Title 38 United States Code^[183]

Veterans’ Benefits

§101. Definitions^[184]

For the purposes of this title—

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(2) The term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

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(21) The term “active duty” means—

(A) full-time duty in the Armed Forces, other than active duty for training;

(B) full-time duty (other than for training purposes) as a commissioned officer of the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service (i) on or after July 29, 1945, or (ii) before that date under circumstances affording entitlement to “full military benefits” or (iii) at any time, for the purposes of chapter 13 of this title;

(C) full-time duty as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or its predecessor organization the Coast and Geodetic Survey (i) on or after July 29, 1945, or (ii) before that date (I) while on transfer to one of the Armed Forces, or (II) while, in time of war or national emergency declared by the President, assigned to duty on a project for one of the Armed Forces in an area determined by the Secretary of Defense to be of immediate military hazard, or (III) in the Philippine Islands on December 7, 1941, and continuously in such islands thereafter, or (iii) at any time, for the purposes of chapter 13 of this title;

(D) service as a cadet at the United States Military, Air Force, or Coast Guard Academy, or as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy; and

(E) authorized travel to or from such duty or service.

(22) The term “active duty for training” means—

(A) full-time duty in the Armed Forces performed by Reserves for training purposes;

(B) full-time duty for training purposes performed as a commissioned officer of the Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service (i) on or after July 29, 1945, or (ii) before that date under circumstances affording entitlement to “full military benefits”, or (iii) at any time, for the purposes of chapter 13 of this title;

(C) in the case of members of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard of any State, full-time duty under section 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 of title 32, or the prior corresponding provisions of law;

(D) duty performed by a member of a Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program when ordered to such duty for the purpose of training or a practice cruise under chapter 103 of title 10 for a period of not less than four weeks and which must be completed by the member before the member is commissioned; and

(E) authorized travel to or from such duty.

The term does not include duty performed as a temporary member of the Coast Guard Reserve.

(23) The term “inactive duty training” means—

(A) duty (other than full-time duty) prescribed for Reserves (including commissioned officers of the Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service) by the Secretary concerned under section 206 of title 37 or any other provision of law;

(B) special additional duties authorized for Reserves (including commissioned officers of the Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service) by an authority designated by the Secretary concerned and performed by them on a voluntary basis in connection with the prescribed training or maintenance activities of the units to which they are assigned; and

(C) training (other than active duty for training) by a member of, or applicant for membership (as defined in section 8140(g) of title 5) in, the Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps prescribed under chapter 103 of title 10.

In the case of a member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard of any State, such term means duty (other than full-time duty) under sections 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 of title 32, or the prior corresponding provisions of law. Such term does not include (i) work or study performed in connection with correspondence courses, (ii) attendance at an educational institution in an inactive status, or (iii) duty performed as a temporary member of the Coast Guard Reserve.

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(27) The term “reserve component” means, with respect to the Armed Forces—

(A) the Army Reserve;

(B) the Navy Reserve;

(D) the Air Force Reserve;

(E) the Coast Guard Reserve;

(F) the Army National Guard of the United States; and

(G) the Air National Guard of the United States.

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§1703. Contracts for hospital care and medical services in non-Department facilities^[185]

(a) When Department facilities are not capable of furnishing economical hospital care or medical services because of geographical inaccessibility or are not capable of furnishing the care or services required, the Secretary, as authorized in section 1710 of this title, may contract with non-Department facilities in order to furnish any of the following:

(1) Hospital care or medical services to a veteran for the treatment of—

(A) a service-connected disability; or

(B) a disability for which a veteran was discharged or released from the active military, naval, or air service.

(2) Medical services for the treatment of any disability of—

(A) a veteran described in section 1710(a)(1)(B) of this title;

(B) a veteran who (i) has been furnished hospital care, nursing home care, domiciliary care, or medical services, and (ii) requires medical services to complete treatment incident to such care or services; or

(C) a veteran described in section 1710(a)(2)(E) of this title, or a veteran who is in receipt of increased pension, or additional compensation or allowances based on the need of regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound (or who, but for the receipt of retired pay, would be in receipt of such pension, compensation, or allowance), if the Secretary has determined, based on an examination by a physician employed by the Department (or, in areas where no such physician is available, by a physician carrying out such function under a contract or fee arrangement), that the medical condition of such veteran precludes appropriate treatment in Department facilities.

(3) Hospital care or medical services for the treatment of medical emergencies which pose a serious threat to the life or health of a veteran receiving medical services in a Department facility or nursing home care under section 1720 of this title until such time following the furnishing of care in the non-Department facility as the veteran can be safely transferred to a Department facility.

(4) Hospital care for women veterans.

(5) Hospital care, or medical services that will obviate the need for hospital admission, for veterans in a State (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) not contiguous to the contiguous States, except that the annually determined hospital patient load and incidence of the furnishing of medical services to veterans hospitalized or treated at the expense of the Department in Government and non-Department facilities in each such noncontiguous State shall be consistent with the patient load or incidence of the furnishing of medical services for veterans hospitalized or treated by the Department within the 48 contiguous States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(6) Diagnostic services necessary for determination of eligibility for, or of the appropriate course of treatment in connection with, furnishing medical services at independent Department out-patient^[186] clinics to obviate the need for hospital admission.

(7) Outpatient dental services and treatment, and related dental appliances, for a veteran described in section 1710(b)(1)(F) of this title.

(8) Diagnostic services (on an inpatient or outpatient basis) for observation or examination of a person to determine eligibility for a benefit or service under laws administered by the Secretary.

(b) In the case of any veteran for whom the Secretary contracts to furnish care or services in a non-Department facility pursuant to a provision of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall periodically review the necessity for continuing such contractual arrangement pursuant to such provision.

(c) The Secretary shall include in the budget documents which the Secretary submits to Congress for any fiscal year a detailed report on the furnishing of contract care and services during the most recently completed fiscal year under this section, sections 1712A, 1720, 1720A, 1724, and 1732 of this title, and section 115 of the Veterans’ Benefits and Services Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-322; 102 Stat. 501).

(d) (1) The Secretary shall conduct a program of recovery audits for fee basis contracts and other medical services contracts for the care of veterans under this section, and for beneficiaries under sections 1781, 1782, and 1783 of this title, with respect to overpayments resulting from processing or billing errors or fraudulent charges in payments for non-Department care and services. The program shall be conducted by contract.

(2) Amounts collected, by setoff or otherwise, as the result of an audit under the program conducted under this subsection shall be available, without fiscal year limitation, for the purposes for which funds are currently available to the Secretary for medical care and for payment to a contractor of a percentage of the amount collected as a result of an audit carried out by the contractor.

(3) The Secretary shall allocate all amounts collected under this subsection with respect to a designated geographic service area of the Veterans Health Administration, net of payments to the contractor, to that region.

(4) The authority of the Secretary under this subsection terminates on September 30, 2020.

§1741. Criteria for payment^[187]

(a) (1) Except as provided in section 1745 of this title, the Secretary shall pay each State at the per diem rate of—

(A) $8.70 for domiciliary care; and

(B) $20.35 for nursing home care and hospital care,

for each veteran receiving such care in a State home, if such veteran is eligible for such care in a Department facility.

(2) The Secretary may pay each State per diem at a rate determined by the Secretary for each veteran receiving extended care services described in any of paragraphs (4) through (6) of section 1710B(a) of this title under a program administered by a State home, if such veteran is eligible for such care under laws administered by the Secretary.

(b) In no case shall the payments made with respect to any veteran under this section exceed one-half of the cost of the veterans’ care in such State home.

(c) Whenever the Secretary makes a determination pursuant to section 1720(a)(2)(A) of this title that the cost of care furnished by the Department in a general hospital under the direct jurisdiction of the Secretary has increased, the Secretary may, effective no earlier than the date of such determination, increase the rates paid under subsection (a) of this section by a percentage not greater than the percentage by which the Secretary has determined that such cost of care has increased.

(d) Subject to section 1743 of this title, the payment of per diem for care furnished in a State home facility shall commence on the date of the completion of the inspection for recognition of the facility under section 1742(a) of this title if the Secretary determines, as a result of that inspection, that the State home meets the standards described in such section.

(e) Payments to States pursuant to this section shall not be considered a liability of a third party, or otherwise be used to offset or reduce any other payment made to assist veterans.

(f) Any State home that requests payment or reimbursement for services provided to a veteran under this section shall provide to the Secretary such information as the Secretary considers necessary to identify each individual veteran eligible for payment under such section.

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§1781. Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans^[188]

(a) The Secretary is authorized to provide medical care, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, for—

(1) the spouse or child of a veteran who has a total disability, permanent in nature, resulting from a service-connected disability,

(2) the surviving spouse or child of a veteran who (A) died as a result of a service-connected disability, or (B) at the time of death had a total disability permanent in nature, resulting from a service-connected disability, and

(3) the surviving spouse or child of a person who died in the active military, naval, or air service in the line of duty and not due to such person’s own misconduct, and

(4) an individual designated as a primary provider of personal care services under section 1720G(a)(7)(A) of this title who is not entitled to care or services under a health-plan contract (as defined in section 1725(f) of this title),

who are not otherwise eligible for medical care under chapter 55 of title 10 (CHAMPUS).

(b) In order to accomplish the purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall provide for medical care in the same or similar manner and subject to the same or similar limitations as medical care is furnished to certain dependents and survivors of active duty and retired members of the Armed Forces under chapter 55 of title 10 (CHAMPUS), by—

(1) entering into an agreement with the Secretary of Defense under which that Secretary shall include coverage for such medical care under the contract, or contracts, that Secretary enters into to carry out such chapter 55, and under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall fully reimburse the Secretary of Defense for all costs and expenditures made for the purposes of affording the medical care authorized pursuant to this section; or

(2) contracting in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe for such insurance, medical service, or health plans as the Secretary deems appropriate.

In cases in which Department medical facilities are equipped to provide the care and treatment, the Secretary is also authorized to carry out such purposes through the use of such facilities not being utilized for the care of eligible veterans. A dependent or survivor receiving care under the preceding sentence shall be eligible for the same medical services as a veteran, including services under sections 1782 and 1783 of this title.

(c) For the purposes of this section, a child between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three (1) who is eligible for benefits under subsection (a) of this section, (2) who is pursuing a full-time course of instruction at an educational institution approved under chapter 36 of this title, and (3) who, while pursuing such course of instruction, incurs a disabling illness or injury (including a disabling illness or injury incurred between terms, semesters, or quarters or during a vacation or holiday period) which is not the result of such child's own willful misconduct and which results in such child's inability to continue or resume such child's chosen program of education at an approved educational institution shall remain eligible for benefits under this section until the end of the six-month period beginning on the date the disability is removed, the end of the two-year period beginning on the date of the onset of the disability, or the twenty-third birthday of the child, whichever occurs first.

(d) (1) (A) An individual otherwise eligible for medical care under this section who is also entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of the medicare program is eligible for medical care under this section only if the individual is also enrolled in the supplementary medical insurance program under part B of the medicare program.

(B) The limitation in subparagraph (A) does not apply to an individual who—

(i) has attained 65 years of age as of June 5, 2001; and

(ii) is not enrolled in the supplementary medical insurance program under part B of the medicare program as of that date.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), if an individual described in paragraph (1) receives medical care for which payment may be made under both this section and the medicare program, the amount payable for such medical care under this section shall be the amount by which (A) the costs for such medical care exceed (B) the sum of—

(i) the amount payable for such medical care under the medicare program; and

(ii) the total amount paid or payable for such medical care by third party payers other than the medicare program.

(3) The amount payable under this subsection for medical care may not exceed the total amount that would be paid under subsection (b) if payment for such medical care were made solely under subsection (b).

(4) In this paragraph:

(A) The term “medicare program” means the program of health insurance administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.).

(B) The term “third party” has the meaning given that term in section 1729(i)(3) of this title.

(e) Payment by the Secretary under this section on behalf of a covered beneficiary for medical care shall constitute payment in full and extinguish any liability on the part of the beneficiary for that care.

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§3005. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation^[189]

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CHAPTER 41—JOB COUNSELING, TRAINING, AND PLACEMENT SERVICE FOR VETERANS

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§4101. Definitions^[190]

For the purposes of this chapter—

(1) The term “special disabled veteran” has the same meaning provided in section 4211(1) of this title.

(2) The term “veteran of the Vietnam era” has the same meaning provided in section 4211(2) of this title.

(3) The term “disabled veteran” has the same meaning provided in section 4211(3) of this title.

