38 U.S.C. § 732 — Protection of whistleblowers as criteria in

Page 125 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 733 1 See References in Text note below. (B) providing information or participating as a witness in an investigation of a whistle- blower disclosure made to the Assistant Sec- retary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the Inspector General of the De- partment, the Special Counsel, or Congress; (C) participating in an audit or investiga- tion by the Comptroller General of the United States; (D) refusing to perform an action that is unlawful or prohibited by the Department; or (E) engaging in communications that are related to the duties of the position or are otherwise protected. (2) Preventing or restricting an employee from making an action described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1). (3) Conducting a negative peer review or opening a retaliatory investigation because of an activity of an employee that is protected by section 2302 of title 5. (4) Requesting a contractor to carry out an action that is prohibited by section 4705(b) or section 4712(a)(1) of title 41, as the case may be. (d) WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘whistleblower disclo- sure’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- tion 323(g) of this title. (Added Pub. L. 114–223, div. A, title II, § 247(a)(1), Sept. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 887, § 733; renumbered § 731 and amended Pub. L. 115–41, title I, § 102(a)(2), (c), title II, § 206, June 23, 2017, 131 Stat. 865, 867, 877.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 731, added Pub. L. 114–223, div. A, title II, § 247(a)(1), Sept. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 884, defined whis- tleblower complaint, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–41, title I, § 102(a)(1), June 23, 2017, 131 Stat. 865. AMENDMENTS 2017—Pub. L. 115–41, § 102(a)(2), renumbered section 733 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 115–41, § 206, substituted ‘‘10 days’’ for ‘‘14 days’’ in cl. (i) and ‘‘10-day period’’ for ‘‘14-day period’’ in cl. (ii). Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 115–41, § 102(c)(1)(A)(i), added subpar. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A) which read as follows: ‘‘filing a whistleblower complaint in accordance with section 732 of this title;’’. Subsec. (c)(1)(B). Pub. L. 115–41, § 102(c)(1)(A), redesig- nated subpar. (C) as (B), substituted ‘‘disclosure made to the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection,’’ for ‘‘complaint in accord- ance with section 732 or with’’, and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as follows: ‘‘filing a whistle- blower complaint with the Inspector General of the De- partment, the Special Counsel, or Congress;’’. Subsec. (c)(1)(C) to (F). Pub. L. 115–41, § 102(c)(1)(A)(ii), redesignated subpars. (C) to (F) as (B) to (E), respectively. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–41, § 102(c)(1)(B), substituted ‘‘through (E)’’ for ‘‘through (F)’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–41, § 102(c)(2), added subsec. (d). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries IMPROVEMENT OF TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS Pub. L. 115–41, title II, § 209, June 23, 2017, 131 Stat. 879, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to each employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is employed as a supervisor peri- odic training on the following: ‘‘(1) The rights of whistleblowers and how to ad- dress a report by an employee of a hostile work envi- ronment, reprisal, or harassment. ‘‘(2) How to effectively motivate, manage, and re- ward the employees who report to the supervisor. ‘‘(3) How to effectively manage employees who are performing at an unacceptable level and access as- sistance from the human resources office of the De- partment and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department with respect to those employees. ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) SUPERVISOR.—The term ‘supervisor’ has the meaning given such term in section 7103(a) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(2) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistleblower’ has the meaning given such term in section 323(g) of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 101.’’ § 732. Protection of whistleblowers as criteria in evaluation of supervisors (a) DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF CRITERIA RE- QUIRED.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, shall develop criteria that— (1) the Secretary shall use as a critical ele- ment in any evaluation of the performance of a supervisory employee; and (2) promotes the protection of whistle- blowers. (b) PRINCIPLES FOR PROTECTION OF WHISTLE- BLOWERS.—The criteria required by subsection (a) shall include principles for the protection of whistleblowers, such as the degree to which su- pervisory employees respond constructively when employees of the Department report con- cerns, take responsible action to resolve such concerns, and foster an environment in which employees of the Department feel comfortable reporting concerns to supervisory employees or to the appropriate authorities. (c) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE AND WHISTLE- BLOWER DEFINED.—In this section, the terms ‘‘supervisory employee’’ and ‘‘whistleblower’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 323 of this title. (Added Pub. L. 115–41, title I, § 102(a)(3), June 23, 2017, 131 Stat. 865.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 732, added Pub. L. 114–223, div. A, title II, § 247(a)(1), Sept. 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 884, related to treatment of whistleblower complaints, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–41, title I, § 102(a)(1), June 23, 2017, 131 Stat. 865. § 733. Training regarding whistleblower disclo- sures (a) TRAINING.—Not less frequently than once every two years, the Secretary, in coordination with the Whistleblower Protection Ombudsman designated under section 3(d)(1)(C) of the Inspec- tor General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.),1 shall provide to each employee of the Department