Sponsors said the bill would allow the VA to discipline bad employees and hold unsatisfactory middle managers accountable. Image: Pam Anders/Shutterstock.com
A newly offered bill (HR-4278 and S-2158) by the bipartisan leaders of the Veterans Affairs Committees in both the House and Senate seeks to reinstate and strengthen special disciplinary powers at the VA enacted in a 2017 law but which the department earlier this year stopped using.
That law, passed in the wake of a number of scandals at the VA over the preceding years, shortened the notice and response time within the VA, shortened the time that the MSPB can consider an appeal, required that the department need only show “substantial” evidence supporting its decision in an appeal to the MSPB, and said that the MSPB cannot lessen a penalty the department chooses, only either affirm or overturn it.
However, in March the VA said that standard civil service disciplinary procedures are sufficient for its needs. It said that using that authority had mainly resulted in tying up the VA in court cases over the extent of the special powers—which resulted in a number of decisions interpreting those powers narrowly.
Unions representing VA employees praised the move; they had complained from the outset that while the scandals had largely involved managerial and executive-level officials, in practice the provisions were used disproportionately against front-line employees.
Sponsors said their bill would “reinstate the intent of Congress by giving VA the authority to quickly and fairly discipline bad employees and strengthen VA’s ability to hold unsatisfactory middle managers accountable. We’ve heard from too many whistleblowers that bad VA employees are impacting care and hurting employee morale. Our bill will bring accountability back to VA for good.”
Provisions include ensuring that VA decisions supported by substantial evidence are upheld on appeal; ending a requirement for a performance improvement plan prior to disciplinary action; applying the authorities to all categories of VA employees; and applying to managers and supervisors the shortcut disciplinary procedures applying to VA senior executives under a separate law also enacted in response to the scandals.
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