(4) The term “eligible veteran” has the same meaning provided in section 4211(4) of this title.

(5) The term “eligible person” means—

(A) the spouse of any person who died of a service-connected disability,

(B) the spouse of any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of application for assistance under this chapter, is listed, pursuant to section 556 of title 37 and regulations issued thereunder, by the Secretary concerned in one or more of the following categories and has been so listed for a total of more than ninety days: (i) missing in action, (ii) captured in line of duty by a hostile force, or (iii) forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power, or

(C) the spouse of any person who has a total disability permanent in nature resulting from a service-connected disability or the spouse of a veteran who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence.

(6) The term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and may include, to the extent determined necessary and feasible, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

(7) The term “employment service delivery system” means a service delivery system at which or through which labor exchange services, including employment, training, and placement services, are offered in accordance with the Wagner-Peyser Act.

(8) The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor.

(9) The term “career services” means local employment and training services of the type described in secctino 134(c)(2) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

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§4102A. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training; Program Functions; Regional Administrators^[191]

(a) Establishment of Position of Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training.—(1) There is established within the Department of Labor an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall formulate and implement all departmental policies and procedures to carry out (A) the purposes of this chapter, chapter 42, and chapter 43 of this title, and (B) all other Department of Labor employment, unemployment, and training programs to the extent they affect veterans.

(2) The employees of the Department of Labor administering chapter 43 of this title shall be administratively and functionally responsible to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training.

(3) (A) There shall be within the Department of Labor a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training. The Deputy Assistant Secretary shall perform such functions as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training prescribes.

(B) No individual may be appointed as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training unless the individual has at least five years of service in a management position as an employee of the Federal civil service or comparable service in a management position in the Armed Forces. For purposes of determining such service of an individual, there shall be excluded any service described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 308(d)(2) of this title.

(b) Program Functions..—The Secretary shall carry out the following functions:

(1) Except as expressly provided otherwise, carry out all provisions of this chapter and chapter 43 of this title through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training and administer through such Assistant Secretary all programs under the jurisdiction of the Secretary for the provision of employment and training services designed to meet the needs of all veterans and persons eligible for services furnished under this chapter.

(2) In order to make maximum use of available resources in meeting such needs, encourage all such programs, and all grantees and contractors under such programs to enter into cooperative arrangements with private industry and business concerns (including small business concerns owned by veterans or disabled veterans), educational institutions, trade associations, and labor unions.

(3) Ensure that maximum effectiveness and efficiency are achieved in providing services and assistance to eligible veterans under all such programs by coordinating and consulting with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with respect to (A) programs conducted under other provisions of this title, with particular emphasis on coordination of such programs with readjustment counseling activities carried out under section 1712A of this title, apprenticeship or other on-the-job training programs carried out under section 3687 of this title, and rehabilitation and training activities carried out under chapter 31 of this title and (B) determinations covering veteran population in a State.

(4) Ensure that employment, training, and placement activities are carried out in coordination and cooperation with appropriate State public employment service officials.

(5) Subject to subsection (c), make available for use in each State by grant or contract such funds as may be necessary to support—

(A) disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists appointed under section 4103A(a)(1) of this title,

(B) local veterans’ employment representatives assigned under section 4104(b) of this title, and

(C) the reasonable expenses of such specialists and representatives described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, for training, travel, supplies, and other business expenses, including travel expenses and per diem for attendance at the National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute established under section 4109 of this title.

(6) Monitor and supervise on a continuing basis the distribution and use of funds provided for use in the States under paragraph (5).

(7) Establish, and update as appropriate, a comprehensive performance accountability system (as described in subsection (f)) and carry out annual performance reviews of veterans employment, training, and placement services provided through employment service delivery systems, including through disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and through local veterans’ employment representatives in States receiving grants, contracts, or awards under this chapter.

(8) With advice and assistance from the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach established under section 4110 of this title, furnish information to employers (through meetings in person with hiring executives of corporations and otherwise) with respect to the training and skills of veterans and disabled veterans, and the advantages afforded employers by hiring veterans with such training and skills, and to facilitate employment of veterans and disabled veterans through participation in labor exchanges (Internet-based and otherwise), and other means.

(c) Conditions for Receipt of Funds.—(1) The distribution and use of funds under subsection (b)(5) in order to carry out sections 4103A(a) and 4104(a) of this title shall be subject to the continuing supervision and monitoring of the Secretary and shall not be governed by the provisions of any other law, or any regulations prescribed thereunder, that are inconsistent with this section or section 4103A or 4104 of this title.

(2) (A) A State shall submit to the Secretary an application for a grant or contract under subsection (b)(5). The application shall contain the following information:

(i) A plan that describes the manner in which the State shall furnish employment, training, and placement services required under this chapter for the program year, including a description of—

(I) duties assigned by the State to disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and local veterans’ employment representatives consistent with the requirements of sections 4103A and 4104 of this title;

(II) the manner in which such specialists and representatives are integrated in the employment service delivery systems in the State; and

(III) the program of performance incentive awards described in section 4112 of this title in the State for the program year.

(ii) The veteran population to be served.

(iii) For each employee of the State who is assigned to perform the duties of a disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist or a local veterans’ employment representative under this chapter—

(I) the date on which the employee is so assigned; and

(II) whether the employee has satisfactorily completed such training by the National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute as the Secretary requires for purposes of paragraph (8).

(iv) Such additional information as the Secretary may require to make a determination with respect to awarding a grant or contract to the State.

(B) (i) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this subparagraph, of the amount available under subsection (b)(5) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make available to each State with an application approved by the Secretary an amount of funding in proportion to the number of veterans seeking employment using such criteria as the Secretary may establish in regulation, including civilian labor force and unemployment data, for the State on an annual basis. The proportion of funding shall reflect the ratio of—

(I) the total number of veterans residing in the State that are seeking employment; to

(II) the total number of veterans seeking employment in all States.

(ii) The Secretary shall phase in over the three fiscal-year period that begins on October 1, 2003, the manner in which amounts are made available to States under subsection (b)(5) and this subsection, as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act.

(iii) In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary may establish minimum funding levels and hold-harmless criteria for States.

(3) (A) (i) As a condition of a grant or contract under this section for a program year, in the case of a State that the Secretary determines has an entered-employment rate for veterans that is deficient for the preceding program year, the State shall develop a corrective action plan to improve that rate for veterans in the State.

(ii) The State shall submit the corrective action plan to the Secretary for approval, and if approved, shall expeditiously implement the plan.

(iii) If the Secretary does not approve a corrective action plan submitted by the State under clause (i), the Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to implement corrective actions in the State to improve the entered-employment rate for veterans in that State.

(B) To carry out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall establish in regulations a uniform national threshold entered-employment rate for veterans for a program year by which determinations of deficiency may be made under subparagraph (A).

(C) In making a determination with respect to a deficiency under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall take into account the applicable annual unemployment data for the State and consider other factors, such as prevailing economic conditions, that affect performance of individuals providing employment, training, and placement services in the State.

(4) In determining the terms and conditions of a grant or contract under which funds are made available to a State in order to carry out section 4103A or 4104 of this title, the Secretary shall take into account—

(A) the results of reviews, carried out pursuant to subsection (b)(7), of the performance of the employment, training, and placement service delivery system in the State, and

(B) the monitoring carried out under this section.

(5) Each grant or contract by which funds are made available to a State shall contain a provision requiring the recipient of the funds—

(A) to comply with the provisions of this chapter; and

(B) on an annual basis, to notify the Secretary of, and provide supporting rationale for, each nonveteran who is employed as a disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist and local veterans’ employment representative for a period in excess of 6 months.

(6) Each State shall coordinate employment, training, and placement services furnished to veterans and eligible persons under this chapter with such services furnished with respect to such veterans and persons under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Wagner-Peyser Act.

(7) Of the amount of a grant or contract under which funds are made available to a State in order to carry out section 4103A or 4104 of this title for any program year, one percent shall be for the purposes of making cash awards under the program of performance incentive awards described in section 4112 of this title in the State.

(8) (A) As a condition of a grant or contract under which funds are made available to a State in order to carry out section 4103A or 4104 of this title, the Secretary shall require the State to require each employee hired by the State who is assigned to perform the duties of a disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist or a local veterans’ employment representative under this chapter to satisfactorily complete training provided by the National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute during the three-year period that begins on the date on which the employee is so assigned.

(B) For any employee described in subparagraph (A) who does not complete such training during such period, the Secretary may reduce by an appropriate amount the amount made available to the State employing that employee.

(C) The Secretary may establish such reasonable exceptions to the completion of training otherwise required under subparagraph (A) as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(9) (A) As a condition of a grant or contract under which funds are made available to a State in order to carry out section 4103A or 4104 of this title for any program year, the Secretary may require the State—

(i) to demonstrate that when the State approves or denies a certification or license described in subparagraph (B) for a veteran the State takes into consideration any training received or experience gained by the veteran while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces; and

(ii) to disclose to the Secretary in writing the following:

(I) Criteria applicants must satisfy to receive a certification or license described in subparagraph (B) by the State.

(II) A description of the standard practices of the State for evaluating training received by veterans while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces and evaluating the documented work experience of such veterans during such service for purposes of approving or denying a certification or license described in subparagraph (B).

(III) Identification of areas in which training and experience described in subclause (II) fails to meet criteria described in subclause (I).

(B) A certification or license described in this subparagraph is any of the following:

(i) A license to be a nonemergency medical professional.

(ii) A license to be an emergency medical professional.

(iii) A commercial driver's license.

(C) The Secretary shall share the information the Secretary receives under subparagraph (A)(ii) with the Secretary of Defense to help the Secretary of Defense improve training for military occupational specialties so that individuals who receive such training are able to receive a certification or license described in subparagraph (B) from a State.

(D) The Secretary shall publish on the Internet website of the Department available to the public—

(i) any guidance the Secretary gives the Secretary of Defense with respect to carrying out this section; and

(ii) any information the Secretary receives from a State pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(d) Participation in Other Federally Funded Job Training Programs.—The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training shall promote and monitor participation of qualified veterans and eligible persons in employment and training opportunities under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and other federally funded employment and training programs.

(e) Regional Administrators.—(1) The Secretary shall assign to each region for which the Secretary operates a regional office a representative of the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service to serve as the Regional Administrator for Veterans’ Employment and Training in such region.

(2) Each such Regional Administrator shall carry out such duties as the Secretary may require to promote veterans employment and reemployment within the region that the Administrator serves.

(f) Establishment of Performance Standards and Outcomes Measures.—

(1) The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training shall establish and implement a comprehensive performance accountability system to measure the performance of employment service delivery systems, including disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and local veterans’ employment representatives providing employment, training, and placement services under this chapter in a State to provide accountability of that State to the Secretary for purposes of subsection (c).

(2) Such standards and measures shall—

(A) be consistent with State performance accountability measures applicable under section 116(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; and

(B) be appropriately weighted to provide special consideration for placement of (i) veterans requiring intensive services (as defined in section 4101(9) of this title), such as special disabled veterans and disabled veterans, and (ii) veterans who enroll in readjustment counseling under section 1712A of this title.

(g) Authority to Provide Technical Assistance to States.—The Secretary may provide such technical assistance as the Secretary determines appropriate to any State that the Secretary determines has, or may have, an entered-employment rate in the State that is deficient, as determined under subsection (c)(3) with respect to a program year, including assistance in the development of a corrective action plan under that subsection.

(h) Consolidation of Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program Specialist and Veterans’ Employment Representatives.—The Secretary may allow the Governor of a State receiving funds under subsection (b)(5) to support specialists and representatives as described in such subsection to consolidate the functions of such specialists and representatives if—

(1) the Governor determines, and the Secretary concurs, that such consolidation—

(A) promotes a more efficient administration of services to veterans with a particular emphasis on services to disabled veterans; and

(B) does not hinder the provision of services to veterans and employers; and

(2) the Governor submits to the Secretary a proposal therefor at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

§4103. Directors and Assistant Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Training; Additional Federal Personnel^[192]

(a) Directors and Assistant Directors.—(1) The Secretary shall assign to each State a representative of the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service to serve as the Director for Veterans’ Employment and Training, and shall assign full-time Federal clerical or other support personnel to each such Director.

(2) (A) Each Director for Veterans’ Employment and Training for a State shall, at the time of appointment, have been a bona fide resident of the State for at least two years.

(B) The Secretary may waive the requirement in subparagraph (A) with respect to a Director for Veterans’ Employment and Training if the Secretary determines that the waiver is in the public interest. Any such waiver shall be made on a case-by-case basis.

