37 U.S.C. § 308j — Special pay: affiliation bonus for officers

Page 102 TITLE 37—PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES § 308j Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(e)(2)(B), substituted ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ for ‘‘subsection (d)’’. Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(e)(2)(C), substituted ‘‘subsection (e)’’ for ‘‘subsection (h)’’ and ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ for ‘‘subsection (d)’’. Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(e)(2)(B), substituted ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ for ‘‘subsection (d)’’. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(e)(3), inserted head- ing. Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(d)(2), redesignated subsec. (h) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated subsec. (d)(2). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(e)(4), inserted heading. Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(d)(2), redesignated subsec. (i) as (f). Former subsec. (f) redesignated subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 105–85, § 611(g), amended subsec. (f), as redesig- nated by Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(d)(2), by substituting ‘‘September 30, 1999’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1998’’. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(d)(2), redesignated subsec. (g) as subsec. (d)(4). Subsecs. (h), (i). Pub. L. 105–85, § 622(d)(2), redesig- nated subsecs. (h) and (i) as (e) and (f), respectively. 1996—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 104–201 substituted ‘‘Sep- tember 30, 1998’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1997’’. Pub. L. 104–106 substituted ‘‘September 30, 1997’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1996’’. 1994—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 103–337 substituted ‘‘Sep- tember 30, 1996’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1995’’. 1993—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 103–160 substituted ‘‘Sep- tember 30, 1995’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1993’’. 1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–484, § 1136, inserted be- fore period at end ‘‘and may not be paid a bonus under this section unless the specialty associated with the po- sition the member is projected to occupy is a specialty in which the member successfully served while on ac- tive duty and attained a level of qualification commen- surate with the member’s grade and years of service’’. Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 102–484, § 612(d), substituted ‘‘Sep- tember 30, 1993’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1992’’. 1991—Subsecs. (e) to (g). Pub. L. 102–25 struck out ‘‘of this section’’ wherever appearing. 1989—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 101–189 substituted ‘‘Sep- tember 30, 1992’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1990’’. 1987—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 100–26 inserted a comma after ‘‘$2,500’’. Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 100–180 substituted ‘‘September 30, 1990’’ for ‘‘September 30, 1987’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 110–181 effective as of Dec. 31, 2007, and subject to various special provisions, see sec- tion 610 of Pub. L. 110–181, set out as a Correction of Lapsed Authorities for Payment of Bonuses, Special Pays, and Similar Benefits for Members of the Uni- formed Services note under section 2130a of Title 10, Armed Forces. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2002 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of Title 10, Armed Forces. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1999 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title VI, § 623(b), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 654, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by sub- section (a) [amending this section] shall take effect on October 1, 1999, and shall apply to enlistments begin- ning on or after that date.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1993 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 103–160 effective as of Sept. 30, 1993, and applicable with respect to an enlistment, re- enlistment, or extension of an enlistment described in this section or section 308b, 308c, or 308h of this title oc- curring on or after that date, see section 612(f) of Pub. L. 103–160, set out as a note under section 308b of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 99–145, title VI, § 644(b), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 653, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by sub- section (a) [enacting this section] shall take effect on October 1, 1985.’’ SAVINGS PROVISION For savings provision relating to payment or repay- ment of any bonus, incentive pay, special pay, or simi- lar pay obligated to be paid before Apr. 1, 2006, under a provision of this section amended by section 687(b) of Pub. L. 109–163, see section 687(f) of Pub. L. 109–163, set out as a note under section 510 of Title 10, Armed Forces. COVERAGE OF PERIOD OF LAPSED AUTHORITY For provisions relating to coverage of period of lapsed authority from Oct. 1, 1992, to Oct. 23, 1992, for payment of bonuses or other special pay under this sec- tion, see section 612(j)(2) of Pub. L. 102–484, set out as a note under section 301b of this title. § 308j. Special pay: affiliation bonus for officers in the Selected Reserve (a) AFFILIATION BONUS.—(1) The Secretary con- cerned may pay an affiliation bonus under this section to an eligible officer in any of the armed forces who enters into an agreement with the Secretary to serve, for the period specified in the agreement, in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of an armed force under the Sec- retary’s jurisdiction— (A) in a critical officer skill designated under paragraph (3); or (B) to meet a manpower shortage in— (i) a unit of that Selected Reserve; or (ii) a particular pay grade in that armed force. (2) An officer is eligible for an affiliation bonus under this section if the officer— (A) either— (i) is serving on active duty for a period of more than 30 days; or (ii) is a member of a reserve component not on active duty and, if the member for- merly served on active duty, was released from active duty under honorable condi- tions; and (B) is not entitled to receive retired or re- tainer pay. (3)(A) The Secretary concerned shall designate for an armed force under the Secretary’s juris- diction the critical officer skills to which the bonus authority under this subsection is to be applied. (B) A skill may be designated as a critical offi- cer skill for an armed force under subparagraph (A) if, to meet requirements of that armed force, it is critical for that armed force to have a suffi- cient number of officers who are qualified in that skill. (4) An affiliation bonus payable pursuant to an agreement under this section to an eligible offi- cer accrues on the date on which the person is assigned to a unit or position in the Selected Reserve pursuant to such agreement. Page 103 TITLE 37—PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES § 309 (b) ACCESSION BONUS.