Rights for the TSA Workforce Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1856 To enhance the security operations of the Transportation Security Administra- tion and stability of the transportation security workforce by applying the personnel system under title 5, United States Code, to employees of the Transportation Security Administration, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 26, 2021 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WARNER, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. VAN HOL- LEN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CASEY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. KLO- BUCHAR, Mr. BENNET, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BROWN, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To enhance the security operations of the Transportation Security Administration and stability of the transpor- tation security workforce by applying the personnel sys- tem under title 5, United States Code, to employees of the Transportation Security Administration, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1856 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rights for the Trans- 2 portation Security Administration Workforce Act of 3 2021’’ or the ‘‘Rights for the TSA Workforce Act of 4 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act— 7 (1) the term ‘‘2019 Determination’’ means the 8 publication entitled ‘‘Determination on Transpor- 9 tation Security Officers and Collective Bargaining’’, 10 issued on July 13, 2019, by Administrator David P. 11 Pekoske; 12 (2) the term ‘‘adjusted basic pay’’ means— 13 (A) the rate of pay fixed by law or admin- 14 istrative action for a position occupied by a cov- 15 ered employee, before any deductions; and 16 (B) any regular, fixed supplemental pay- 17 ment for non-overtime hours of work creditable 18 as basic pay for retirement purposes, including 19 any applicable locality payment and any special 20 rate supplement; 21 (3) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- 22 ministrator of the Transportation Security Adminis- 23 tration; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1856 IS (4) the term ‘‘conversion date’’ means the date 1 on which paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 3(c) 2 take effect; 3 (5) the term ‘‘covered employee’’ means an em- 4 ployee who occupies a covered position; 5 (6) the term ‘‘covered position’’ means a posi- 6 tion within the Transportation Security Administra- 7 tion; 8 (7) the term ‘‘employee’’ has the meaning given 9 the term in section 2105 of title 5, United States 10 Code, which shall be determined without regard to 11 any provision of law cited in paragraph (9); 12 (8) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 13 of Homeland Security; and 14 (9) the term ‘‘TSA personnel management sys- 15 tem’’ means any personnel management system es- 16 tablished or modified under— 17 (A) section 111(d) of the Aviation and 18 Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 19 note); or 20 (B) section 114(n) of title 49, United 21 States Code. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1856 IS SEC. 3. CONVERSION OF TSA PERSONNEL. 1 (a) RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONNEL AU- 2 THORITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 3 effective as of the date of enactment of this Act— 4 (1) any TSA personnel management system in 5 use for covered employees and covered positions on 6 the day before that date of enactment, and any 7 Transportation Security Administration personnel 8 management policy, letters, guideline, or directive in 9 effect on that day, may not be modified; 10 (2) no Transportation Security Administration 11 personnel management policy, letter, guideline, or di- 12 rective that was not established before that date 13 issued under section 111(d) of the Aviation and 14 Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 note) 15 or section 114(n) of title 49, United States Code, 16 may be established; and 17 (3) any authority to establish or adjust a 18 human resources management system under chapter 19 97 of title 5, United States Code, shall terminate 20 with respect to covered employees and covered posi- 21 tions. 22 (b) PERSONNEL AUTHORITIES DURING TRANSITION 23 PERIOD.—Any TSA personnel management system in use 24 for covered employees and covered positions on the day 25 before the date of enactment of this Act and any Trans- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1856 IS portation Security Administration personnel management 1 policy, letter, guideline, or directive in effect on the day 2 before the date of enactment of this Act shall remain in 3 effect until the effective date under subsection (c). 4 (c) TRANSITION TO GENERAL PERSONNEL MANAGE- 5 MENT SYSTEM APPLICABLE TO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOY- 6 EES.—Effective as of a date determined by the Secretary, 7 but in no event later than 180 days after the date of enact- 8 ment of this Act— 9 (1) each provision of law cited in section 2(9) 10 is repealed; 11 (2) any Transportation Security Administration 12 personnel management policy, letter, guideline, or di- 13 rective, including the 2019 Determination, shall 14 cease to be effective; 15 (3) any human resources management system 16 established or adjusted under chapter 97 of title 5, 17 United States Code, with respect to covered employ- 18 ees or covered positions shall cease to be effective; 19 and 20 (4) covered employees and covered positions 21 shall be subject to the provisions of title 5, United 22 States Code. 23 (d) SAFEGUARDS ON GRIEVANCES.—In carrying out 24 this Act, the Secretary shall take such actions as are nec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1856 IS essary to provide an opportunity to each covered employee 1 with a grievance or disciplinary action (including an ad- 2 verse action) pending within the Transportation Security 3 Administration on the date of enactment of this Act, or 4 at any time during the transition period described in sub- 5 section (c), to have that grievance removed to proceedings 6 pursuant to title 5, United States Code, or continued with- 7 in the Administration. 8 SEC. 4. TRANSITION RULES. 9 (a) NONREDUCTION IN PAY AND COMPENSATION.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 11 under pay conversion rules as the Secretary may 12 prescribe to carry out this Act, a covered employee 13 converted from a TSA personnel management sys- 14 tem to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 15 under section 3(c)(4) shall not be subject to any re- 16 duction in the rate of adjusted basic pay payable, or 17 total compensation provided, to that covered em- 18 ployee. 19 (2) FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE.—An em- 20 ployee of the Federal Air Marshal Service converted 21 from a TSA personnel management system to the 22 provisions of title 5, United States Code, under sec- 23 tion 3(c)(4) shall be converted such that the rate of 24 adjusted basic pay payable to the employee is not 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1856 IS less than that rate for a position at GS–13 of the 1 General Schedule. 2 (b) PRESERVATION OF OTHER RIGHTS.—With re- 3 spect to each covered employee, as of the conversion date, 4 the Secretary shall take any actions necessary to ensure 5 that— 6 (1) any annual leave, sick leave, or other paid 7 leave accrued, accumulated, or otherwise available to 8 the covered employee, as of the day before the con- 9 version date, shall remain available to the covered 10 employee until used; and 11 (2) the Government share of any premiums or 12 other periodic charges under chapter 89 of title 5, 13 United States Code, governing group health insur- 14 ance shall be paid in an amount that is not less than 15 the amount paid for those premiums and other peri- 16 odic charges, as of the day before the conversion 17 date. 18 (c) GAO STUDY ON TSA PAY RATES.—Not later 19 than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 20 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 21 to Congress a report on the differences in rates of pay, 22 classified by pay system, between Transportation Security 23 Administration employees— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1856 IS (1) with duty stations in the contiguous 48 1 States; and 2 (2) with duty stations outside of the States de- 3 scribed in paragraph (1), including those employees 4 located in any territory or possession of the United 5 States. 6 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—During the transition 7 period described in section 3(c), and after the conversion 8 date, the Secretary shall ensure that the Transportation 9 Security Administration continues to prevent the appoint- 10 ment of individuals who have been convicted of a sex 11 crime, an offense involving a minor, a crime of violence, 12 or terrorism. 13 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT. 14 (a) EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The labor organization cer- 16 tified by the Federal Labor Relations Authority on 17 June 29, 2011, or a successor labor organization, 18 shall be— 19 (A) treated as the exclusive representative 20 of full- and part-time non-supervisory personnel 21 of the Transportation Security Administration 22 carrying out screening functions under section 23 44901 of title 49, United States Code; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1856 IS (B) the exclusive representative for the 1 personnel described in subparagraph (A) under 2 chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, with 3 full rights under that chapter. 4 (2) APPLICATION.—Any collective bargaining 5 agreement covering the personnel described in para- 6 graph (1)(A) that is in effect on the date of enact- 7 ment of this Act shall remain in effect, consistent 8 with subsection (d). 9 (b) CONSULTATION RIGHTS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days after 11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 12 shall consult with the exclusive representative for the 13 personnel described in subsection (a)(1)(A) under 14 chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, as well as 15 appropriate labor associations that represent a sub- 16 stantial percentage of employees, on the formulation 17 of plans and deadlines to carry out the conversion of 18 covered employees and covered positions under this 19 Act. 20 (2) PLANS.—Before the conversion date, the 21 Secretary shall provide (in writing) to the exclusive 22 representative and labor associations described in 23 paragraph (1) the plans for how the Secretary in- 24 tends to carry out the conversion of covered employ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1856 IS ees and covered positions under this Act, including 1 with respect to such matters as— 2 (A) the anticipated conversion date; and 3 (B) measures to ensure compliance with 4 sections 3 and 4. 5 (c) REQUIRED AGENCY RESPONSE.—If any views or 6 recommendations are presented under subsection (b) by 7 the exclusive representative, or the labor associations de- 8 scribed in that subsection, the Secretary shall— 9 (1) consider the views or recommendations be- 10 fore taking final action on any matter with respect 11 to which the views or recommendations are pre- 12 sented; and 13 (2) provide the exclusive representative and 14 those labor associations a written statement of the 15 reasons for the final actions to be taken. 16 (d) SUNSET PROVISION.—The provisions of this sec- 17 tion shall cease to be effective as of the conversion date. 18 SEC. 6. NO RIGHT TO STRIKE. 19 Nothing in this Act may be considered— 20 (1) to repeal or otherwise affect— 21 (A) section 1918 of title 18, United States 22 Code (relating to disloyalty and asserting the 23 right to strike against the Government); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1856 IS (B) section 7311 of title 5, United States 1 Code (relating to loyalty and striking); or 2 (2) to otherwise authorize any activity that is 3 not permitted under either provision of law cited in 4 paragraph (1). 5 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO CER- 6 TAIN CRIMES RELATING TO TERRORISM. 7 Nothing in this Act may be construed to contradict 8 chapter 113B of title 18, United States Code, including 9 with respect to— 10 (1) section 2332b (relating to acts of terrorism 11 transcending national boundaries); 12 (2) section 2339 (relating to harboring or con- 13 cealing terrorists); and 14 (3) section 2339A (relating to providing mate- 15 rial support to terrorists). 16 SEC. 8. REPORT BY GAO REGARDING TSA RECRUITMENT. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 19 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 20 on the efforts of the Administrator regarding recruitment, 21 including recruitment efforts relating to— 22 (1) veterans and the dependents of veterans; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1856.IS S1856 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1856 IS (2) members of the Armed Forces and the de- 1 pendents of those members. 2 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub- 3 section (a) shall include recommendations regarding how 4 the Administrator may improve the recruitment efforts de- 5 scribed in that subsection. 6 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 It is the sense of Congress that— 8 (1) the personnel system of the Transportation 9 Security Administration provides insufficient bene- 10 fits and workplace protections to the workforce that [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]