(3) Full-time Federal clerical or other support personnel assigned to Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Training shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service and shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5.

(b) Additional Federal Personnel.—The Secretary may also assign as supervisory personnel such representatives of the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service as the Secretary determines appropriate to carry out the employment, training, and placement services required under this chapter, including Assistant Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Training.

(c) Coordination With State Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs.—Each Director for Veterans' Employment and Training for a State shall coordinate the Director's activities under this chapter with the State department of labor and the State department of veterans affairs.

§4103A. Disabled veterans’ outreach program^[193]

(a) Requirement for Employment by States of a Sufficient Number of Specialists.—

(1) Subject to approval by the Secretary, a State shall employ such full- or part-time disabled veterans' outreach program specialists as the State determines appropriate and efficient to carry out intensive services and facilitate placements under this chapter to meet the employment needs of eligible veterans with the following priority in the provision of services:

(A) Special disabled veterans.

(B) Other disabled veterans.

(C) Other eligible veterans in accordance with priorities determined by the Secretary taking into account applicable rates of unemployment and the employment emphases set forth in chapter 42 of this title.

(2) In the provision of services in accordance with this subsection, maximum emphasis in meeting the employment needs of veterans shall be placed on assisting economically or educationally disadvantaged veterans.

(3) In facilitating placement of a veteran under this program, a disabled veterans' outreach program specialist shall help to identify job opportunities that are appropriate for the veteran's employment goals and assist that veteran in developing a cover letter and resume that are targeted for those particular jobs.

(b) Requirement for Qualified Veterans.—A State shall, to the maximum extent practicable, employ qualified veterans to carry out the services referred to in subsection (a). Preference shall be given in the appointment of such specialists to qualified disabled veterans.

(c) Part-time Employees.—A part-time disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist shall perform the functions of a disabled veterans’ outreach program specialist under this section on a half-time basis.

(d) Additional Requirement for Full-time Employees.—

(1) A full-time disabled veterans' outreach program specialist shall perform only duties related to meeting the employment needs of eligible veterans, as described in subsection (a), and shall not perform other non-veteran-related duties that detract from the specialist's ability to perform the specialist's duties related to meeting the employment needs of eligible veterans.

(2) The Secretary shall conduct regular audits to ensure compliance with paragraph (1). If, on the basis of such an audit, the Secretary determines that a State is not in compliance with paragraph (1), the Secretary may reduce the amount of a grant made to the State under section 4102A(b)(5) of this title.

§4104. Local veterans’ employment representatives^[194]

(a) Requirement for Employment by States of a Sufficient Number of Representatives.—Subject to approval by the Secretary, a State shall employ such full- and part-time local veterans' employment representatives as the State determines appropriate and efficient to carry out employment, training, and placement services under this chapter.

(b) Principal Duties.—As principal duties, local veterans' employment representatives shall—

(1) conduct outreach to employers in the area to assist veterans in gaining employment, including conducting seminars for employers and, in conjunction with employers, conducting job search workshops and establishing job search groups; and

(2) facilitate employment, training, and placement services furnished to veterans in a State under the applicable State employment service delivery systems.

(c) Requirement for Qualified Veterans and Eligible Persons.—A State shall, to the maximum extent practicable, employ qualified veterans or eligible persons to carry out the services referred to in subsection (a). Preference shall be accorded in the following order:

(1) To qualified service-connected disabled veterans.

(2) If no veteran described in paragraph (1) is available, to qualified eligible veterans.

(3) If no veteran described in paragraph (1) or (2) is available, then to qualified eligible persons.

(d) Part-Time Employees.—A part-time local veterans' employment representative shall perform the functions of a local veterans' employment representative under this section on a half-time basis.

(e) Additional Requirements for Full-time Employees.—

(1) A full-time local veterans' employment representative shall perform only duties related to the employment, training, and placement services under this chapter, and shall not perform other non-veteran-related duties that detract from the representative's ability to perform the representative's duties related to employment, training, and placement services under this chapter.

(f) Reporting.—Each local veterans' employment representative shall be administratively responsible to the manager of the employment service delivery system and shall provide reports, not less frequently than quarterly, to the manager of such office and to the Director for Veterans' Employment and Training for the State regarding compliance with Federal law and regulations with respect to special services and priorities for eligible veterans and eligible persons.

§4104A. Performance of disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and local veterans’ employment representatives

[Repealed, P.L. 107–288, §4(a)(3)(A)(i), November 7, 2002.]

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§4105. Cooperation of Federal agencies^[195]

(a) All Federal agencies shall furnish the Secretary such records, statistics, or information as the Secretary may deem necessary or appropriate in administering the provisions of this chapter, and shall otherwise cooperate with the Secretary in providing continuous employment and training opportunities for eligible veterans and eligible persons.

(b) For the purpose of assisting the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in identifying employers with potential job training opportunities under the Veterans’ Job Training Act (Public Law 98-77; 29 U.S.C. 1721 note) and otherwise in order to carry out this chapter, the Secretary of Defense shall, on the 15th day of each month, provide the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with updated information regarding any list maintained by the Secretary of Defense of employers participating in the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

§4106. Estimate of funds for administration; authorization of appropriations^[196]

(a) The Secretary shall estimate the funds necessary for the proper and efficient administration of this chapter and chapters 42 and 43 of this title. Such estimated sums shall include the annual amounts necessary for salaries, rents, printing and binding, travel, and communications. Sums thus estimated shall be included as a special item in the annual budget for the Department of Labor. Estimated funds necessary for proper intensive services, placement, and training services to eligible veterans and eligible persons provided by the various State public employment service agencies shall each be separately identified in the budgets of those agencies as approved by the Department of Labor. Funds estimated pursuant to the first sentence of this subsection shall include amounts necessary in all of the States for the purposes specified in paragraph (5) of section 4102A(b) of this title and to fund the National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute under section 4109 of this title and shall be approved by the Secretary only if the level of funding proposed is in compliance with such sections. Each budget submission with respect to such funds shall include a separate listing of the amount for the National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute together with information demonstrating the compliance of such budget submission with the funding requirements specified in the preceding sentence.

(b) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the proper and efficient administration of this chapter.

(c) In the event that the regular appropriations Act making appropriations for administrative expenses for the Department of Labor with respect to any fiscal year does not specify an amount for the purposes specified in subsection (b) of this section for that fiscal year, then of the amounts appropriated in such Act there shall be available only for the purposes specified in subsection (b) of this section such amount as was set forth in the budget estimate submitted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Any funds made available pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall not be available for any purpose other than those specified in such subsections.

§4107. Administrative controls; annual report^[197]

(a) The Secretary shall establish administrative controls for the following purposes:

(1) To insure that each eligible veteran, especially veterans of the Vietnam era and disabled veterans, and each eligible person who requests assistance under this chapter shall promptly be placed in a satisfactory job or job training opportunity or receive some other specific form of assistance designed to enhance such veteran's and eligible person's employment prospects substantially, such as individual job development or intensive services.

(2) To determine whether or not the employment service agencies in each State have committed the necessary staff to insure that the provisions of this chapter are carried out; and to arrange for necessary corrective action where staff resources have been determined by the Secretary to be inadequate.

(b) The Secretary shall apply performance standards established under section 4102A(f) of this title for determining compliance by the State public employment service agencies with the provisions of this chapter and chapter 42 of this title. Not later than February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the performance of States and organizations and entities carrying out employment, training, and placement services under this chapter, as measured under subsection (b)(7) of section 4102A of this title. In the case of a State that the Secretary determines has not met the minimum standard of performance (established by the Secretary under subsection (f) of such section), the Secretary shall include an analysis of the extent and reasons for the State's failure to meet that minimum standard, together with the State's plan for corrective action during the succeeding year.

(c) Not later than February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the success during the preceding program year of the Department of Labor and its affiliated State employment service agencies in carrying out the provisions of this chapter and programs for the provision of employment and training services to meet the needs of eligible veterans and eligible persons. The report shall include—

(1) specification, by State and by age group, of the numbers of eligible veterans, disabled veterans, special disabled veterans, eligible persons, recently separated veterans (as defined in section 4211(6) of this title), and servicemembers transitioning to civilian careers who registered for assistance with, or who are identified as veterans by, the public employment service system and, for each of such categories, the numbers referred to and placed in permanent and other jobs, the numbers referred to and placed in jobs and job training programs supported by the Federal Government, the number who received intensive services, and the number who received some, and the number who received no, reportable service;

(2) a comparison of the rate of entered employment (as determined in a manner consistent with State performance measures applicable under section 136(b) 1 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998) for each of the categories of veterans and persons described in paragraph (1) of this subsection with such rate of entered employment (as so determined) for nonveterans of the same age groups registered for assistance with the public employment system in each State;

(3) any determination made by the Secretary during the preceding fiscal year under section 4106 of this title or subsection (a)(2) of this section and a statement of the reasons for such determination;

(4) a report on activities carried out during the preceding program year under section 4212(d) of this title;

(5) a report on the operation during the preceding program year of programs for the provision of employment and training services designed to meet the needs of eligible veterans and eligible persons, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs during such program year in meeting the requirements of section 4102A(b) of this title, the efficiency with which services were provided through such programs during such year, and such recommendations for further legislative action relating to veterans' employment and training as the Secretary considers appropriate;

(6) a report on the operation during the preceding program year of the program of performance incentive awards for quality employment services under section 4112 of this title; and

(7) performance measures for the provision of assistance under this chapter, including—

(A) the percentage of participants in programs under this chapter who find employment before the end of the first 90-day period following their completion of the program;

(B) the percentage of participants described in subparagraph (A) who are employed during the first 180-day period following the period described in such subparagraph;

(D) the median earnings of participants described in subparagraph (B) during the period described in such subparagraph; and

(E) the percentage of participants in programs under this chapter who obtain a certificate, degree, diploma, licensure, or industry-recognized credential relating to the program in which they participated under this chapter during the third 90-day period following their completion of the program.

§4108. Cooperation and coordination^[198]

(a) In carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this chapter, the Secretary shall from time to time consult with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and keep the Secretary of Veterans Affairs fully advised of activities carried out and all data gathered pursuant to this chapter to insure maximum cooperation and coordination between the Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to appropriate employment service offices and Department of Labor offices, as designated by the Secretary, on a monthly or more frequent basis, the name and address of each employer located in the areas served by such offices that offer a program of job training which has been approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 7 of the Veterans’ Job Training Act (29 U.S.C. 1721 note).

§4109. National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute^[199]

(a) In order to provide for such training as the Secretary considers necessary and appropriate for the efficient and effective provision of employment, job-training, intensive services, placement, job-search, and related services to veterans, the Secretary shall establish and make available such funds as may be necessary to operate a National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute for the training of disabled veterans' outreach program specialists, local veterans' employment representatives, Directors for Veterans' Employment and Training, and Assistant Directors for Veterans' Employment and Training, Regional Administrators for Veterans' Employment and Training, and such other personnel involved in the provision of employment, job-training, intensive services, placement, or related services to veterans as the Secretary considers appropriate, including travel expenses and per diem for attendance at the Institute.

(b) In implementing this section, the Secretary shall, as the Secretary considers appropriate, provide, out of program funds designated for the Institute, training for Veterans' Employment and Training Service personnel, including travel expenses and per diem to attend the Institute.

(c) (1) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the Institute to enter into contracts or agreements with departments or agencies of the United States or of a State, or with other organizations, to carry out training of personnel of such departments, agencies, or organizations in the provision of services referred to in subsection (a).

(2) All proceeds collected by the Institute under a contract or agreement referred to in paragraph (1) shall be applied to the applicable appropriation.

(d) (1) The Secretary shall require that each disabled veterans' outreach program specialist and local veterans' employment representative who receives training provided by the Institute, or its successor, is given a final examination to evaluate the specialist's or representative's performance in receiving such training.

(2) he results of such final examination shall be provided to the entity that sponsored the specialist or representative who received the training.

§4110. Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach^[200]

(a) (1) There is hereby established within the Department of Labor an advisory committee to be known as the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach.

(2) The advisory committee shall—

(A) assess the employment and training needs of veterans and their integration into the workforce;

(B) determine the extent to which the programs and activities of the Department of Labor are meeting such needs; and

(C) assist the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training in carrying out outreach activities to employers with respect to the training and skills of veterans and the advantages afforded employers by hiring veterans;

(D) make recommendations to the Secretary, through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training, with respect to outreach activities and the employment and training of veterans; and

(E) carry out such other activities that are necessary to make the reports and recommendations referred to in subsection (f) of this section.