—(1) The Secretary con- cerned may pay an accession bonus under this section to an eligible person who enters into an agreement with the Secretary— (A) to accept an appointment as an officer in the armed forces; and (B) to serve in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve in a skill designated under paragraph (2) for a period specified in the agreement. (2)(A) The Secretary concerned shall designate for an armed force under the Secretary’s juris- diction the officer skills to which the authority under this subsection is to be applied. (B) A skill may be designated for an armed force under subparagraph (A) if, to mitigate a current or projected significant shortage of per- sonnel in that armed force who are qualified in that skill, it is critical to increase the number of persons accessed into that armed force who are qualified in that skill or are to be trained in that skill. (3) An accession bonus payable to a person pursuant to an agreement under this section ac- crues on the date on which that agreement is ac- cepted by the Secretary concerned. (c) PERIOD OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.—An agree- ment entered into with the Secretary concerned under this section shall require the person en- tering into that agreement to serve in the Se- lected Reserve for a specified period. The period specified in the agreement shall be any period not less than three years that the Secretary concerned determines appropriate to meet the needs of the reserve component in which the service is to be performed. (d) AMOUNT.—The amount of a bonus under this section may be any amount not in excess of $20,000 that the Secretary concerned determines appropriate. (e) PAYMENT.—(1) Upon acceptance of a writ- ten agreement by the Secretary concerned under this section, the total amount of the bonus pay- able under the agreement becomes fixed. The agreement shall specify whether the bonus is to be paid in one lump sum or in installments. (2) A person entitled to a bonus under this sec- tion who is called or ordered to active duty shall be paid, during that period of active duty, any amount of the bonus that becomes payable to the member during that period of active duty. (f) RELATION TO OTHER ACCESSION BONUS AU- THORITY.—A person may not receive an affili- ation bonus or accession bonus under this sec- tion and financial assistance under chapter 1608, 1609, or 1611 of title 10, or under section 302g of this title, for the same period of service. (g) REPAYMENT.—A person who enters into an agreement under this section and receives all or part of the bonus under the agreement, but who does not accept a commission or an appointment as an officer or does not commence to partici- pate or does not satisfactorily participate in the Selected Reserve for the total period of service specified in the agreement, shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 303a(e) of this title. (Added Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title VI, § 619(a), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1950; amended Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, § 634(a)–(c)(1), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3300; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title X, § 1071(c)(4), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2401; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title VI, § 616, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1777.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2013—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 112–239 substituted ‘‘$20,000’’ for ‘‘$10,000’’. 2006—Pub. L. 109–163, § 634(c)(1), substituted ‘‘Special pay: affiliation bonus for officers in the Selected Re- serve’’ for ‘‘Special pay: bonus for certain initial serv- ice of officers in the Selected Reserve’’. Subsec. (a)(2)(B), (C). Pub. L. 109–163, § 634(a), redesig- nated subpar. (C) as (B) and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as follows: ‘‘has not previously served in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; and’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–163, § 634(b), substituted ‘‘$10,000’’ for ‘‘$6,000’’. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 109–364 added subsec. (g) and struck out former subsec. (g) which related to require- ment to repay bonus upon failure to commence or com- plete obligated service, inclusion of repayment require- ments in each agreement, and characterization of obli- gation to repay as a debt owed to the United States. § 309. Special pay: enlistment bonus (a) BONUS AUTHORIZED; BONUS AMOUNT.—A per- son who enlists in an armed force for a period of at least 2 years may be paid a bonus in an amount not to exceed $40,000. The bonus may be paid in a single lump sum or in periodic install- ments. (b) REPAYMENT.—A member who does not com- plete the term of enlistment for which a bonus was paid to the member under this section, or a member who is not technically qualified in the skill for which a bonus was paid to the member under this section, shall be subject to the repay- ment provisions of section 303a(e) of this title. (c) RELATION TO PROHIBITION ON BOUNTIES.— The enlistment bonus authorized by this section is not a bounty for purposes of section 514(a) of title 10. (d) REGULATIONS.—This section shall be ad- ministered under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the armed forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense and by the Secretary of Homeland Security for the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not oper- ating as a service in the Navy. (e) DURATION OF AUTHORITY.—No bonus shall be paid under this section with respect to any enlistment in the armed forces made after De- cember 31, 2018. (Added Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title VI, § 624(a)(1)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–152; amended Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title VI, § 614(c), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1136; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1704(c), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2314; Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title VI, § 614(c), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2568; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title VI, § 614(c), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1501; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title VI, § 614(d), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1948; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, §§ 624(d), 635, 687(b)(20), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3295, 3300, 3330; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VI, § 614(d), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2248; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VI, § 614(c), Jan. 28, 2008, 122