Limits on VA Employee Rights Advancing

The House plans to vote today (July 29) on a bill (HR-1994) to: make the standard probationary period for VA employees 18 months rather than 12 months, with the department having the option to make it even longer; shorten the period in which a disciplined employee could appeal to the MSPB from the standard 30 days to seven; mandate rotation of VA senior executives every five years; and limit how many of them could receive top ratings under their pay for performance system. There would be additional due process protections for employees who contend they are the victims of retaliation for whistleblowing. Meanwhile, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has passed a counterpart (S-1082), clearing it for a full Senate vote after the August congressional recess. That panel also approved S-627, which would allow the department to require employees to repay any performance or similar awards they received since 2011 if they later were found to have been involved in falsification of patient records there. The House already has passed a bill (HR-280) that would more broadly authorize clawbacks of awards at the department’s discretion. Both would provide for appeal rights.