5 U.S.C. § 7515 — Discipline of supervisors based on retalia-

Page 909 TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES § 7521 § 7515. Discipline of supervisors based on retalia- tion against whistleblowers (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— (1) the term ‘‘agency’’— (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- tion 2302(a)(2)(C), without regard to whether any other provision of this chapter is appli- cable to the entity; and (B) does not include any entity that is an element of the intelligence community, as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003); (2) the term ‘‘prohibited personnel action’’ means taking or failing to take an action in violation of paragraph (8), (9), or (14) of section 2302(b) against an employee of an agency; and (3) the term ‘‘supervisor’’ means an em- ployee who would be a supervisor, as defined in section 7103(a), if the entity employing the employee was an agency. (b) PROPOSED DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 1214(f), if the head of the agency in which a supervisor is employed, an administrative law judge, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Special Counsel, a judge of the United States, or the Inspector General of the agency in which a su- pervisor is employed has determined that the supervisor committed a prohibited personnel action, the head of the agency in which the su- pervisor is employed, consistent with the pro- cedures required under paragraph (2)— (A) for the first prohibited personnel ac- tion committed by the supervisor— (i) shall propose suspending the super- visor for a period that is not less than 3 days; and (ii) may propose an additional action de- termined appropriate by the head of the agency, including a reduction in grade or pay; and (B) for the second prohibited personnel ac- tion committed by the supervisor, shall pro- pose removing the supervisor. (2) PROCEDURES.— (A) NOTICE.—A supervisor against whom an action is proposed to be taken under para- graph (1) is entitled to written notice that— (i) states the specific reasons for the pro- posed action; and (ii) informs the supervisor about the right of the supervisor to review the mate- rial that is relied on to support the reasons given in the notice for the proposed action. (B) ANSWER AND EVIDENCE.— (i) IN GENERAL.—A supervisor who re- ceives notice under subparagraph (A) may, not later than 14 days after the date on which the supervisor receives the notice, submit an answer and furnish evidence in support of that answer. (ii) NO EVIDENCE FURNISHED; INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FURNISHED.—If, after the end of the 14-day period described in clause (i), a supervisor does not furnish any evidence as described in that clause, or if the head of the agency in which the supervisor is employed determines that the evidence furnished by the supervisor is insufficient, the head of the agency shall carry out the action proposed under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), as applicable. (C) SCOPE OF PROCEDURES.—An action car- ried out under this section— (i) except as provided in clause (ii), shall be subject to the same requirements and procedures, including those with respect to an appeal, as an action under section 7503, 7513, or 7543; and (ii) shall not be subject to— (I) paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 7503(b); (II) paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) and subsection (c) of section 7513; and (III) paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub- section (b) and subsection (c) of section 7543. (3) NON-DELEGATION.—If the head of an agen- cy is responsible for determining whether a su- pervisor has committed a prohibited personnel action for purposes of paragraph (1), the head of the agency may not delegate that responsi- bility. (Added Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1097(e)(1)(B), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1621.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 7515, Pub. L. 115–73, title I, § 104(a), Oct. 26, 2017, 131 Stat. 1236, related to discipline of su- pervisors based on retaliation against whistleblowers, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1097(e)(1)(A), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1621. SUBCHAPTER III—ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–454, title II, § 204(a), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1137, substituted ‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES’’ for ‘‘HEARING EXAMINERS’’ in subchapter heading. § 7521. Actions against administrative law judges (a) An action may be taken against an admin- istrative law judge appointed under section 3105 of this title by the agency in which the adminis- trative law judge is employed only for good cause established and determined by the Merit Systems Protection Board on the record after opportunity for hearing before the Board. (b) The actions covered by this section are— (1) a removal; (2) a suspension; (3) a reduction in grade; (4) a reduction in pay; and (5) a furlough of 30 days or less; but do not include— (A) a suspension or removal under section 7532 of this title; (B) a reduction-in-force action under section 3502 of this title; or (C) any action initiated under section 1215 of this title. (Added Pub. L. 95–454, title II, § 204(a), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1137; amended Pub. L. 101–12, § 9(a)(2), Apr. 10, 1989, 103 Stat. 35.)