Sec. 142. MODIFICATION OF PAY LIMITATION FOR PHYSICIANS, PODIATRISTS, OPTOMETRISTS, AND DENTISTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
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## SEC. 142 MODIFICATION OF PAY LIMITATION FOR PHYSICIANS, PODIATRISTS, OPTOMETRISTS, AND DENTISTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ###
(a)Pay ####
(1)In general Section 7431 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— #####
(A)by inserting “optometrists,” after “podiatrists,” each place it appears; #####
(B)by inserting “optometrist” after “podiatrist,” each place it appears; #####
(C)in subsection (c)— ######
(i)in paragraph (5), by adding at the end the following new sentence: “Such a notice shall include a statement of whether the market pay will increase, decrease, or remain unchanged following such evaluation.”; and ######
(ii)by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: > > #### “(7) > > The Secretary shall ensure that each physician, podiatrist, optometrist, and dentist in the Veterans Health Administration is— > > > ##### “(A) > > advised, on an annual basis, of the criteria described in subparagraph
(F)of paragraph (4); > > > ##### “(B) > > evaluated in accordance with such criteria; and > > > ##### “(C) > > compensated in accordance with— > > > ###### “(i) > > applicable assignment and pay levels, subject to relevant pay limitations; and > > > ###### “(ii) > > the extent to which such criteria are met. > > > #### “(8) > > Not later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that includes the following: > > > ##### “(A) > > A list of each facility and specialty that conducted an evaluation of pay during the period covered by the report. > > > ##### “(B) > > For each evaluation described in subparagraph (A)— > > > ###### “(i) > > a list of occupations for which pay was evaluated, disaggregated by medical specialty, number of authorized full-time employees, and onsite full-time employees as of the date of the evaluation; > > > ###### “(ii) > > the date such evaluation was completed; > > > ###### “(iii) > > whether a market pay adjustment was made following the evaluation per each occupation and specialty evaluated; > > > ###### “(iv) > > whether applicable employees were notified of such evaluation; > > > ###### “(v) > > whether local labor partners were notified of such evaluation; and > > > ###### “(vi) > > in the case of an evaluation that resulted in an adjustment of pay— > > > ###### “(I) > > the date such adjustment— > > > ###### “(aa) > > was implemented; and > > > ###### “(bb) > > became effective; and > > > ###### “(II) > > the percentage of employees of each occupation and specialty for which pay was adjusted pursuant to such evaluation. > > > ##### “(C) > > A list of facilities of the Department that have not conducted an evaluation of market pay, pursuant to paragraph (5), during the 18-month-period that precedes the date of the submission of such report.” > ; and #####
(D)in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: > > #### “(5) > > Notwithstanding any compensation or pay limitations under this title or title 5, the Secretary may authorize the Under Secretary for Health to pay physicians, podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists— > > > ##### “(A) > > awards authorized under this title; > > > ##### “(B) > > advance payments, recruitment or relocation bonuses, and retention allowances authorized under section 7410(a) of this title or as otherwise provided by law; > > > ##### “(C) > > incentives or bonuses under section 706 of this title or as otherwise provided by law; and > > > ##### “(D) > > earnings from fee-basis appointments under section 7405(a)(2) of this title. > > > #### “(6) > > > #####
(A)> > The Secretary may waive any pay limitation described in this section (including tier limitations) that the Secretary determines necessary for the recruitment or retention of critical health care personnel whom the Secretary determines would provide direct patient care. > > > ##### “(B) > > Priority for such waivers shall be given for positions, locations, and care provided through agreements that are costly to the Department. > > > ##### “(C) > > The Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department, and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department shall review any waiver issued under subparagraph (A). > > > ##### “(D) > > During the period the authority under subparagraph
(A)is effective, the Secretary may not issue more than 300 waivers under such subparagraph. > > > ##### “(E) > > The Secretary may prescribe requirements, limitations, and other considerations for waivers under such subparagraph. > > > ##### “(F) > > Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that includes— > > > ###### “(i) > > any updates to the requirements, limitations, and considerations prescribed under subparagraph
(B)during the period covered by the report; > > > ###### “(ii) > > a description of the findings of each review, if any, conducted pursuant to subparagraph (C); > > > ###### “(iii) > > a description of each waiver under subparagraph