(b) The Secretary of Labor shall, on a regular basis, consult with and seek the advice of the advisory committee with respect to the matters referred to in subsection (a)(2) of this section.

(c) (1) The Secretary of Labor shall appoint at least 12, but no more than 16, individuals to serve as members of the advisory committee as follows:

(A) Seven individuals, one each from among representatives nominated by each of the following organizations:

(i) The National Society of Human Resource Managers.

(ii) The Business Roundtable.

(iii) The National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

(iv) The United States Chamber of Commerce.

(v) The National Federation of Independent Business.

(vi) A nationally recognized labor union or organization.

(vii) The National Governors Association.

(B) Not more than five individuals from among representatives nominated by veterans service organizations that have a national employment program.

(C) Not more than five individuals who are recognized authorities in the fields of business, employment, training, rehabilitation, or labor and who are not employees of the Department of Labor.

(2) A vacancy in the advisory committee shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made.

(d) The following, or their representatives, shall be ex officio, nonvoting members of the advisory committee:

(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

(2) The Secretary of Defense.

(3) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

(4) The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training.

(5) The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training.

(6) The Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

(e) (1) The advisory committee shall meet at least quarterly.

(2) The Secretary of Labor shall appoint the chairman of the advisory committee who shall serve in that position for no more than 2 consecutive years.

(3) (A) Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation.

(B) Members of the advisory committee shall be allowed reasonable and necessary travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for persons serving intermittently in the Government service in accordance with the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5 while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of the responsibilities of the advisory committee.

(4) The Secretary of Labor shall provide staff and administrative support to the advisory committee through the Veterans Employment and Training Service.

(f) (1) Not later than December 31 of each year, the advisory committee shall submit to the Secretary and to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the employment and training needs of veterans, with special emphasis on disabled veterans, for the previous fiscal year. Each such report shall contain—

(A) an assessment of the employment and training needs of veterans and their integration into the workforce;

(B) an assessment of the outreach activities carried out by the Secretary of Labor to employers with respect to the training and skills of veterans and the advantages afforded employers by hiring veterans;

(D) a description of the activities of the advisory committee during that fiscal year;

(E) a description of activities that the advisory committee proposes to undertake in the succeeding fiscal year; and

(F) any recommendations for legislation, administrative action, and other action that the advisory committee considers appropriate.

(2) In addition to the annual reports made under paragraph (1), the advisory committee may take recommendations to the Secretary of Labor with respect to the employment and training needs of veterans at such times and in such manner as the advisory committee determines appropriate.

(g) Within 60 days after receiving each annual report referred to in subsection (f)(1), the Secretary of Labor shall transmit to Congress a copy of the report together with any comments concerning the report that the Secretary considers appropriate.

(h) The advisory committee shall continue until terminated by law.

§4110A. Special unemployment study^[201]

(a) (1) The Secretary, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall conduct an annual study of unemployment among each of the following categories of veterans:

(A) Veterans who were called to active duty while members of the National Guard or a Reserve Component.

(B) Veterans who served in combat or in a war zone in the Post 9/11 Global Operations theaters.

(C) Veterans who served on active duty during the Post 9/11 Global Operations period who did not serve in the Post 9/11 Global Operations theaters.

(D) Veterans of the Vietnam era who served in the Vietnam theater of operations during the Vietnam era.

(E) Veterans who served on active duty during the Vietnam era who did not serve in the Vietnam theater of operations.

(F) Veterans discharged or released from active duty within four years of the applicable study.

(G) Special disabled veterans.

(2) Within each of the categories of veterans specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include a separate category for women who are veterans.

(b) The Secretary shall promptly submit to Congress a report on the results of each study under subsection (a).

(1) The term “Post 9/11 Global Operations period” means the period of the Persian Gulf War beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or law.

(2) The term “Post 9/11 Global Operations theaters” means Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other theater in which the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal is awarded for service.

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CHAPTER 43—EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES

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SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL

§4301. Purposes; sense of Congress^[202]

(a) The purposes of this chapter are—

(1) to encourage noncareer service in the uniformed services by eliminating or minimizing the disadvantages to civilian careers and employment which can result from such service;

(2) to minimize the disruption to the lives of persons performing service in the uniformed services as well as to their employers, their fellow employees, and their communities, by providing for the prompt reemployment of such persons upon their completion of such service; and

(3) to prohibit discrimination against persons because of their service in the uniformed services.

(b) It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should be a model employer in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.

§4302. Relation to other law and plans or agreements

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall supersede, nullify or diminish any Federal or State law (including any local law or ordinance), contract, agreement, policy, plan, practice, or other matter that establishes a right or benefit that is more beneficial to, or is in addition to, a right or benefit provided for such person in this chapter.

(b) This chapter supersedes any State law (including any local law or ordinance), contract, agreement, policy, plan, practice, or other matter that reduces, limits, or eliminates in any manner any right or benefit provided by this chapter, including the establishment of additional prerequisites to the exercise of any such right or the receipt of any such benefit.

§4303. Definitions^[203]

For the purposes of this chapter—

(1) The term “Attorney General” means the Attorney General of the United States or any person designated by the Attorney General to carry out a responsibility of the Attorney General under this chapter.

(2) The term “benefit”, “benefit of employment”, or “rights and benefits” means the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, status, account, or interest (including wages or salary for work performed) that accrues by reason of an employment contract or agreement or an employer policy, plan, or practice and includes rights and benefits under a pension plan, a health plan, an employee stock ownership plan, insurance coverage and awards, bonuses, severance pay, supplemental unemployment benefits, vacations, and the opportunity to select work hours or location of employment.

(3) The term “employee” means any person employed by an employer. Such term includes any person who is a citizen, national, or permanent resident alien of the United States employed in a workplace in a foreign country by an employer that is an entity incorporated or otherwise organized in the United States or that is controlled by an entity organized in the United States, within the meaning of section 4319(c) of this title.

(4) (A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the term “employer” means any person, institution, organization, or other entity that pays salary or wages for work performed or that has control over employment opportunities, including—

(i) a person, institution, organization, or other entity to whom the employer has delegated the performance of employment-related responsibilities;

(ii) the Federal Government;

(iii) a State;

(iv) any successor in interest to a person, institution, organization, or other entity referred to in this subparagraph; and

(v) a person, institution, organization, or other entity that has denied initial employment in violation of section 4311.

(B) In the case of a National Guard technician employed under section 709 of title 32, the term “employer” means the adjutant general of the State in which the technician is employed.

(C) Except as an actual employer of employees, an employee pension benefit plan described in section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(2)) shall be deemed to be an employer only with respect to the obligation to provide benefits described in section 4318.

(D) (i) Whether the term "successor in interest" applies with respect to an entity described in subparagraph (A) for purposes of clause (iv) of such subparagraph shall be determined on a case-by-case basis using a multi-factor test that considers the following factors:

(I) Substantial continuity of business operations.

(II) Use of the same or similar facilities.

(III) Continuity of work force.

(IV) Similarity of jobs and working conditions.

(V) Similarity of supervisory personnel.

(VI) Similarity of machinery, equipment, and production methods.

(VII) Similarity of products or services.

(ii) The entity's lack of notice or awareness of a potential or pending claim under this chapter at the time of a merger, acquisition, or other form of succession shall not be considered when applying the multi-factor test under clause (i).

(5) The term “Federal executive agency” includes the United States Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Commission, any nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the United States, any Executive agency (as that term is defined in section 105 of title 5) other than an agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5, and any military department (as that term is defined in section 102 of title 5) with respect to the civilian employees of that department.

(6) The term “Federal Government” includes any Federal executive agency, the legislative branch of the United States, and the judicial branch of the United States.

(7) The term “health plan” means an insurance policy or contract, medical or hospital service agreement, membership or subscription contract, or other arrangement under which health services for individuals are provided or the expenses of such services are paid.

(8) The term “notice” means (with respect to subchapter II) any written or verbal notification of an obligation or intention to perform service in the uniformed services provided to an employer by the employee who will perform such service or by the uniformed service in which such service is to be performed.

(9) The term “qualified”, with respect to an employment position, means having the ability to perform the essential tasks of the position.

(10) The term “reasonable efforts”, in the case of actions required of an employer under this chapter, means actions, including training provided by an employer, that do not place an undue hardship on the employer.

(11) Notwithstanding section 101, the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor or any person designated by such Secretary to carry out an activity under this chapter.

(12) The term “seniority” means longevity in employment together with any benefits of employment which accrue with, or are determined by, longevity in employment.

(13) The term “service in the uniformed services” means the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent authority and includes active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training, full-time National Guard duty, a period for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness of the person to perform any such duty, a period for which a System member of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System is absent from a position of employment due to an appointment into Federal service under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and a period for which a person is absent from employment for the purpose of performing funeral honors duty as authorized by section 12503 of title 10 or section 115 of title 32.

(14) The term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and other territories of the United States (including the agencies and political subdivisions thereof).

(15) The term “undue hardship”, in the case of actions taken by an employer, means actions requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of—

(A) the nature and cost of the action needed under this chapter;

(B) the overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the action; the number of persons employed at such facility; the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such action upon the operation of the facility;

(C) the overall financial resources of the employer; the overall size of the business of an employer with respect to the number of its employees; the number, type, and location of its facilities; and

(D) the type of operation or operations of the employer, including the composition, structure, and functions of the work force of such employer; the geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the employer.

(16) The term “uniformed services” means the Armed Forces, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, System members of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System during a period of appointment into Federal service under section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or national emergency.

§4304. Character of service

A person’s entitlement to the benefits of this chapter by reason of the service of such person in one of the uniformed services terminates upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

(1) A separation of such person from such uniformed service with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.

(2) A separation of such person from such uniformed service under other than honorable conditions, as characterized pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned.

(3) A dismissal of such person permitted under section 1161(a) of title 10.

(4) A dropping of such person from the rolls pursuant to section 1161(b) of title 10.

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SUBCHAPTER II—EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS; PROHIBITIONS

§4311. Discrimination against persons who serve in the uniformed services and acts of reprisal prohibited^[204]

(a) A person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service shall not be denied initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.

(b) An employer may not discriminate in employment against or take any adverse employment action against any person because such person (1) has taken an action to enforce a protection afforded any person under this chapter, (2) has testified or otherwise made a statement in or in connection with any proceeding under this chapter, (3) has assisted or otherwise participated in an investigation under this chapter, or (4) has exercised a right provided for in this chapter. The prohibition in this subsection shall apply with respect to a person regardless of whether that person has performed service in the uniformed services.

(1) under subsection (a), if the person’s membership, application for membership, service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services is a motivating factor in the employer’s action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such membership, application for membership, service, application for service, or obligation for service; or

(2) under subsection (b), if the person’s (A) action to enforce a protection afforded any person under this chapter, (B) testimony or making of a statement in or in connection with any proceeding under this chapter, (C) assistance or other participation in an investigation under this chapter, or (D) exercise of a right provided for in this chapter, is a motivating factor in the employer’s action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such person’s enforcement action, testimony, statement, assistance, participation, or exercise of a right.

(d) The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to any position of employment, including a position that is described in section 4312(d)(1)(C) of this title.

§4312. Reemployment rights of persons who serve in the uniformed services^[205]

(a) Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) and to section 4304, any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to the reemployment rights and benefits and other employment benefits of this chapter if—

(1) the person (or an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which such service is performed) has given advance written or verbal notice of such service to such person’s employer;

(2) the cumulative length of the absence and of all previous absences from a position of employment with that employer by reason of service in the uniformed services does not exceed five years; and

(3) except as provided in subsection (f), the person reports to, or submits an application for reemployment to, such employer in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e).

(b) No notice is required under subsection (a)(1) if the giving of such notice is precluded by military necessity or, under all of the relevant circumstances, the giving of such notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable. A determination of military necessity for the purposes of this subsection shall be made pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense and shall not be subject to judicial review.

