An Act to authorize appropriations for the United States Office of Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and for other purposes.
Became Public Law No: 103-424.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 35 · Passed Senate amended · Oct 7, 1994
Amends the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 (WPA) to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Merit Systems Protection Board through 1997. Makes miscellaneous and technical amendments to various OSC provisions under WPA, including those regarding OSC administration and powers of disclosure, investigation of prohibited personnel practices and individual rights of action in certain reprisal cases, and OSC reports. Amends Federal law to: (1) provide for the awarding of reasonable attorney fees by agencies to prevailing parties in certain cases; (2) subject to review in whistleblower cases any agency decision to require psychiatric testing or examination of an employee or any other significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions made by the agency; (3) make agency heads responsible for ensuring that their employees are informed of whistleblower rights and remedies; (4) make compliance with merit systems principles a factor in Senior Executive Service performance appraisals; (5) provide for the application of certain merit systems provisions to certain Department of Veterans Affairs personnel; (6) allow corrective actions by the Merit Systems Protection Board to include placing the individual, as nearly as possible, in the position he or she would have been had the prohibited personnel practice not occurred, as well as reimbursement for attorney's fees, back pay and related benefits, medical costs incurred, travel expenses, and any other reasonable and foreseeable consequential damages; (7) provide aggrieved individuals (including, specifically, the employees of the Resolution Trust Corporation and Thrift Depositor Protection Oversight Board) with a choice of remedies with respect to certain prohibited personnel practices; (8) revise the definition of covered position with respect to prohibited personnel practices; and (9) provide that the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund is made available for any expenses incurred by the Board in administering Federal retirement appeals. Requires OSC to: (1) issue a policy statement regarding the implementation of WPA; (2) include in any letter terminating an investigation of a prohibited personnel practice the identification of an OSC employee who can respond to questions on the investigation or review; and (3) conduct an annual survey of all individuals who contacted the office for assistance for inclusion in its annual report.
Source last updated: Feb 6, 2024. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.2970 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.2970 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.2970 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.2970 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.