Facilitating Federal Employee Reskilling Act

II Calendar No. 556 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1330 [Report No. 117–204] To facilitate the reskilling of Federal employees, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs NOVEMBER 17, 2022 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To facilitate the reskilling of Federal employees, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Facilitating Federal 4 Employee Reskilling Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1330 RS SEC. 2. RESKILLING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 1 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 3 meaning given the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ in sec- 4 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code. 5 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 7 gress’’ means— 8 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 9 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 10 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Re- 11 form of the House of Representatives. 12 (3) COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘com- 13 petitive service’’ has the meaning given the term in 14 section 2102 of title 5, United States Code. 15 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 16 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 17 (5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 18 an employee serving in a position in the competitive 19 service or the excepted service. 20 (6) EXCEPTED SERVICE.—The term ‘‘excepted 21 service’’ has the meaning given the term in section 22 2103 of title 5, United States Code. 23 (7) FEDERAL RESKILLING PROGRAM.—The 24 term ‘‘Federal reskilling program’’ means, with re- 25 spect to an employee, a program established by the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1330 RS head of the agency employing the employee (or the 1 Director) to provide the employee with the technical 2 skill or expertise that would qualify the employee to 3 serve in a different position in the competitive serv- 4 ice or the excepted service that requires such tech- 5 nical skill or expertise. 6 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to a Federal 7 reskilling program established by the head of an agency 8 or the Director before, on, or after the date of enactment 9 of this Act, the agency head or the Director, as applicable, 10 shall ensure that the program— 11 (1) is implemented in a manner that is con- 12 sistent with the merit system principles under sec- 13 tion 2301 of title 5, United States Code, including 14 by using merit-based selection procedures for— 15 (A) participation by employees in the pro- 16 gram; and 17 (B) determining the placement of employ- 18 ees upon completion of the program; 19 (2) includes appropriate limitations or restric- 20 tions associated with implementing the program, 21 which shall be consistent with any regulations pre- 22 scribed by the Director under subsection (e); 23 (3) provides that any new position to which an 24 employee who participates in the program is trans- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1330 RS ferred will utilize the technical skill or expertise that 1 the employee acquired by participating in the pro- 2 gram; 3 (4) includes the option for an employee partici- 4 pating in the program to return to the original posi- 5 tion of the employee, or a similar position, particu- 6 larly if the employee is unsuccessful in the position 7 to which the employee transfers after completing the 8 program; 9 (5) provides that, notwithstanding any provision 10 of chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, or any 11 rule issued under that chapter, an employee who 12 successfully completes the program and transfers to 13 a different position in the competitive service or the 14 excepted service that requires the technical skill or 15 expertise provided through the program shall serve 16 in the position to which the employee transfers at a 17 class or grade that is not lower than the class or 18 grade of the position from which the employee trans- 19 ferred; and 20 (6) provides that an employee serving in a posi- 21 tion in the excepted service may not transfer to a 22 position in the competitive service solely by reason of 23 the completion of the program by the employee. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1330 RS (c) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 1 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 2 years, the Director, in coordination with the head of each 3 agency that has established a Federal reskilling program, 4 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 5 a report regarding the outcomes under the Federal 6 reskilling programs for the year covered by the report, 7 which shall include— 8 (1) a summary of each Federal reskilling pro- 9 gram; 10 (2) the number of, and demographics with re- 11 spect to, employees who have participated in each 12 Federal reskilling program; 13 (3) the number of, and demographics with re- 14 spect to, employees who have completed each Fed- 15 eral reskilling program; 16 (4) the number of, and demographics with re- 17 spect to, employees who have successfully trans- 18 ferred to a different position in the competitive serv- 19 ice or the excepted service that requires the technical 20 skill or expertise provided to the employees through 21 a Federal reskilling program; 22 (5) an analysis of the effectiveness, costs, and 23 benefits of each Federal reskilling program; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1330 RS (6) any other measure or outcome that the Di- 1 rector determines to be relevant. 2 (d) SUBSEQUENT PERIODIC EVALUATION.—After 3 the submission of the final report required under sub- 4 section (c), the head of each agency that has established, 5 or that establishes, a Federal reskilling program shall, on 6 a periodic basis— 7 (1) perform an evaluation of the effectiveness, 8 costs, and benefits of the program; and 9 (2) make any necessary modifications to the 10 program in order to accomplish the goals of the pro- 11 gram. 12 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Director may prescribe reg- 13 ulations, as the Director determines necessary, to provide 14 for requirements with respect to, and the implementation 15 of, Federal reskilling programs. 16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Facilitating Federal 18 Employee Reskilling Act’’. 19 SEC. 2. RESKILLING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. 20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the mean- 22 ing given the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ in section 105 23 of title 5, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1330 RS (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 1 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 2 means— 3 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 4 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 5 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Reform 6 of the House of Representatives. 