(c) Subsection (a) shall apply to a person who is absent from a position of employment by reason of service in the uniformed services if such person’s cumulative period of service in the uniformed services, with respect to the employer relationship for which a person seeks reemployment, does not exceed five years, except that any such period of service shall not include any service—

(1) that is required beyond five years, to complete an initial period of obligated service;

(2) during which such person was unable to obtain orders releasing such person from a period of service in the uniformed services before the expiration of such five-year period and such inability was through no fault of such person;

(3) performed as required pursuant to section 10147 of title 10, under section 502(a) or 503 of title 32, or to fulfill additional training requirements determined and certified in writing by the Secretary concerned, to be necessary for professional development, or for completion of skill training or retraining; or

(4) performed by a member of a uniformed service who is—

(A) ordered to or retained on active duty under section 688, 12301(a), 12301(g), 12302, 12304, 12304a, 12304b, or 12305 of title 10 or under section 331, 332, 359, 360, 367, or 712 of title 14;

(B) ordered to or retained on active duty (other than for training) under any provision of law because of a war or national emergency declared by the President or the Congress, as determined by the Secretary concerned;

(C) ordered to active duty (other than for training) in support, as determined by the Secretary concerned, of an operational mission for which personnel have been ordered to active duty under section 12304 of title 10;

(D) ordered to active duty in support, as determined by the Secretary concerned, of a critical mission or requirement of the uniformed services; or

(E) called into Federal service as a member of the National Guard under chapter 15 of title 10 or under section 12406 of title 10.

(F) ordered to full-time National Guard duty (other than for training) under section 502(f)(2)(A) of title 32 when authorized by the President or the Secretary of Defense for the purpose of responding to a national emergency declared by the President and supported by Federal funds, as determined by the Secretary concerned.

(d) (1) An employer is not required to reemploy a person under this chapter if—

(A) the employer’s circumstances have so changed as to make such reemployment impossible or unreasonable;

(B) in the case of a person entitled to reemployment under subsection (a)(3), (a)(4), or (b)(2)(B) of section 4313, such employment would impose an undue hardship on the employer; or

(C) the employment from which the person leaves to serve in the uniformed services is for a brief, nonrecurrent period and there is no reasonable expectation that such employment will continue indefinitely or for a significant period.

(2) In any proceeding involving an issue of whether—

(A) any reemployment referred to in paragraph (1) is impossible or unreasonable because of a change in an employer’s circumstances,

(B) any accommodation, training, or effort referred to in subsection (a)(3), (a)(4), or (b)(2)(B) of section 4313 would impose an undue hardship on the employer, or

the employer shall have the burden of proving the impossibility or unreasonableness, undue hardship, or the brief or nonrecurrent nature of the employment without a reasonable expectation of continuing indefinitely or for a significant period.

(e) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person referred to in subsection (a) shall, upon the completion of a period of service in the uniformed services, notify the employer referred to in such subsection of the person’s intent to return to a position of employment with such employer as follows:

(A) In the case of a person whose period of service in the uniformed services was less than 31 days, by reporting to the employer—

(i) not later than the beginning of the first full regularly scheduled work period on the first full calendar day following the completion of the period of service and the expiration of eight hours after a period allowing for the safe transportation of the person from the place of that service to the person’s residence; or

(ii) as soon as possible after the expiration of the eight-hour period referred to in clause (i), if reporting within the period referred to in such clause is impossible or unreasonable through no fault of the person.

(B) In the case of a person who is absent from a position of employment for a period of any length for the purposes of an examination to determine the person’s fitness to perform service in the uniformed services, by reporting in the manner and time referred to in subparagraph (A).

(C) In the case of a person whose period of service in the uniformed services was for more than 30 days but less than 181 days, by submitting an application for reemployment with the employer not later than 14 days after the completion of the period of service or if submitting such application within such period is impossible or unreasonable through no fault of the person, the next first full calendar day when submission of such application becomes possible.

(D) In the case of a person whose period of service in the uniformed services was for more than 180 days, by submitting an application for reemployment with the employer not later than 90 days after the completion of the period of service.

(2) (A) A person who is hospitalized for, or convalescing from, an illness or injury incurred in, or aggravated during, the performance of service in the uniformed services shall, at the end of the period that is necessary for the person to recover from such illness or injury, report to the person’s employer (in the case of a person described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)) or submit an application for reemployment with such employer (in the case of a person described in subparagraph (C) or (D) of such paragraph). Except as provided in subparagraph (B), such period of recovery may not exceed two years.

(B) Such two-year period shall be extended by the minimum time required to accommodate the circumstances beyond such person’s control which make reporting within the period specified in subparagraph (A) impossible or unreasonable.

(3) A person who fails to report or apply for employment or reemployment within the appropriate period specified in this subsection shall not automatically forfeit such person’s entitlement to the rights and benefits referred to in subsection (a) but shall be subject to the conduct rules, established policy, and general practices of the employer pertaining to explanations and discipline with respect to absence from scheduled work.

(f) (1) A person who submits an application for reemployment in accordance with subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (e)(1) or subsection (e)(2) shall provide to the person’s employer (upon the request of such employer) documentation to establish that—

(A) the person’s application is timely;

(B) the person has not exceeded the service limitations set forth in subsection (a)(2) (except as permitted under subsection (c)); and

(2) Documentation of any matter referred to in paragraph (1) that satisfies regulations prescribed by the Secretary shall satisfy the documentation requirements in such paragraph.

(3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the failure of a person to provide documentation that satisfies regulations prescribed pursuant to paragraph (2) shall not be a basis for denying reemployment in accordance with the provisions of this chapter if the failure occurs because such documentation does not exist or is not readily available at the time of the request of the employer. If, after such reemployment, documentation becomes available that establishes that such person does not meet one or more of the requirements referred to in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1), the employer of such person may terminate the employment of the person and the provision of any rights or benefits afforded the person under this chapter.

(B) An employer who reemploys a person absent from a position of employment for more than 90 days may require that the person provide the employer with the documentation referred to in subparagraph (A) before beginning to treat the person as not having incurred a break in service for pension purposes under section 4318(a)(2)(A).

(4) An employer may not delay or attempt to defeat a reemployment obligation by demanding documentation that does not then exist or is not then readily available.

(g) The right of a person to reemployment under this section shall not entitle such person to retention, preference, or displacement rights over any person with a superior claim under the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to veterans and other preference eligibles.

(h) In any determination of a person’s entitlement to protection under this chapter, the timing, frequency, and duration of the person’s training or service, or the nature of such training or service (including voluntary service) in the uniformed services, shall not be a basis for denying protection of this chapter if the service does not exceed the limitations set forth in subsection (c) and the notice requirements established in subsection (a)(1) and the notification requirements established in subsection (e) are met.

§4313. Reemployment positions^[206]

(a) Subject to subsection (b) (in the case of any employee) and sections 4314 and 4315 (in the case of an employee of the Federal Government), a person entitled to reemployment under section 4312, upon completion of a period of service in the uniformed services, shall be promptly reemployed in a position of employment in accordance with the following order of priority:

(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), in the case of a person whose period of service in the uniformed services was for less than 91 days—

(A) in the position of employment in which the person would have been employed if the continuous employment of such person with the employer had not been interrupted by such service, the duties of which the person is qualified to perform; or

(B) in the position of employment in which the person was employed on the date of the commencement of the service in the uniformed services, only if the person is not qualified to perform the duties of the position referred to in subparagraph (A) after reasonable efforts by the employer to qualify the person.

(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), in the case of a person whose period of service in the uniformed services was for more than 90 days—

(A) in the position of employment in which the person would have been employed if the continuous employment of such person with the employer had not been interrupted by such service, or a position of like seniority, status and pay, the duties of which the person is qualified to perform; or

(B) in the position of employment in which the person was employed on the date of the commencement of the service in the uniformed services, or a position of like seniority, status and pay, the duties of which the person is qualified to perform, only if the person is not qualified to perform the duties of a position referred to in subparagraph (A) after reasonable efforts by the employer to qualify the person.

(3) In the case of person who has a disability incurred in, or aggravated during, such service, and who (after reasonable efforts by the employer to accommodate the disability) is not qualified due to such disability to be employed in the position of employment in which the person would have been employed if the continuous employment of such person with the employer had not been interrupted by such service—

(A) in any other position which is equivalent in seniority, status, and pay, the duties of which the person is qualified to perform or would become qualified to perform with reasonable efforts by the employer; or

(B) if not employed under subparagraph (A), in a position which is the nearest approximation to a position referred to in subparagraph (A) in terms of seniority, status, and pay consistent with circumstances of such person’s case.

(4) In the case of a person who (A) is not qualified to be employed in (i) the position of employment in which the person would have been employed if the continuous employment of such person with the employer had not been interrupted by such service, or (ii) in the position of employment in which such person was employed on the date of the commencement of the service in the uniformed services for any reason (other than disability incurred in, or aggravated during, service in the uniformed services), and (B) cannot become qualified with reasonable efforts by the employer, in any other position which is the nearest approximation to a position referred to first in clause (A)(i) and then in clause (A)(ii) which such person is qualified to perform, with full seniority.

(b) (1) If two or more persons are entitled to reemployment under section 4312 in the same position of employment and more than one of them has reported for such reemployment, the person who left the position first shall have the prior right to reemployment in that position.

(2) Any person entitled to reemployment under section 4312 who is not reemployed in a position of employment by reason of paragraph (1) shall be entitled to be reemployed as follows:

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in any other position of employment referred to in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), as the case may be (in the order of priority set out in the applicable subsection), that provides a similar status and pay to a position of employment referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, consistent with the circumstances of such person’s case, with full seniority.

(B) In the case of a person who has a disability incurred in, or aggravated during, a period of service in the uniformed services that requires reasonable efforts by the employer for the person to be able to perform the duties of the position of employment, in any other position referred to in subsection (a)(3) (in the order of priority set out in that subsection) that provides a similar status and pay to a position referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, consistent with circumstances of such person’s case, with full seniority.

§4314. Reemployment by the Federal Government

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d), if a person is entitled to reemployment by the Federal Government under section 4312, such person shall be reemployed in a position of employment as described in section 4313.

(b) (1) If the Director of the Office of Personnel Management makes a determination described in paragraph (2) with respect to a person who was employed by a Federal executive agency at the time the person entered the service from which the person seeks reemployment under this section, the Director shall—

(A) identify a position of like seniority, status, and pay at another Federal executive agency that satisfies the requirements of section 4313 and for which the person is qualified; and

(B) ensure that the person is offered such position.

(2) The Director shall carry out the duties referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) if the Director determines that—

(A) the Federal executive agency that employed the person referred to in such paragraph no longer exists and the functions of such agency have not been transferred to another Federal executive agency; or

(B) it is impossible or unreasonable for the agency to reemploy the person.

(c) If the employer of a person described in subsection (a) was, at the time such person entered the service from which such person seeks reemployment under this section, a part of the judicial branch or the legislative branch of the Federal Government, and such employer determines that it is impossible or unreasonable for such employer to reemploy such person, such person shall, upon application to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, be ensured an offer of employment in an alternative position in a Federal executive agency on the basis described in subsection (b).

(d) If the adjutant general of a State determines that it is impossible or unreasonable to reemploy a person who was a National Guard technician employed under section 709 of title 32, such person shall, upon application to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, be ensured an offer of employment in an alternative position in a Federal executive agency on the basis described in subsection (b).

§4315. Reemployment by certain Federal agencies

(a) The head of each agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5 shall prescribe procedures for ensuring that the rights under this chapter apply to the employees of such agency.

(b) In prescribing procedures under subsection (a), the head of an agency referred to in that subsection shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the procedures of the agency for reemploying persons who serve in the uniformed services provide for the reemployment of such persons in the agency in a manner similar to the manner of reemployment described in section 4313.

(c) (1) The procedures prescribed under subsection (a) shall designate an official at the agency who shall determine whether or not the reemployment of a person referred to in subsection (b) by the agency is impossible or unreasonable.

(2) Upon making a determination that the reemployment by the agency of a person referred to in subsection (b) is impossible or unreasonable, the official referred to in paragraph (1) shall notify the person and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management of such determination.

(3) A determination pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review.

(4) The head of each agency referred to in subsection (a) shall submit to the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives on an annual basis a report on the number of persons whose reemployment with the agency was determined under this subsection to be impossible or unreasonable during the year preceding the report, including the reason for each such determination.

(d) (1) Except as provided in this section, nothing in this section, section 4313, or section 4325 shall be construed to exempt any agencyreferred to in subsection (a) from compliance with any other substantive provision of this chapter.

(2) This section may not be construed—

(A) as prohibiting an employee of an agency referred to in subsection (a) from seeking information from the Secretary regarding assistance in seeking reemployment from the agency under this chapter, alternative employment in the Federal Government under this chapter, or information relating to the rights and obligations of employee and Federal agencies under this chapter; or

(B) as prohibiting such an agency from voluntarily cooperating with or seeking assistance in or of clarification from the Secretary or the Director of the Office of Personnel Management of any matter arising under this chapter.

(e) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall ensure the offer of employment to a person in a position in a Federal executive agency on the basis described in subsection (b) if—

(1) the person was an employee of an agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5 at the time the person entered the service from which the person seeks reemployment under this section;

(2) the appropriate officer of the agency determines under subsection (c) that reemployment of the person by the agency is impossible or unreasonable; and

(3) the person submits an application to the Director for an offer of employment under this subsection.

§4316. Rights, benefits, and obligations of persons absent from employment for service in a uniformed service^[207]

(a) A person who is reemployed under this chapter is entitled to the seniority and other rights and benefits determined by seniority that the person had on the date of the commencement of service in the uniformed services plus the additional seniority and rights and benefits that such person would have attained if the person had remained continuously employed.

(b) (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) through (6), a person who is absent from a position of employment by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be—

(A) deemed to be on furlough or leave of absence while performing such service; and

(B) entitled to such other rights and benefits not determined by seniority as are generally provided by the employer of the person to employees having similar seniority, status, and pay who are on furlough or leave of absence under a contract, agreement, policy, practice, or plan in effect at the commencement of such service or established while such person performs such service.

(2) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), a person who—

(i) is absent from a position of employment by reason of service in the uniformed services, and

(ii) knowingly provides written notice of intent not to return to a position of employment after service in the uniformed service,

is not entitled to rights and benefits under paragraph (1)(B).

(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), the employer shall have the burden of proving that a person knowingly provided clear written notice of intent not to return to a position of employment after service in the uniformed service and, in doing so, was aware of the specific rights and benefits to be lost under subparagraph (A).

(3) A person deemed to be on furlough or leave of absence under this subsection while serving in the uniformed services shall not be entitled under this subsection to any benefits to which the person would not otherwise be entitled if the person had remained continuously employed.

(4) Such person may be required to pay the employee cost, if any, of any funded benefit continued pursuant to paragraph (1) to the extent other employees on furlough or leave of absence are so required.

(5) The entitlement of a person to coverage under a health plan is provided for under section 4317.

(6) The entitlement of a person to a right or benefit under an employee pension benefit plan is provided for under section 4318.

(c) A person who is reemployed by an employer under this chapter shall not be discharged from such employment, except for cause—

(1) within one year after the date of such reemployment, if the person’s period of service before the reemployment was more than 180 days; or

(2) within 180 days after the date of such reemployment, if the person’s period of service before the reemployment was more than 30 days but less than 181 days.

(d) Any person whose employment with an employer is interrupted by a period of service in the uniformed services shall be permitted, upon request of that person, to use during such period of service any vacation, annual, or similar leave with pay accrued by the person before the commencement of such service. No employer may require any such person to use vacation, annual, or similar leave during such period of service.

(e) (1) An employer shall grant an employee who is a member of a reserve component an authorized leave of absence from a position of employment to allow that employee to perform funeral honors duty as authorized by section 12503 of title 10 or section 115 of title 32.

(2) For purposes of section 4312(e)(1) of this title, an employee who takes an authorized leave of absence under paragraph (1) is deemed to have notified the employer of the employee’s intent to return to such position of employment.

§4317. Health plans^[208]

(a) (1) In any case in which a person (or the person’s dependents) has coverage under a health plan in connection with the person’s position of employment, including a group health plan (as defined in section 607(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), and such person is absent from such position of employment by reason of service in the uniformed services, or such person becomes eligible for medical and dental care under chapter 55 of title 10 by reason of subsection (d) of section 1074 of that title, the plan shall provide that the person may elect to continue such coverage as provided in this subsection. The maximum period of coverage of a person and the person’s dependents under such an election shall be the lesser of—

(A) the 24-month period beginning on the date on which the person’s absence begins; or

(B) the day after the date on which the person fails to apply for or return to a position of employment, as determined under section 4312(e).

(2) A person who elects to continue health-plan coverage under this paragraph may be required to pay not more than 102 percent of the full premium under the plan (determined in the same manner as the applicable premium under section 4980(B)(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) associated with such coverage for the employer’s other employees, except that in the case of a person who performs service in the uniformed services for less than 31 days, such person may not be required to pay more than the employee share, if any, for such coverage.

(3) In the case of a health plan that is a multiemployer plan, as defined in section 3(37) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, any liability under the plan for employer contributions and benefits arising under this paragraph shall be allocated—

(A) by the plan in such manner as the plan sponsor shall provide; or

(B) if the sponsor does not provide—

(i) to the last employer employing the person before the period served by the person in the uniformed services, or

(ii) if such last employer is no longer functional, to the plan.

(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), in the case of a person whose coverage under a health plan was terminated by reason of service in the uniformed services, or by reason of the person's having become eligible for medical and dental care under chapter 55 of title 10 by reason of subsection (d) of section 1074 of that title, an exclusion or waiting period may not be imposed in connection with the reinstatement of such coverage upon reemployment under this chapter if an exclusion or waiting period would not have been imposed under a health plan had coverage of such person by such plan not been terminated as a result of such service or eligibility. This paragraph applies to the person who is reemployed and to any individual who is covered by such plan by reason of the reinstatement of the coverage of such person.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the coverage of any illness or injury determined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to have been incurred in, or aggravated during, performance of service in the uniformed services.

(3) In the case of a person whose coverage under a health plan is terminated by reason of the person having become eligible for medical and dental care under chapter 55 of title 10 by reason of subsection (d) of section 1074 of that title but who subsequently does not commence a period of active duty under the order to active duty that established such eligibility because the order is canceled before such active duty commences, the provisions of paragraph (1) relating to any exclusion or waiting period in connection with the reinstatement of coverage under a health plan shall apply to such person's continued employment, upon the termination of such eligibility for medical and dental care under chapter 55 of title 10 that is incident to the cancellation of such order, in the same manner as if the person had become reemployed upon such termination of eligibility.

§4318. Employee pension benefit plans^[209]

(a) (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in the case of a right provided pursuant to an employee pension benefit plan (including those described in sections 3(2) and 3(33) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) or a right provided under any Federal or State law governing pension benefits for governmental employees, the right to pension benefits of a person reemployed under this chapter shall be determined under this section.

(B) In the case of benefits under the Thrift Savings Plan, the rights of a person reemployed under this chapter shall be those rights provided in section 8432b of title 5. The first sentence of this subparagraph shall not be construed to affect any other right or benefit under this chapter.

(2) (A) A person reemployed under this chapter shall be treated as not having incurred a break in service with the employer or employers maintaining the plan by reason of such person’s period or periods of service in the uniformed services.

(B) Each period served by a person in the uniformed services shall, upon reemployment under this chapter, be deemed to constitute service with the employer or employers maintaining the plan for the purpose of determining the nonforfeitability of the person’s accrued benefits and for the purpose of determining the accrual of benefits under the plan.

(b) (1) An employer reemploying a person under this chapter shall, with respect to a period of service described in subsection (a)(2)(B), be liable to an employee pension benefit plan for funding any obligation of the plan to provide the benefits described in subsection (a)(2) and shall allocate the amount of any employer contribution for the person in the same manner and to the same extent the allocation occurs for other employees during the period of service. For purposes of determining the amount of such liability and any obligation of the plan, earnings and forfeitures shall not be included. For purposes of determining the amount of such liability and for purposes of section 515 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or any similar Federal or State law governing pension benefits for governmental employees, service in the uniformed services that is deemed under subsection (a) to be service with the employer shall be deemed to be service with the employer under the terms of the plan or any applicable collective bargaining agreement. In the case of a multiemployer plan, as defined in section 3(37) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, any liability of the plan described in this paragraph shall be allocated—

(A) by the plan in such manner as the sponsor maintaining the plan shall provide; or

(B) if the sponsor does not provide—

(i) to the last employer employing the person before the period served by the person in the uniformed services, or

(ii) if such last employer is no longer functional, to the plan.

(2) A person reemployed under this chapter shall be entitled to accrued benefits pursuant to subsection (a) that are contingent on the making of, or derived from, employee contributions or elective deferrals (as defined in section 402(g)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) only to the extent the person makes payment to the plan with respect to such contributions of deferrals. No such payment may exceed the amount the person would have been permitted or required to contribute had the person remained continuously employed by the employer throughout the period of service described in subsection (a)(2)(B). Any payment to the plan described in this paragraph shall be made during the period beginning with the date of reemployment and whose duration is three times the period of the person’s service in the uniformed services, such payment period not to exceed five years.

(3) For purposes of computing an employer’s liability under paragraph (1) or the employee’s contributions under paragraph (2), the employee’s compensation during the period of service described in subsection (a)(2)(B) shall be computed—

(A) at the rate the employee would have received but for the period of service described in subsection (a)(2)(B), or

(B) in the case that the determination of such rate is not reasonably certain, on the basis of the employee’s average rate of compensation during the 12-month period immediately preceding such period (or, if shorter, the period of employment immediately preceding such period).

(c) Any employer who reemploys a person under this chapter and who is an employer contributing to a multiemployer plan, as defined in section 3(37) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, under which benefits are or may be payable to such person by reason of the obligations set forth in this chapter, shall, within 30 days after the date of such reemployment, provide information, in writing, of such reemployment to the administrator of such plan.

* * * * * * *

§5105. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation^[210]

(a) The Secretary and the Commissioner of Social Security may jointly prescribe forms for use by survivors of members and former members of the uniformed services in filing application for benefits under chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). Such forms shall request information sufficient to constitute an application for benefits under both chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).

(b) When an application on any document indicating an intent to apply for survivor benefits is filed with either the Secretary or the Commissioner of Social Security, it shall be deemed to be an application for benefits under both chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). A copy of each such application filed with either the Secretary or the Commissioner, together with any additional information and supporting documents (or certifications thereof) which may have been received by the Secretary or the Commissioner with such application, and which may be needed by the other official in connection therewith, shall be transmitted by the other official in connection therewith, shall be transmitted by the Secretary or the Commissioner receiving the application to the other official. The preceding sentence shall not prevent the Secretary and the Commissioner of Social Security from requesting the applicant, or any other individual, to furnish such additional information as may be necessary for purposes of chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), respectively.

* * * * * * *

§5301. Nonassignability and exempt status of benefits^[211]

(a) (1) Payments of benefits due or to become due under any law administered by the Veterans’ Administration shall not be assignable except to the extent specifically authorized by law, and such payments made to, or on account of, a beneficiary shall be exempt from taxation, shall be exempt from the claim of creditors, and shall not be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by or under any legal or equitable process whatever, either before or after receipt by the beneficiary. The preceding sentence shall not apply to claims of the United States arising under such laws nor shall the exemption therein contained as to taxation extend to any property purchased in part or wholly out of such payments. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the assignment of insurance otherwise authorized under chapter 19 of this title, or of servicemen’s indemnity.

(2) For the purposes of this subsection, in any case where a payee of an educational assistance allowance has designated the address of an attorney-in-fact as the payee’s address for the purpose of receiving a benefit check and has also executed a power of attorney giving the attorney-in-fact authority to negotiate such benefit check, such action shall be deemed to be an assignment and is prohibited.

(3) (A) This paragraph is intended to clarify that, in any case where a beneficiary entitled to compensation, pension, or dependency and indemnity compensation enters into an agreement with another person under which agreement such other person acquires for consideration the right to receive such benefit by payment of such compensation, pension, or dependency and indemnity compensation, as the case may be, except as provided in subparagraph (B), and including deposit into a joint account from which such other person may make withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement shall be deemed to be an assignment and is prohibited.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), nothing in this paragraph is intended to prohibit a loan involving a beneficiary under the terms of which the beneficiary may use the benefit to repay such other person as long as each of the periodic payments made to repay such other person is separately and voluntarily executed by the beneficiary or is made by preauthorized electronic funds transfer pursuant to the Electronic Funds Transfers Act (15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq.).

(C) Any agreement or arrangement for collateral for security for an agreement that is prohibited under subparagraph (A) is also prohibited and is void from its inception.

