Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2020

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 1140 AN ACT 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 who pro- vide screening of all passengers and property, and for other purposes. 2 •HR 1140 EH 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 ‘‘Rights for Transpor- 4 tation Security Officers Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 For purposes of this Act— 7 (1) the term ‘‘adjusted basic pay’’ means— 8 (A) the rate of pay fixed by law or admin- 9 istrative action for the position held by a cov- 10 ered employee before any deductions; and 11 (B) any regular, fixed supplemental pay- 12 ment for non-overtime hours of work creditable 13 as basic pay for retirement purposes, including 14 any applicable locality payment and any special 15 rate supplement; 16 (2) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- 17 ministrator of the Transportation Security Adminis- 18 tration; 19 (3) the term ‘‘covered employee’’ means an em- 20 ployee who holds a covered position; 21 (4) the term ‘‘covered position’’ means a posi- 22 tion within the Transportation Security Administra- 23 tion; 24 3 •HR 1140 EH (5) the term ‘‘conversion date’’ means the date 1 as of which paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2 3(c) take effect; 3 (6) the term ‘‘2019 Determination’’ means the 4 publication, entitled ‘‘Determination on Transpor- 5 tation Security Officers and Collective Bargaining’’, 6 issued on July 13, 2019, by Administrator David P. 7 Pekoske; 8 (7) the term ‘‘employee’’ has the meaning given 9 such term by section 2105 of title 5, United States 10 Code; 11 (8) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 12 of Homeland Security; and 13 (9) the term ‘‘TSA personnel management sys- 14 tem’’ means any personnel management system es- 15 tablished or modified under— 16 (A) section 111(d) of the Aviation and 17 Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 18 note); or 19 (B) section 114(n) of title 49, United 20 States Code. 21 SEC. 3. CONVERSION OF TSA PERSONNEL. 22 (a) RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONNEL AU- 23 THORITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 24 effective as of the date of the enactment of this Act— 25 4 •HR 1140 EH (1) any TSA personnel management system in 1 use for covered employees and covered positions on 2 the day before such date of enactment, and any TSA 3 personnel management policy, letters, guideline, or 4 directive in effect on such day may not be modified; 5 (2) no TSA personnel management policy, let- 6 ter, guideline, or directive that was not established 7 before such date issued pursuant to section 111(d) 8 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (49 9 U.S.C. 44935 note) or section 114(n) of title 49, 10 United States Code, may be established; and 11 (3) any authority to establish or adjust a 12 human resources management system under chapter 13 97 of title 5, United States Code, shall terminate 14 with respect to covered employees and covered posi- 15 tions. 16 (b) PERSONNEL AUTHORITIES DURING TRANSITION 17 PERIOD.—Any TSA personnel management system in use 18 for covered employees and covered positions on the day 19 before the date of enactment of this Act and any TSA 20 personnel management policy, letter, guideline, or direc- 21 tive in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 22 this Act shall remain in effect until the effective date 23 under subsection (c). 24 5 •HR 1140 EH (c) TRANSITION TO GENERAL PERSONNEL MANAGE- 1 MENT SYSTEM APPLICABLE TO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOY- 2 EES.—Effective as of the date determined by the Sec- 3 retary, but in no event later than 180 days after the date 4 of the enactment of this Act— 5 (1) each provision of law cited in section 2(9) 6 is repealed; 7 (2) any TSA personnel management policy, let- 8 ter, guideline, and directive, including the 2019 De- 9 termination, shall cease to be effective; 10 (3) any human resources management system 11 established or adjusted under chapter 97 of title 5, 12 United States Code, with respect to covered employ- 13 ees or covered positions shall cease to be effective; 14 and 15 (4) covered employees and covered positions 16 shall be subject to the provisions of title 5, United 17 States Code. 18 (d) SAFEGUARDS ON GRIEVANCES.—In carrying out 19 this Act, the Secretary shall take such actions as are nec- 20 essary to provide an opportunity to each covered employee 21 with a grievance or disciplinary action (including an ad- 22 verse action) pending within TSA on the date of enact- 23 ment of this Act or at any time during the transition pe- 24 riod described in subsection (c) to have such grievance re- 25 6 •HR 1140 EH moved to proceedings pursuant to title 5, United States 1 Code, or continued within TSA. 2 SEC. 4. TRANSITION RULES. 3 (a) NONREDUCTION IN PAY AND COMPENSATION.— 4 Under pay conversion rules as the Secretary may prescribe 5 to carry out this Act, a covered employee converted from 6 a TSA personnel management system to the provisions of 7 title 5, United States Code, pursuant to section 2(c)(4) 8 shall not be subject to any reduction in the rate of ad- 9 justed basic pay payable, or total compensation provided, 10 to such covered employee. 11 (b) PRESERVATION OF OTHER RIGHTS.—In the case 12 of each covered employee as of the conversion date, the 13 Secretary shall take any actions necessary to ensure 14 that— 15 (1) any annual leave, sick leave, or other paid 16 leave accrued, accumulated, or otherwise available to 17 a covered employee immediately before the conver- 18 sion date shall remain available to the employee 19 until used; and 20 (2) the Government share of any premiums or 21 other periodic charges under chapter 89 of title 5, 22 United States Code, governing group health insur- 23 ance shall remain at least the same as was the case 24 immediately before the conversion date. 25 7 •HR 1140 EH (c) GAO STUDY ON TSA PAY RATES.—Not later 1 than the date that is 9 months after the date of enactment 2 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report 3 to Congress on the differences in rates of pay, classified 4 by pay system, between Transportation Security Adminis- 5 tration employees— 6 (1) with duty stations in the contiguous 48 7 States; and 8 (2) with duty stations outside of such States, 9 including those employees located in any territory or 10 possession of the United States. 