42 U.S.C. § 19321 — Special hiring authority for scientific,

Page 9357 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 19331 participate in this program at each National Laboratory and the number of employees who take a permanent leave from their positions at National Laboratories as a result of partici- pating in this program. (e) Federal ethics Nothing in this section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal per- sonnel. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10719, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1707.) § 19313. National Laboratory non-Federal em- ployee outside employment authority (a) In general The Secretary shall delegate to Directors of National Laboratories the authority to allow their non-Federal employees— (1) to engage in outside employment, includ- ing start-up companies based on licensing technologies developed at National Labora- tories and consulting in their areas of exper- tise, and receive compensation from such enti- ties; and (2) to engage in outside activities related to their areas of expertise at the National Lab- oratory and may allow employees, in their em- ployment capacity at such outside employ- ment, to access the National Laboratories under the same contracting mechanisms as non-Laboratory employees and entities, in ac- cordance with appropriate conflict of interest protocols. (b) Requirements If a Director elects to use the authority grant- ed by subsection (a) of this section, the Director, or their designee, shall— (1) require employees to disclose to and ob- tain approval from the Director or their des- ignee prior to engaging in any outside employ- ment; (2) develop and require appropriate conflict of interest protocols for employees that en- gage in outside employment; (3) maintain the authority to terminate em- ployees engaging in outside employment if they are found to violate terms, including con- flict of interest protocols, mandated by the Di- rector; and (4) ensure that any such programs or activi- ties are in conformance with the Department’s research security policies, including DOE Order 486.1. (c) Additional restrictions Employees engaging in outside employment may not— (1) allow such activities to interfere with or impede their duties at the National Labora- tory; (2) engage in activities related to outside employment using National Laboratory gov- ernment equipment, property, or resources, unless such activities are performed under Na- tional Laboratory contracting mechanisms, such as Cooperative Research and Develop- ment Agreements or Strategic Partnership Projects, whereby all conflicts of interest re- quirements apply; or (3) use their position at a National Labora- tory to provide an unfair competitive advan- tage to an outside employer or start-up activ- ity. (d) Federal ethics Nothing in this section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal per- sonnel. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10720, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1707.) SUBPART 3—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY MODERNIZATION § 19321. Special hiring authority for scientific, engineering, and project management per- sonnel (a) In general The Under Secretary for Science shall have the authority to— (1) make appointments of not more than 60 scientific, engineering, and professional per- sonnel, without regard to civil service laws, to assist the Department in meeting specific project or research needs; (2) fix the basic pay of any employee ap- pointed under this section at a rate to be de- termined by the Under Secretary at rates not in excess of Level II of the Executive Schedule (EX–II) under section 5311 of title 5 without re- gard to the civil service laws; and (3) pay any employee appointed under this section payments in addition to basic pay, ex- cept that the total amount of additional pay- ments paid to an employee under this sub- section for any 12-month period shall not ex- ceed the lesser of the following amounts: (A) $25,000. (B) The amount equal to 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of that employee. (C) The amount of the limitation that is applicable for a calendar year under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5. (b) Term (1) In general The term of any employee appointed under this section shall not exceed 3 years unless otherwise authorized in law. (2) Termination The Under Secretary for Science shall have the authority to terminate any employee ap- pointed under this section at any time based on performance or changing project or re- search needs of the Department. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VI, § 10726, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1710.) PART I—MICRO ACT § 19331. Microelectronics research for energy in- novation (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Center The term ‘‘Center’’ means a Microelec- tronics Science Research Center established pursuant to subsection (d).