i)in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “October 1” and inserting “November 15”; and ######
(ii)in subparagraph (A), by striking “paragraph (3)(A)(i) in the preceding 12-month period” and inserting “paragraph (3)(A)(i) in the preceding fiscal year”. ####
(3)Report Section 106(t)(7) of title 49, United States Code, as amended by paragraph (2)(C), is further amended— #####
(A)in subparagraph (C)— ######
(i)by inserting “the resolution of those submissions, including any” before “further”; and ######
(ii)by striking “and” after the semicolon; #####
(B)in subparagraph
(D)by striking “recommendations.” and inserting “recommendations; and”; and #####
(C)by adding at the end the following: > > ##### “(E) > > A summary of the activities of the Whistleblower Ombudsman, including— > > > ###### “(i) > > the number of employee consultations conducted by the Whistleblower Ombudsman in the preceding 12-month period and a summary of such consultations and their resolution (in a de-identified or anonymized form); and > > > ###### “(ii) > > the number of reported incidents of retaliation during such period and, if applicable, a description of the disposition of such incidents during such period.” > . ###
(b)Whistleblower Ombudsman Section 106(t) of title 49, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(8) Whistleblower ombudsman > > > ##### “(A) In general > > Within the Office, there shall be established the position of Whistleblower Ombudsman. > > > ##### “(B) Ombudsman qualifications > > The individual selected as Ombudsman shall have knowledge of Federal labor law and demonstrated government experience in human resource management, and conflict resolution. > > > ##### “(C) Duties > > The Ombudsman shall carry out the following duties: > > > ###### “(i) > > Educate Administration employees about prohibitions against materially adverse acts of retaliation and any specific rights or remedies with respect to those retaliatory actions. > > > ###### “(ii) > > Serve as an independent confidential resource for Administration employees to discuss any specific retaliation allegation and available rights or remedies based on the circumstances, as appropriate. > > > ###### “(iii) > > Coordinate with Human Resource Management, the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Office of the Chief Counsel, as necessary. > > > ###### “(iv) > > Coordinate with the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation’s Whistleblower Protection Coordinator and the Office of the Special Counsel, as necessary. > > > ###### “(v) > > Conduct outreach and assist in the development of training within the Agency to mitigate the potential for retaliation and promote timely and appropriate processing of any protected disclosure or allegation of materially adverse acts of retaliation.” > . ###
(c)Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility **[**[49 U.S.C. 40122 note](/us/usc/t49/s40122)**]** The Administrator shall take such action as may be necessary to redesignate the Office of Investigations of the Administration as the Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility. ###
(d)Misconduct Investigations ####
(1)In general The Administrator shall review and revise the Administration’s existing investigative policies that govern the investigation of misconduct by a manager of the Administration conducted by the FAA (in this subsection referred to as the “Agency”). ####
(2)Preservation of collective bargaining agreements The investigative policy established under paragraph
(1)shall not apply to, or in the future, be extended by the Administrator to apply to, any employee who is not a manager or is covered by or eligible to be covered by a collective bargaining agreement entered into by the Agency. ####
(3)Requirements In revising the investigative policies, the Administrator shall ensure such policies require— #####
(A)the utilization of investigative best practices to ensure independent and objective investigation and accurate recording and reporting of such investigation; #####
(B)the management of case files to ensure the integrity of the information contained in such case files; #####
(C)interviews be conducted in a manner that ensures, to the greatest extent possible, truthful answers and accurate records of such interviews; #####
(D)coordination with the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation, the Office of the Special Counsel, and the Attorney General, as appropriate; and #####
(E)the completion of investigations in a timely manner. ####
(4)Definition For purposes of this subsection, the term “manager” means an employee of the Agency who is a supervisor or management official, as defined in section 7103(a) of title 5, United States Code.
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Sec. 133
FAA ACCOUNTABILITY ENHANCEMENT
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