11 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—During the transition 12 period and after the conversion date, the Secretary shall 13 ensure that the Transportation Security Administration 14 continues to prevent the hiring of individuals who have 15 been convicted of a sex crime, an offense involving a 16 minor, a crime of violence, or terrorism. 17 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT. 18 (a) EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE.—The labor orga- 19 nization certified by the Federal Labor Relations Author- 20 ity on June 29, 2011, or successor labor organization shall 21 be treated as the exclusive representative of full- and part- 22 time non-supervisory TSA personnel carrying out screen- 23 ing functions under section 44901 of title 49, United 24 States Code, and shall be the exclusive representative for 25 8 •HR 1140 EH such personnel under chapter 71 of title 5, United States 1 Code, with full rights under such chapter. Any collective 2 bargaining agreement covering such personnel on the date 3 of enactment of this Act shall remain in effect, consistent 4 with subsection (d). 5 (b) CONSULTATION RIGHTS.—Not later than 7 days 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 7 shall consult with the exclusive representative for the per- 8 sonnel described in subsection (a) under chapter 71 of title 9 5, United States Code, on the formulation of plans and 10 deadlines to carry out the conversion of covered employees 11 and covered positions under this Act. Prior to the conver- 12 sion date, the Secretary shall provide (in writing) to such 13 exclusive representative the plans for how the Secretary 14 intends to carry out the conversion of covered employees 15 and covered positions under this Act, including with re- 16 spect to such matters as— 17 (1) the anticipated conversion date; and 18 (2) measures to ensure compliance with sections 19 3 and 4. 20 (c) REQUIRED AGENCY RESPONSE.—If any views or 21 recommendations are presented under subsection (b) by 22 the exclusive representative, the Secretary shall consider 23 the views or recommendations before taking final action 24 on any matter with respect to which the views or rec- 25 9 •HR 1140 EH ommendations are presented and provide the exclusive 1 representative a written statement of the reasons for the 2 final actions to be taken. 3 (d) SUNSET PROVISION.—The provisions of this sec- 4 tion shall cease to be effective as of the conversion date. 5 SEC. 6. NO RIGHT TO STRIKE. 6 Nothing in this Act shall be considered— 7 (1) to repeal or otherwise affect— 8 (A) section 1918 of title 18, United States 9 Code (relating to disloyalty and asserting the 10 right to strike against the Government); or 11 (B) section 7311 of title 5, United States 12 Code (relating to loyalty and striking); or 13 (2) to otherwise authorize any activity which is 14 not permitted under either provision of law cited in 15 paragraph (1). 16 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO CER- 17 TAIN CRIMES RELATING TO TERRORISM. 18 Nothing in this Act may be construed to contradict 19 chapter 113B of title 18, United States Code, including 20 with respect to— 21 (1) section 2332b (relating to acts of terrorism 22 transcending national boundaries); 23 (2) section 2339 (relating to harboring or con- 24 cealing terrorists); and 25 10 •HR 1140 EH (3) section 2339A (relating to providing mate- 1 rial support to terrorists). 2 SEC. 8. REPORT BY GAO REGARDING TSA RECRUITMENT. 3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 4 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 5 shall submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the 6 Transportation Security Administration regarding recruit- 7 ment, including recruitment efforts relating to veterans 8 and the dependents of veterans and members of the 9 Armed Forces and the dependents of such members. Such 10 report shall also include recommendations regarding how 11 the Administration may improve such recruitment efforts. 12 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 13 It is the sense of Congress that the Transportation 14 Security Administration’s personnel system provides in- 15 sufficient benefits and workplace protections to the work- 16 force that secures the nation’s transportation systems and 17 that the Transportation Security Administration’s work- 18 force should be provided protections and benefits under 19 title 5, United States Code. 20 SEC. 10. ASSISTANCE FOR FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERV- 21 ICE. 22 The Administrator of the Transportation Security 23 Administration shall engage and consult with public and 24 private entities associated with the Federal Air Marshal 25 11 •HR 1140 EH Service to address concerns regarding Federal Air Mar- 1 shals related to the following: 2 (1) Mental health. 3 (2) Suicide rates. 4 (3) Morale and recruitment. 5 (4) Any other personnel issues the Adminis- 6 trator determines appropriate. 7 SEC. 11. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN SOCIAL MEDIA APPLI- 8 CATION. 9 Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 10 covered employees may not use or have installed on United 11 States Government-issued mobile devices the social media 12 video application known as ‘‘TikTok’’ or any successor ap- 13 plication. 14 SEC. 12. VETERANS HIRING. 15 The Secretary shall prioritize the hiring of veterans, 16 including disabled veterans, and other preference eligible 17 individuals, including widows and widowers of veterans, as 18 defined in section 2108 of title 5, United States Code, for 19 covered positions. 20 SEC. 13. PREVENTION AND PROTECTION AGAINST CERTAIN 21 ILLNESS. 22 The Administrator of the Transportation Security 23 Administration, in coordination with the Director of Cen- 24 ters for Disease Control and Prevention and the Director 25 12 •HR 1140 EH of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 1 eases, shall ensure that covered employees are provided 2 proper guidance regarding prevention and protections 3 against coronavirus, including appropriate resources. 4 Passed the House of Representatives March 5, 2020. Attest: Clerk. 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 1140 AN ACT To enhance the security operations of the Trans- portation Security Administration and stability of the transportation security workforce by applying the personnel system under title 5, United States Code, to employees of the Transportation Secu- rity Administration who provide screening of all passengers and property, and for other purposes.