(A)in effect as of the date of the submission of the report, including the— > > > ###### “(I) > > duty location, position, specialty, market and performance considerations for the waiver; and > > > ###### “(II) > > impact, if any, of the waiver on care furnished by the Department pursuant to an agreement regarding the geographic area; and > > > ###### “(iv) > > a list of any separation actions during the period covered by the report with respect to a position for which a waiver under subparagraph
(A)is in effect. > > > ##### “(G) > > The authority of the Secretary under subparagraph
(A)shall terminate on the last day of the third full fiscal year following the date of the enactment of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.” > . ####
(2)Report on waiver authority Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that includes a description of the requirements, limitations, and other considerations prescribed under section 7431(b)(6)(D) of title 38, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1). ####
(3)Conforming amendments #####
(A)Pay of under secretary for health Section 7432(b)(1) of such title is amended by inserting “, podiatrist, optometrist,” after “physician”. #####
(B)Administrative matters Section 7433 of such title is amended by inserting “optometrists,” after “physicians,” each place it appears. #####
(C)Competitive pay Section 7451(a)(2)(C) of such title is amended by inserting “optometrist,” after “physician,”. ####
(4)Clerical amendments #####
(A)Subchapter heading Subchapter III of chapter 74 of such title is amended in the heading by inserting “Optometrists,” after “PODIATRISTS,”. #####
(B)Table of sections The table of sections for such chapter is amended by striking the item relating to subchapter III and inserting the following:" “subchapter iii—pay for physicians and other health-care personnel” ". ####
(5)Applicability dates **[**[38 U.S.C. 7431 note](/us/usc/t38/s7431)**]** The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to any pay period of the Department of Veterans Affairs beginning on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. ###
(b)Modification and Clarification of Pay Grade for Optometrists Section 7404 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (a)(2)(A), by striking “podiatrists, and dentists” and inserting “podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists”; and ####
(2)in subsection (b)— #####
(A)by striking “podiatrist (dpm), and dentist” and inserting “podiatrist (dpm), optometrist (od), and dentist”; #####
(B)by striking “clinical chiropractor and optometrist schedule,” and inserting “clinical chiropractor schedule”; and #####
(C)by inserting “optometrist grade” after “Podiatrist grade”. ###
(c)Retroactive Authority for Compensation **[**[38 U.S.C. 7431 note](/us/usc/t38/s7431)**]** ####
(1)In general The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may pay retroactive compensation to a covered employee in an amount that equals the amount of compensation that was authorized to be paid to such covered employee during the period specified in paragraph (2), but was deferred and paid to such employee in the calendar year following the calender year in which such compensation was authorized because the payment such compensation would have exceeded an applicable cap on annual compensation. ####
(2)Period specified The period specified in this paragraph is the period beginning on January 8, 2006, and ending on December 31, 2017. ####
(3)Exclusion Compensation authorized under this subsection shall not be included in the calculation of any aggregate limit on compensation for a covered employee for the year in which it is paid. ####
(4)Charging of compensation Compensation authorized under this subsection shall be charged to the appropriate medical care appropriation account of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the fiscal year in which the work was performed except as follows: #####
(A)In the case of an account that has closed pursuant to section 1552 of title 31, United States Code, the compensation shall be charged to a current appropriation account in accordance with section 1553 of such title. #####
(B)In the case of an expired account that has not closed, if charging the compensation to the expired account would cause such account to have a negative unliquidated or unexpended balance, the compensation may be charged to a current appropriation account available for the same purpose. ####
(5)Definitions In this subsection: #####
(A)The term “compensation” means any pay, including salary, awards, and incentives. #####
(B)The term “covered employee” means a physician, podiatrist, or dentist subject to market pay under section 7431 of title 38, United States Code.
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Sec. 142
MODIFICATION OF PAY LIMITATION FOR PHYSICIANS, PODIATRISTS, OPTOMETRISTS, AND DENTISTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
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