(b) This section shall prohibit the collection by setoff or otherwise out of any benefits payable pursuant to any law administered by the Veterans’ Administration and relating to veterans, their estates, or their dependents, of any claim of the United States or any agency thereof against (1) any person other than the indebted beneficiary or the beneficiary’s estate; or (2) any beneficiary or the beneficiary’s estate except amounts due the United States by such beneficiary or the beneficiary’s estate by reason of overpayments or illegal payments made under such laws to such beneficiary or the beneficiary’s estate or to the beneficiary’s dependents as such. If the benefits referred to in the preceding sentence are insurance payable by reason of yearly renewable term insurance, United States Government life insurance, or National Service Life Insurance issued by the United States, the exemption provided in this section shall not apply to indebtedness existing against the particular insurance contract upon the maturity of which the claim is based, whether such indebtedness is in the form of liens to secure unpaid premiums or loans, or interest on such premiums or loans, or indebtedness arising from overpayments of dividends, refunds, loans, or other insurance benefits.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Administrator may, after receiving a request under paragraph (2) of this subsection relating to a veteran, collect by offset of any compensation or pension payable to the veteran under laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration the uncollected portion of the amount of any indebtedness associated with the veteran’s participation in a plan prescribed in chapter 73 of title 10.

(2) If the Secretary concerned (as defined in section 101(5) of title 37) has tried under section 3711(a) of title 31 to collect an amount described in paragraph (1) of this subsection in the case of any veteran, has been unable to collect such amount, and has determined that the uncollected portion of such amount is not collectible from amounts payable by the Secretary to the veteran or that the veteran is not receiving any payment from the Secretary, the Secretary may request the Administrator to make collections in the case of such veteran as authorized in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(3) (A) A collection authorized by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures prescribed in section 3716 of title 31 for administrative offset collections made after attempts to collect claims under section 3711(a) of such title.

(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, as used in the second sentence of section 3716(a) of title 31—

(i) the term “records of the agency” shall be considered to refer to the records of the department of the Secretary concerned; and

(ii) the term “agency” in clauses (3) and (4) shall be considered to refer to such department.

(4) Funds collected under this subsection shall be credited to theDepartment of Defense Military Retirement Fund under chapter 74 of title 10 or to the Retired Pay Account of the Coast Guard, as appropriate.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, payments of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary shall not be exempt from levy under subchapter D of chapter 64 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6331 et seq.).

(e) In the case of a person who—

(1) has been determined to be eligible to receive pension or compensation under laws administered by the Secretary but for the receipt by such person of pay pursuant to any provision of law providing retired or retirement pay to members or former members of the Armed Forces or commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or of the Public Health Service; and

(2) files a waiver of such pay in accordance with section 3105 of this title in the amount of such pension or compensation before the end of the one-year period beginning on the date such person is notified by the Secretary of such person’s eligibility for such pension or compensation,

the retired or retirement pay of such person shall be exempt from taxation, as provided in subsection (a) of this section, in an amount equal to the amount of pension or compensation which would have been paid to such person but for the receipt by such person of such pay.

* * * * * * *

§5303A. Minimum active-duty service requirement^[212]

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any requirements for eligibility for or entitlement to any benefit under this title or any other law administered by the Veterans’ Administration that are based on the length of active duty served by a person who initially enters such service after September 7, 1980, shall be exclusively as prescribed in this title.

(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, a person described in paragraph (2) of this subsection who is discharged or released from a period of active duty before completing the shorter of—

(A) 24 months of continuous active duty, or

(B) the full period for which such person was called or ordered to active duty,

is not eligible by reason of such period of active duty for any benefit under this title or any other law administered by the Veterans’ Administration.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection applies—

(A) to any person who originally enlists in a regular component of the Armed Forces after September 7, 1980; and

(B) to any other person who enters on active duty after October 16, 1981, and has not previously completed a continuous period of active duty of at least 24 months or been discharged or released from active duty under section 1171 of title 10.

(3) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply—

(A) to a person who is discharged or released from active duty under section 1171 or 1173 of title 10;

(B) to a person who is discharged or released from active duty for a disability incurred or aggravated in line of duty;

(C) to a person who has a disability that the Administrator has determined to be compensable under chapter 11 of this title;

(D) to the provision of a benefit for or in connection with a service-connected disability, condition, or death;

(E) to benefits under chapter 19 of this title;

(F) to benefits under section 2011, 2012, 2013, 2044, or 2061 of this title;

(G) to benefits under chapter 30 or chapter 37 of this title by reason of—

(i) a discharge or release from active duty for the convenience of the Government, as described in sections 1411(a)(1)(A)(ii)(II) and 1412(b)(1)(A)(iv) of this title;

(ii) a discharge or release from active duty for a medical condition which preexisted service on active duty and which the Administrator determines is not service connected, as described in clauses (A)(ii)(I) and (B)(ii)(I) of section 1411(a)(1) of this title and in section 1412(b)(1)(A)(ii) of this title;

(iii) an involuntary discharge or release from active duty for the convenience of the Government as a result of a reduction in force, as described in clauses (A)(ii)(III) and (B)(ii)(III) of section 1411(a)(1) of this title and in section 1412(b)(1)(A)(v) of this title; or

(iv) a discharge or release from active duty for a physical or mental condition that was not characterized as a disability and did not result from the individual’s own willful misconduct but did interfere with the individual’s performance of duty, as described in section 1411(a)(1)(A)(ii)(I) of this title; or

(H) to benefits under chapter 43 of this title.

(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, no dependent or survivor of a person as to whom subsection (b) of this section requires the denial of benefits shall, by reason of such person’s period of active duty, be provided with any benefit under this title or any other law administered by the Veterans’ Administration.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply to benefits under chapters 19 and 37 of this title.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, a person described in paragraph (2) of this subsection who is discharged or released from a period of active duty before completing the shorter of—

(A) 24 months of continuous active duty, or

(B) the full period for which such person was called or ordered to active duty,

is not eligible by reason of such period of active duty for any benefit under Federal law (other than this title or any other law administered by the Veterans’ Administration), and no dependent or survivor of such person shall be eligible for any such benefit by reason of such period of active duty of such person.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection applies—

(A) to any person who originally enlists in a regular component of the Armed Forces after September 7, 1980; and

(B) to any other person who enters on active duty after October 13, 1982 and has not previously completed a continuous period of active duty of at least 24 months or been discharged or released from active duty under section 1171 of title 10.

(3) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply—

(A) to any person described in clause (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (b)(3) of this section; or

(B) with respect to a benefit under (i) the Social Security Act other than additional wages deemed to have been paid, under section 229(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 429(a)), for any calendar quarter beginning after October 13, 1982, or (ii) title 5 other than a benefit based on meeting the definition of preference eligible in section 2108(3) of such title.

(e) For the purposes of this section, the term “benefit” includes a right or privilege, but does not include a refund of a participant’s contributions to the educational benefits program provided by chapter 32 of this title.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive any person of any procedural rights, including any rights to assistance in applying for or claiming a benefit.

* * * * * * *

§5317. Use of income information from other agencies: notice and verification^[213]

(a) The Secretary shall notify each applicant for a benefit or service described in subsection (c) of this section that income information furnished by the applicant to the Secretary may be compared with information obtained by the Secretary from the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6103(1)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Secretary shall periodically transmit to recipients of such benefits and services additional notifications of such matters.

(b) The Secretary may not, by reason of information obtained from the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6103(1)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce any benefit or service described in subsection (c) of this section until the Secretary takes appropriate steps to verify independently information relating to the following:

(1) The amount of the asset or income involved.

(2) Whether such individual actually has (or had) access to such asset or income for the individual’s own use.

(3) The period or periods when the individual actually had such asset or income.

(1) Needs-based pension benefits provided under chapter 15 of this title or under any other law administered by the Secretary.

(2) Parents’ dependency and indemnity compensation provided under section 415 of this title.

(3) Health-care services furnished under subsections (a)(2)(G), (a)(3), and (b) of section 1710.

(4) Compensation paid under chapter 11 of this title at the 100 percent rate based solely on unemployability and without regard to the fact that the disability or disabilities are not rated as 100 percent disabling under the rating schedule.

(d) In the case of compensation described in subsection (c)(4) of this section, the Secretary may independently verify or otherwise act upon wage or self-employment information referred to in subsection (b) of this section only if the Secretary finds that the amount and duration of the earnings reported in that information clearly indicate that the individual may no longer be qualified for a rating of total disability.

(e) The Secretary shall inform the individual of the findings made by the Secretary on the basis of verified information under subsection (b) of this section, and shall give the individual an opportunity to contest such findings, in the same manner as applies to other information and findings relating to eligibility for the benefit on service involved.

(f) The Secretary shall pay the expenses of carrying out this section from amounts available to the Department for the payment of compensation and pension.

(g) The authority of the Secretary to obtain information from the Secretary of the Treasury or the Commissioner of Social Security under section 6103(1)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 expires on September 30, 2027.

§5317A. Use of income information from other agencies: independent verification required before termination or reduction of certain benefits and services^[214]

(a) Independent Verification Required..—The Secretary may terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce any benefit or service specified in section 5317(c), with respect to an individual under age 65 who is an applicant for or recipient of such a benefit or service, by reason of information obtained from the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 453(j)(11) of the Social Security Act, only if the Secretary takes appropriate steps to verify independently information relating to the individual’s employment and income from employment.

(b) Opportunity to Contest Findings..—The Secretary shall inform each individual for whom the Secretary terminates, denies, suspends, or reduces any benefit or service under subsection (a) of the findings made by the Secretary under such subsection on the basis of verified information and shall provide to the individual an opportunity to contest such findings in the same manner as applies to other information and findings relating to eligibility for the benefit or service involved.

(c) Source of Funds for Reimbursement to Secretary of Health and Human Services..—The Secretary shall pay the expense of reimbursing the Secretary of Health and Human Services in accordance with section 453(j)(11)(E) of the Social Security Act, for the cost incurred by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in furnishing information requested by the Secretary under section 453(j)(11) of such Act, from amounts available to the Department for the payment of compensation and pensions.

(d) Expiration of Authority.—The authority under this section shall be in effect as follows:

(1) During the period beginning on December 26, 2007, and ending on November 18, 2011.

(2) During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2013 and ending 180 days after that date.

§5318. Review of Social Security Administration death information^[215]

(a) The Secretary shall periodically compare Department of Veterans Affairs information regarding persons to or for whom compensation or pension is being paid with information in the records of the Social Security Administration relating to persons who have died for the purposes of—

(1) determining whether any such persons to whom compensation and pension is being paid are deceased;

(2) ensuring that such payments to or for any such persons who are deceased are terminated in a timely manner; and

(3) ensuring that collection of overpayments of such benefits resulting from payments after the death of such persons is initiated in a timely manner.

(b) The Social Security Administration death information referred to in subsection (a) of this section is death information available to the Secretary from or through the Commissioner of Social Security, including death information available to the Commissioner from a State, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding entered into by the Secretary and the Commissioner. Any such memorandum of understanding shall include safeguards to assure that information made available under it is not used for unauthorized purposes or improperly disclosed.

* * * * * * *

§8126. Limitation on prices of drugs procured by Department and certain other Federal agencies^[216]

(a) Each manufacturer of covered drugs shall enter into a master agreement with the Secretary under which—

(1) beginning January 1, 1993, the manufacturer shall make available for procurement on the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration each covered drug of the manufacturer;

(2) with respect to each covered drug of the manufacturer procured by a Federal agency described in subsection (b) on or after January 1, 1993, that is purchased under depot contracting systems or listed on the Federal Supply Schedule, the manufacturer has entered into and has in effect a pharmaceutical pricing agreement with the Secretary (or the Federal agency involved, if the Secretary delegates to the Federal agency the authority to enter into such a pharmaceutical pricing agreement) under which the price charged during the one-year period beginning on the date on which the agreement takes effect may not exceed 76 percent of the non-Federal average manufacturer price (less the amount of any additional discount required under subsection (c)) during the one-year period ending one month before such date (or, in the case of a covered drug for which sufficient data for determining the non-Federal average manufacturer price during such period are not available, during such period as the Secretary considers appropriate), except that such price may nominally exceed such amount if found by the Secretary to be in the best interests of the Department or such Federal agencies;

(3) with respect to each covered drug of the manufacturer procured by a State home receiving funds under section 1741 of this title, the price charged may not exceed the price charged under the Federal Supply Schedule at the time the drug is procured; and

(4) unless the manufacturer meets the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the manufacturer may not receive payment for the purchase of drugs or biologicals from—

(A) a State plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act, except as authorized under section 1927(a)(3) of such Act,

(B) any Federal agency described in subsection (b), or

(b) The Federal agencies described in this subsection are as follows:

(1) The Department.

(2) The Department of Defense.

(3) The Public Health Service, including the Indian Health Service.

(4) The Coast Guard.