7 (3) COMPETITIVE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘competi- 8 tive service’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 9 tion 2102 of title 5, United States Code. 10 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 11 Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 12 (5) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means an 13 employee serving in a position in the competitive 14 service or the excepted service. 15 (6) EXCEPTED SERVICE.—The term ‘‘excepted 16 service’’ has the meaning given the term in section 17 2103 of title 5, United States Code. 18 (7) FEDERAL RESKILLING PROGRAM.—The term 19 ‘‘Federal reskilling program’’ means a program estab- 20 lished by the head of an agency or the Director to 21 provide employees with the technical skill or expertise 22 that would qualify the employees to serve in a dif- 23 ferent position in the competitive service or the ex- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1330 RS cepted service that requires such technical skill or ex- 1 pertise. 2 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to a Federal 3 reskilling program established by the head of an agency or 4 by the Director before, on, or after the date of enactment 5 of this Act, the agency head or the Director, as applicable, 6 shall ensure that the Federal reskilling program— 7 (1) is implemented in a manner that is in ac- 8 cordance with the bar on prohibited personnel prac- 9 tices under section 2302 of title 5, United States 10 Code, and consistent with the merit system principles 11 under section 2301 of title 5, United States Code, in- 12 cluding by using merit-based selection procedures for 13 participation by employees in the Federal reskilling 14 program; 15 (2) includes appropriate limitations or restric- 16 tions associated with implementing the Federal 17 reskilling program, which shall be consistent with any 18 regulations prescribed by the Director under sub- 19 section (e); 20 (3) provides that any new position to which an 21 employee who participates in the Federal reskilling 22 program is transferred will utilize the technical skill 23 or expertise that the employee acquired by partici- 24 pating in the Federal reskilling program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1330 RS (4) includes the option for an employee partici- 1 pating in the Federal reskilling program to return to 2 the original position of the employee, or a similar po- 3 sition, particularly if the employee is unsuccessful in 4 the position to which the employee transfers after 5 completing the Federal reskilling program; 6 (5) provides that an employee who successfully 7 completes the Federal reskilling program and trans- 8 fers to a position that requires the technical skill or 9 expertise provided through the Federal reskilling pro- 10 gram shall be entitled to have the grade of the posi- 11 tion held immediately before the transfer in a manner 12 in accordance with section 5362 of title 5, United 13 States Code; 14 (6) provides that an employee serving in a posi- 15 tion in the excepted service may not transfer to a po- 16 sition in the competitive service solely by reason of 17 the completion of the Federal reskilling program by 18 the employee; and 19 (7) includes a mechanism to track outcomes of 20 the Federal reskilling program in accordance with the 21 metrics established under subsection (c). 22 (c) REPORTING AND METRICS.—Not later than 1 year 23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall 24 establish reporting requirements for, and standardized 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1330 RS metrics and procedures for agencies to track outcomes of, 1 Federal reskilling programs, which shall include, with re- 2 spect to each Federal reskilling program— 3 (1) providing a summary of the Federal 4 reskilling program; 5 (2) collecting and reporting demographic and 6 employment data with respect to employees who have 7 applied for, participated in, or completed the Federal 8 reskilling program; 9 (3) attrition of employees who have completed 10 the Federal reskilling program; and 11 (4) any other measures or outcomes that the Di- 12 rector determines to be relevant. 13 (d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 14 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 15 the United States shall conduct a comprehensive study of, 16 and submit to Congress a report on, Federal reskilling pro- 17 grams that includes— 18 (1) a summary of each Federal reskilling pro- 19 gram and methods by which each Federal reskilling 20 program recruits, selects, and retrains employees; 21 (2) an analysis of the accessibility of each Fed- 22 eral reskilling program for a diverse set of candidates; 23 (3) an evaluation of the effectiveness, costs, and 24 benefits of the Federal reskilling programs; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1330 RS (4) recommendations to improve Federal 1 reskilling programs to accomplish the goal of 2 reskilling the Federal workforce. 3 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Director— 4 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of enact- 5 ment of this Act, shall prescribe regulations for the re- 6 porting requirements and metrics and procedures 7 under subsection (c); 8 (2) may prescribe additional regulations, as the 9 Director determines necessary, to provide for require- 10 ments with respect to, and the implementation of, 11 Federal reskilling programs; and 12 (3) with respect to any regulation prescribed 13 under this subsection, shall brief the appropriate com- 14 mittees of Congress with respect to the regulation not 15 later than 30 days before the date on which the final 16 version of the regulation is published. 17 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 18 may be construed to require the head of an agency or the 19 Director to establish a Federal reskilling program. 20 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—Any Federal reskilling program 21 established by the head of an agency or the Director shall 22 be carried out using amounts otherwise made available to 23 that agency head or the Director, as applicable. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1330.RS S1330 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB Calendar No. 556 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1330 [Report No. 117–204] A BILL To facilitate the reskilling of Federal employees, and for other purposes. NOVEMBER 17, 2022 Reported with an amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\B [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]