HR687-119

Introduced

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for an alternative removal for performance or misconduct for Federal employees.

119th Congress Introduced Jan 23, 2025

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill repeals Section 4303 of title 5 which provides for performance-based actions, eliminating the requirement for agencies to provide employees an opportunity to demonstrate acceptable performance before adverse action, requires rewrites Section 7513 to establish new streamlined adverse action procedures, and requires details the new Section 7513 procedures: agencies decide based on preponderance of evidence using five factors (nature of offense, job level, disciplinary history, work record, mitigating circumstances). It relies on compliance mandates, definition changes, exemptions, and reporting requirements. The main policy areas are Federal Workforce and Labor.

Who Benefits and How

Federal agency management could face lower compliance burdens, Federal agency HR departments could face lower compliance burdens, and Federal employees in competitive service could face lower compliance burdens.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Office of Personnel Management would take on compliance duties, Senior Executive Service career appointees could face increased risk, and SES members refusing reassignments could face increased risk.

Key Provisions

  • Repeals Section 4303 of title 5 which provides for performance-based actions, eliminating the requirement for agencies to provide employees an opportunity to demonstrate acceptable performance before adverse action.
  • Requires rewrites Section 7513 to establish new streamlined adverse action procedures.
  • Requires details the new Section 7513 procedures: agencies decide based on preponderance of evidence using five factors (nature of offense, job level, disciplinary history, work record, mitigating circumstances).
  • Requires extends streamlined adverse action procedures to Senior Executive Service members.
  • Establishes new Section 7543 procedures for SES adverse actions: preponderance of evidence standard, two-factor test (nature of offense, job level), substantial evidence review, 15-business-day process, 7-day response...

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

The bill repeals Section 4303 of title 5 which provides for performance-based actions, eliminating the requirement for agencies to provide employees an opportunity to demonstrate acceptable performance before adverse action, requires rewrites Section 7513 to establish new streamlined adverse action procedures, and requires details the new Section 7513 procedures: agencies decide based on preponderance of evidence using five factors (nature of offense, job level, disciplinary history, work record, mitigating circumstances).

Key Policy Areas

Federal Workforce, Labor

Primary Purpose

The bill repeals Section 4303 of title 5 which provides for performance-based actions, eliminating the requirement for agencies to provide employees an opportunity to demonstrate acceptable performance before adverse action, requires rewrites Section 7513 to establish new streamlined adverse action procedures, and requires details the new Section 7513 procedures: agencies decide based on preponderance of evidence using five factors (nature of offense, job level, disciplinary history, work record, mitigating circumstances).

Policy Domains

Federal Workforce Labor

Federal Employee Discipline Reform

Identified Gains
  • Federal agency management
  • Federal agency HR departments
  • Federal employees in competitive service
  • Federal employees during government shutdowns
  • Federal employees covered by CBAs
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Federal agency management: , , , , , ,
Federal agency HR departments: ,
Federal employees covered by CBAs:
Federal employees in competitive service:
Federal employees during government shutdowns:
Identified Costs
  • Office of Personnel Management
  • Senior Executive Service career appointees
  • SES members refusing reassignments
  • New federal employees in competitive service
  • Federal employees subject to adverse actions
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Office of Personnel Management: ,
SES members refusing reassignments:
Senior Executive Service career appointees:
Federal employees subject to adverse actions:
New federal employees in competitive service:

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Jan 23, 2025

Mr. Loudermilk (for himself, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mrs. Houchin, …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Government
35 mentions across 16 clauses
+16 positive -19 negative

Federal agency HR departments, Federal agency budgets, Federal agency heads

Merit Systems Protection Board, Office of Personnel Management face effects in multiple directions

Positive-direction: Federal agency HR departments, Federal agency budgets, Federal agency heads, Federal agency management, Federal agency management during shutdowns, Federal employees facing extended furloughs, Federal retirement system (FERS/CSRS)

Negative-direction: Federal employees convicted of felonies, Federal employees covered by CBAs, Federal employees during government shutdowns, Federal employees facing demotion, Federal employees in competitive service, Federal employees receiving bonuses, Federal employees subject to adverse actions, Federal employees subject to furlough, Federal employees who resign pending removal, Federal employees with ethics violations, Federal hiring authorities, Federal supervisors, Federal supervisors facing adverse actions, New federal employees in competitive service, SES members refusing reassignments, Senior Executive Service career appointees

General Public
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Spouses of convicted employees (cooperating)

Labor
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Federal employee unions

16/19
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Federal Workforce Labor
Actor Mappings
"the_board"
→ Merit Systems Protection Board
"the_agency"
→ Any federal agency as defined in 5 USC 551
"the_office"
→ Office of Personnel Management

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

6 terms
"employee" §7501

An individual in the competitive service not on probation with 2+ years continuous service, OR a career SES appointee who completed probation

"adverse finding" §4531_adverse

A determination that employee conduct violated agency policy warranting removal/14+ day suspension, or violated a law with 1+ year imprisonment

"furlough" §7501_furlough

Has the meaning in section 7511(a)(5)

"emergency furlough" §7501_emergency

A furlough due to a lapse in appropriations

"felonious service" §8323_felonious

Period of service from when employee began misconduct to removal or separation

"business day" §12_business_day

Any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday under 5 USC 6103(a)

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology