2 U.S.C. § 4505 — Voluntary separation incentive payments

Page 525 TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS § 4505 tration of House of Representatives by House Resolu- tion No. 5, One Hundred Sixth Congress, Jan. 6, 1999. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 94–310, § 4, June 15, 1976, 90 Stat. 687, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this Act [amending this section and sections 6322 and 8906 of Title 5, Gov- ernment Organization and Employees] shall take effect on October 1, 1976, or on the date of the enactment of this Act [June 15, 1976], whichever date is later.’’ TERMINATION OF UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF THE CANAL ZONE For termination of the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone at end of the ‘‘transi- tion period’’, being the 30 month period beginning Oct. 1, 1979, and ending midnight Mar. 31, 1982, see Para- graph 5 of Article XI of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and sections 2101 and 2201 to 2203(a) of Pub. L. 96–70, title II, Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 493, formerly classified to sections 3831 and 3841 to 3843, respectively, of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. Executive Documents TERMINATION OF TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Is- lands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. § 4504. Nonpay status for Congressional employ- ees studying under Congressional staff fel- lowships (a) With respect to each employee of the Sen- ate or House of Representatives— (1) whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Adminis- trative Officer of the House of Representa- tives, and (2) who, on or after January 1, 1963 shall have been separated from employment with the Senate or House of Representatives in order to pursue certain studies under a con- gressional staff fellowship awarded by the American Political Science Association, the period of time covered by such fellowship shall be held and considered to be service (in a nonpay status) in employment with the Senate or House of Representatives, as the case may be, at the rate of compensation received imme- diately prior to separation (including any in- creases in compensation provided by law during the period covered by such fellowship) for the purposes of the provisions of law specified in subsection (b), if the award of such fellowship to such employee is certified to the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, by the appointing authority concerned or, in the event of the death or disability of such appoint- ing authority, is established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Ad- ministrative Officer of the House of Representa- tives by records or other evidence. (b) The provisions of law referred to in sub- section (a) are— (1) subchapter III (relating to civil service retirement) of chapter 83 of title 5; (2) chapter 87 (relating to Federal employees group life insurance) of title 5; and (3) chapter 89 (relating to Federal employees group health insurance) of title 5. (Pub. L. 89–379, Mar. 30, 1966, 80 Stat. 94; Pub. L. 104–186, title II, § 204(73), Aug. 20, 1996, 110 Stat. 1741.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 130a of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. AMENDMENTS 1996—Pub. L. 104–186 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), in par. (1) substituted ‘‘Chief Administra- tive Officer’’ for ‘‘Clerk’’, in provisions following par. (2) substituted ‘‘the purposes of the provisions of law specified in subsection (b), if the award’’ for ‘‘the pur- poses of— ‘‘(A) subchapter III (relating to civil service retire- ment) of chapter 83 of title 5, ‘‘(B) chapter 87 (relating to Federal employees group life insurance) of title 5, and ‘‘(C) chapter 89 (relating to Federal employees group health insurance) of title 5, if the award’’, ‘‘Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, as appropriate’’ for ‘‘Clerk of the House of Representatives, as appropriate’’, and ‘‘Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Rep- resentatives by records’’ for ‘‘Clerk of the House by records’’, and added subsec. (b). § 4505. Voluntary separation incentive payments (a) Authority to offer payments Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of any office in the legislative branch may establish a program under which voluntary separation incentive payments may be offered to eligible employees of the office to encourage such employees to separate from service volun- tarily (whether by retirement or resignation), in accordance with this section. (b) Amount and administration of payments A voluntary separation incentive payment made under this section— (1) shall be paid in a lump sum after the em- ployee’s separation; (2) shall be equal to the lesser of— (A) an amount equal to the amount the employee would be entitled to receive under section 5595(c) of title 5, if the employee were entitled to payment under such section (without adjustment for any previous pay- ment made); or (B) an amount determined by the head of the office involved, not to exceed $25,000; (3) may be made only in the case of an em- ployee who voluntarily separates (whether by retirement or resignation) under this section; (4) shall not be a basis for payment, and shall not be included in the computation, of any other type of Government benefit; (5) shall not be taken into account in deter- mining the amount of any severance pay to which the employee may be entitled under sec- tion 5595 of title 5 based on any other separa- tion; and (6) shall be paid from appropriations or funds available for the payment of the basic pay of the employee. (c) Plan (1) Plan required for making payments No voluntary separation incentive payment may be paid under this section with respect to Page 526 TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS § 4505 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘2105 of title 5,’’. 2 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘2107 of title 5,’’. an office unless the head of the office submits a plan described in paragraph (2) to each appli- cable committee described in paragraph (3), and each applicable committee approves the plan. (2) Contents of plan A plan described in this paragraph with re- spect to an office is a plan containing the fol- lowing information: (A) The specific positions and functions to be reduced or eliminated. (B) A description of which categories of employees will be offered incentives. (C) The time period during which incen- tives may be paid. (D) The number and amounts of voluntary separation incentive payments to be offered. (E) A description of how the office will op- erate without the eliminated positions and functions. (3) Applicable committee For purposes of this subsection, the ‘‘appli- cable committee’’ with respect to an office means any committee of the House of Rep- resentatives or Senate with jurisdiction over the activities of the office under the applica- ble rules of the House of Representatives and the Senate (as determined by the head of the office), but does not include the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representa- tives and the Senate. (d) Repealed. Pub. L. 112–74, div. G, title I, § 1401(a)(1), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1134 (e) Eligible employee defined (1) In general In this section, an ‘‘eligible employee’’ is an employee (as defined in section 2105,1 United States Code) or a Congressional employee (as defined in section 2107,2 United States Code) who— (A) is serving under an appointment with- out time limitation; and (B) has been currently employed for a con- tinuous period of at least 3 years. (2) Exclusions An ‘‘eligible employee’’ does not include any of the following: (A) A reemployed annuitant under sub- chapter III of chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or an- other retirement system for employees of the Government. (B) An employee having a disability on the basis of which such employee is or would be eligible for disability retirement under sub- chapter III of chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or an- other retirement system for employees of the Government. (C) An employee who is in receipt of a de- cision notice of involuntary separation for misconduct or unacceptable performance. (D) An employee who has previously re- ceived any voluntary separation incentive payment from the Federal Government under this section or any other authority. (E) An employee covered by statutory re- employment rights who is on transfer em- ployment with another organization. (F) Any employee who— (i) during the 36-month period preceding the date of separation of that employee, performed service for which a student loan repayment benefit was or is to be paid under section 5379 of title 5 or any other authority; (ii) during the 24-month period preceding the date of separation of that employee, performed service for which a recruitment or relocation bonus was or is to be paid under section 5753 of such title or any other authority; or (iii) during the 12-month period pre- ceding the date of separation of that em- ployee, performed service for which a re- tention bonus was or is to be paid under section 5754 of such title or any other au- thority. (f) Repayment for individuals returning to Gov- ernment employment (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), an employee who has received a voluntary separation incentive payment under this section and accepts em- ployment with the Government of the United States within 5 years after the date of the sep- aration on which the payment is based shall be required to repay the entire amount of the in- centive payment to the office that paid the in- centive payment. (2) Waiver for individuals possessing unique abilities (A) If the employment is with an Executive agency (as defined by section 105 of title 5, but excluding the Government Accountability Of- fice), the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may, at the request of the head of the agency, waive the repayment required under this subsection if the individual in- volved possesses unique abilities and is the only qualified applicant available for the posi- tion. (B) If the employment is with an entity in the legislative branch, the head of the entity or the appointing official may waive the re- payment required under this subsection if the individual involved possesses unique abilities and is the only qualified applicant available for the position. (C) If the employment is with the judicial branch, the Director of the Administrative Of- fice of the United States Courts may waive the repayment required under this subsection if the individual involved possesses unique abili- ties and is the only qualified applicant avail- able for the position. (3) Treatment of personal services contracts For purposes of paragraph (1) (but not para- graph (2)), the term ‘‘employment’’ includes employment under a personal services con- tract with the United States. (g) Effective date This section shall take effect on December 8, 2004, and shall apply with respect to the portion Page 527 TITLE 2—THE CONGRESS § 4507 1 See Inapplicability of Section to Certain Employees note below. 2 See References in Text note below. of fiscal year 2005 occurring on and after Decem- ber 8, 2004, and to each succeeding fiscal year. (Pub. L. 108–447, div. G, title II, § 210, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3194; Pub. L. 112–74, div. G, title I, § 1401(a), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1134.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 60q of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. Section is from the Legislative Branch Appropria- tions Act, 2005, which is div. G of the Consolidated Ap- propriations Act, 2005. AMENDMENTS 2011—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 112–74, § 1401(a)(1), struck out subsec. (d). Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘This section shall not apply to any office which is an Executive agency under section 105 of title 5 or any employee of such an office.’’ Subsec. (f)(2)(A). Pub. L. 112–74, § 1401(a)(2), sub- stituted ‘‘title 5, but excluding the Government Ac- countability Office’’ for ‘‘title 5’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2011 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 112–74, div. G, title I, § 1401(c), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1134, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 3521 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees] shall apply with respect to voluntary separation incentive payments made during fiscal year 2012 or any suc- ceeding fiscal year.’’ § 4506. Death gratuity payments as gifts Any death gratuity payment at any time spe- cifically appropriated by any Act of Congress or at any time made out of the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives or the contin- gent fund of the Senate shall be held to have been a gift. (June 5, 1952, ch. 369, Ch. I, 66 Stat. 101; Pub. L. 104–186, title II, § 203(6), Aug. 20, 1996, 110 Stat. 1725.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified identically to sec- tions 38b and 125a of this title. Section 38b was omitted from the Code and section 125a was editorially reclassi- fied and renumbered as this section. AMENDMENTS 1996—Pub. L. 104–186 substituted ‘‘applicable accounts of the House of Representatives or the contingent fund’’ for ‘‘contingent fund of the House of Representa- tives or’’. § 4507. Longevity compensation (a) Eligible employees This section shall apply 1 to— (1) each employee of the Senate whose com- pensation is paid from the appropriation for Salaries, Officers and Employees under the fol- lowing headings: (A) Office of the Secretary, including indi- viduals employed under authority of section 6538 of this title; (B) Office of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, except employees designated as ‘‘special employees’’; and (C) Offices of the Secretaries for the Ma- jority and the Minority; (2) each employee of the Senate authorized by Senate resolution to be appointed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, except employees des- ignated as ‘‘special employees’’; and (3) each employee of the Capitol Guide Serv- ice established under section 2166 2 of this title. (b) Rate of compensation; limitation on in- creases; computation of service; effective date of payment (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an em- ployee to whom this section applies shall be paid, during any period of continuous creditable service, additional annual compensation (here- inafter referred to as ‘‘longevity compensation’’) at the rate of $482 for (A) each year of creditable service performed for the first five years and (B) each two years of creditable service performed during the twenty-year period following the first five years. (2) The amount of longevity compensation which may be paid to an employee, when added to his regular annual compensation, shall not exceed the maximum annual compensation which may be paid to Senate employees gen- erally as prescribed by law or orders of the President pro tempore issued under authority of section 4571 of this title. (3) For purposes of this section— (A) creditable service includes (i) service performed as an employee described in sub- section (a), (ii) service performed as a member of the Capitol Police or as an employee of the United States Capitol Telephone Exchange while compensation therefor is disbursed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and (iii) service which is creditable for purposes of this section as in effect on September 30, 1978; (B) in computing length of continuous cred- itable service, only creditable service per- formed subsequent to August 31, 1957, shall be taken into account, except that, in the case of service as an employee employed under au- thority of section 6538 of this title, only cred- itable service performed subsequent to Janu- ary 2, 1971, shall be taken into account; and (C) continuity of creditable service shall not be deemed to be broken by separations from service of not more than thirty days, by the performance of service as an employee (other than an employee subject to the provisions of this section) whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or by the per- formance of active military service in the armed forces of the United States, but periods of such separations and service shall not be creditable service. (4) Longevity compensation shall be payable on and after the first day of the first month fol-