(c) With respect to any covered drug the price of which is determined in accordance with a pharmaceutical pricing agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (a)(2), beginning on or after January 1, 1993, the manufacturer shall provide a discount in an amount equal to the amount by which the change in non-Federal price exceeds the amount equal to—

(1) the non-Federal average manufacturer price of the drug during the 3-month period that ends one year before the last day of the month preceding the month during which the contract for the covered drug goes into effect (or, in the case of a covered drug for which sufficient data for determining the non-Federal average manufacturer price during such period is not available, during such period as the Secretary considers appropriate); multiplied by

(2) the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (U.S. city average) between the last month of the period described in paragraph (1) and the last month preceding the month during which the contract goes into effect for which Consumer Price Index data is available.

(d) In the case of a covered drug of a manufacturer that has entered into a multi-year contract with the Secretary under subsection (a)(2) for the procurement of the drug—

(1) during any one-year period that follows the first year for which the contract is in effect, the contract price charged for the drug may not exceed the contract price charged during the preceding one-year period, increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (U.S. city average) during the 12-month period ending with the last month of such preceding one-year period for which Consumer Price Index data is available; and

(2) in applying subsection (c) to determine the amount of the discount provided with respect to the drug during a year that follows the first year for which the contract is in effect, any reference in such subsection to “the month during which the contract goes into effect” shall be considered a reference to the first month of such following year.

(e) (1) The manufacturer of any covered drug the price of which is determined in accordance with a pharmaceutical pricing agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (a)(2) shall—

(A) not later than 30 days after the first day of the last quarter that begins before the agreement takes effect (or, in the case of an agreement that takes effect on January 1, 1993, not later than December 4, 1992), report to the Secretary the non-Federal average manufacturer price for the drug during the one-year period that ends on the last day of the previous quarter; and

(B) not later than 30 days after the last day of each quarter for which the agreement is in effect, report to the Secretary the non-Federal average manufacturer price for the drug during such quarter.

(2) The provisions of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1927(b)(3) of the Social Security Act shall apply to drugs described in paragraph (1) and the Secretary in the same manner as such provisions apply to covered outpatient drugs and the Secretary of Health and Human Services under such subparagraphs, except that references in such subparagraphs to prices or information reported or required under “subparagraph (A)” shall be deemed to refer to information reported under paragraph (1).

(3) In order to determine the accuracy of a drug price that is reported to the Secretary under paragraph (1), the Secretary may audit the relevant records of the manufacturer or of any wholesaler that distributes the drug, and may delegate the authority to audit such records to the appropriate Federal agency described in subsection (b).

(4) Any information contained in a report submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1) or obtained by the Secretary through any audit conducted under paragraph (3) shall remain confidential, except as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out this section and to permit the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to review the information provided.

(f) The Secretary shall supply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services—

(1) upon the execution or termination of any master agreement, the name of the manufacturer, and

(2) on a quarterly basis, a list of manufacturers who have entered into agreements under this section.

(g) (1) Any reference in this section to a provision of the Social Security Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the provision as in effect on November 4, 1992.

(2) A manufacturer is deemed to meet the requirements of subsection (a) if the manufacturer establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the manufacturer would comply (and has offered to comply) with the provisions of this section (as in effect immediately after the enactment of this section), and would have entered into an agreement under this section (as such section was in effect at such time), but for a legislative change in this section after November 4, 1992.

(h) In this section:

(1) The term “change in non-Federal price” means with respect to a covered drug that is subject to an agreement under this section, an amount equal to—

(A) the non-Federal average manufacturer price of the drug during the 3-month period that ends with the month preceding the month during which a contract goes into effect (or, in the case of a covered drug for which sufficient data for determining the non-Federal average manufacturer price during such period is not available, during such period as the Secretary considers appropriate); minus

(B) the non-Federal average manufacturer price of the drug during the 3-month period that ends one year before the end of the period described in subparagraph (A) (or, in the case of a covered drug for which sufficient data for determining the non-Federal average manufacturer price during such period is not available, during such period preceding the period described in subparagraph (A) as the Secretary considers appropriate).

(2) The term “covered drug” means—

(A) a drug described in section 1927(k)(7)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act, or that would be described in such section but for the application of the first sentence of section 1927(k)(3) of such Act;

(B) a drug described in section 1927(k)(7)(A)(iv) of the Social Security Act, or that would be described in such section but for the application of the first sentence of section 1927(k)(3) of such Act; or

(3) The term “depot” means a centralized commodity management system through which covered drugs procured by an agency of the Federal Government are—

(A) received, stored, and delivered through—

(i) a federally owned and operated warehouse system, or

(ii) a commercial entity operating under contract with such agency; or

(B) delivered directly from the commercial source to the entity using such covered drugs.

(4) The term “manufacturer” means any entity which is engaged in—

(A) the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion, or processing of prescription drug products, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, or

(B) in the packaging, repackaging, labeling, relabeling, or distribution of prescription drug products.

Such term does not include a wholesale distributor of drugs or a retail pharmacy licensed under State law.

(5) The term “non-Federal average manufacturer price” means, with respect to a covered drug and a period of time (as determined by the Secretary), the weighted average price of a single form and dosage unit of the drug that is paid by wholesalers in the United States to the manufacturer, taking into account any cash discounts or similar price reductions during that period, but not taking into account—

(A) any prices paid by the Federal Government; or

(B) any prices found by the Secretary to be merely nominal in amount.

(6) The term “weighted average price” means, with respect to a covered drug and a period of time (as determined by the Secretary) an amount equal to—

(A) the sum of the products of the average price per package unit of each quantity of the drug sold during the period and the number of package units of the drug sold during the period; divided by

(B) the total number of package units of the drug sold during the period.

(i) (1) If the Secretary modifies a multi-year contract described in subsection (d) to include a covered drug of the manufacturer that was not available for inclusion under the contract at the time the contract went into effect, the price of the drug shall be determined as follows:

(A) For the portion of the first contract year during which the drug is so included, the price of the drug shall be determined in accordance with subsection (a)(2), except that the reference in such subsection to “the one-year period beginning on the date the agreement takes effect” shall be considered a reference to such portion of the first contract year.

(B) For any subsequent contract year, the price of the drug shall be determined in accordance with subsection (d), except that each reference in such subsection to “the first year for which the contract is in effect” shall be considered a reference to the portion of the first contract year during which the drug is included under the contract.

(2) In this subsection, the term “contract year” means any one-year period for which a multi-year contract described in subsection (d) is in effect.

* * * * * * *

§8153. Sharing of Medical Facilities, Equipment, and Information^[217]

(a) (1) To secure health-care resources which otherwise might not be feasibly available, or to effectively utilize certain other health-care resources, the Secretary may, when the Secretary determines it to be in the best interest of the prevailing standards of the Department medical care program, make arrangements, by contract or other form of agreement for the mutual use, or exchange of use, of health-care resources between Department health-care facilities and any health-care provider, or other entity or individual.

(2) The Secretary may enter into a contract or other agreement under paragraph (1) if such resources are not, or would not be, used to their maximum effective capacity.

(3) (A) If the health-care resource required is a commercial service, the use of medical equipment or space, or research, and is to be acquired from an institution affiliated with the Department in accordance with section 7302 of this title, including medical practice groups and other entities associated with affiliated institutions, blood banks, organ banks, or research centers, the Secretary may make arrangements for acquisition of the resource without regard to any law or regulation (including any Executive order, circular, or other administrative policy) that would otherwise require the use of competitive procedures for acquiring the resource.

(B) (i) If the health-care resource required is a commercial service or the use of medical equipment or space, and is not to be acquired from an entity described in subparagraph (A), any procurement of the resource may be conducted without regard to any law or regulation that would otherwise require the use of competitive procedures for procuring the resource, but only if the procurement is conducted in accordance with the simplified procedures prescribed pursuant to clause (ii).

(ii) The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, may prescribe simplified procedures for the procurement of health-care resources under this subparagraph. The Secretary shall publish such procedures for public comment in accordance with section 1707 of title 41. Such procedures shall permit all responsible sources, as appropriate, to submit a bid, proposal, or quotation (as appropriate) for the resources to be procured and provide for the consideration by the Department of bids, proposals, or quotations so submitted.

(iii) Pending publication of the procedures under clause (ii), the Secretary shall (except as provided under subparagraph (A)) procure health-care resources referred to in clause (i) in accordance with all procurement laws and regulations.

(C) Any procurement of health-care resources other than those covered by subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be conducted in accordance with all procurement laws and regulations.

(D) For any procurement to be conducted on a sole source basis other than a procurement covered by subparagraph (A), a written justification shall be prepared that includes the information and is approved at the levels prescribed in section 3304(e) of title 41.

(E) As used in this paragraph, the term “commercial service” means a service that is offered and sold competitively in the commercial marketplace, is performed under standard commercial terms and conditions, and is procured using firm-fixed price contracts.

(b) Arrangements entered into under this section shall provide for payment to the Department in accordance with procedures that provide appropriate flexibility to negotiate payment which is in the best interest of the Government. Any proceeds to the Government received therefrom shall be credited to the applicable Department medical appropriation and to funds that have been allotted to the facility that furnished the resource involved.

(c) Eligibility for hospital care and medical services furnished any veteran pursuant to this section shall be subject to the same terms as though provided in a Department health care facility, and provisions of this title applicable to persons receiving hospital care or medical services in a Department health care facility shall apply to veterans treated under this section.

(d) When a Department health care facility provides hospital care or medical services, pursuant to a contract or agreement authorized by this section, to an individual who is not eligible for such care or services under chapter 17 of this title and who is entitled to hospital or medical insurance benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), such benefits shall be paid, notwithstanding any condition, limitation, or other provision in that title which would otherwise preclude such payment to such facility for such care or services or, if the contract or agreement so provides, to the community health care facility which is a party to the contract or agreement.

(e) The Secretary may make an arrangement that authorizes the furnishing of services by the Secretary under this section to individuals who are not veterans only if the Secretary determines—

(1) that veterans will receive priority under such an arrangement; and

(2) that such an arrangement—

(A) is necessary to maintain an acceptable level and quality of service to veterans at that facility; or

(B) will result in the improvement of services to eligible veterans at that facility.

(f) Any amount received by the Secretary from a non-Federal entity as payment for services provided by the Secretary during a prior fiscal year under an agreement entered into under this section may be obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal year in which the Secretary receives the payment.

(g) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress not later than February 1 of each year a report on the activities carried out under this section during the preceding fiscal year. Each report shall include—

(1) an appraisal of the effectiveness of the activities authorized in this section and the degree of cooperation from other sources, financial and otherwise; and

(2) recommendations for the improvement or more effective administration of such activities.

* * * * * * *

[Internal References.—SSAct §§202(o), 210(a), (l), and (m), 217(b), 224(a), 901(c), 1612(b), 1613(a), and 1927(a), (b), and (c) cite title 38, United States Code. SSAct §1106 heading has a footnote referring to title 38, United States Code. P.L. 104-193, §402(a)(2)(C)(i) (this Volume), cites §101 of title 38.]

^[183] This title was enacted by P.L. 85-857, approved September 2, 1958; 72 Stat. 1105. See P.L. 95-202, §401 (this volume), with respect to Women’s Air Forces Service Pilots.

^[184] As amended through P.L. 115–55, August 23, 2017.

^[185] As amended through P.L. 112–37, October 5, 2011.

^[186] As in original.

^[187] As amended through P.L. 109–461, December 22, 2006.

^[188] As amended through P.L. 114–58, September 30, 2015.

^[189] P.L. 102–40, §402(b)(1), redesignated §3005 as §5105, below.

^[190] As amended through P.L. 113–128, July 22, 2014.

^[191] As amended through P.L. 114–58, September 30, 2015.

^[192] As amended through P.L. 114–315, December 16, 2016.

^[193] As amended through P.L. 112–56, November 21, 2011.

^[194] As amended through P.L. 112–56, November 21, 2011.

^[195] As amended through P.L. 109–233, June 15, 2006.

^[196] As amended through P.L. 107–288, November 7, 2002.

^[197] As amended through P.L. 112–56, November 21, 2011.

^[198] As amended through P.L. 102–83, August 6, 1991.

^[199] As amended through P.L. 112–56, November 21, 2011.

^[200] As amended through P.L. 110–387, October 10, 2008.

^[201] As amended through P.L. 110–389, October 10, 2008.

^[202] As amended through P.L. 104–275, October 9, 1996.

^[203] As amended through P.L. 114–326, December 16, 2016.

^[204] As amended through P.L. 104–275, October 9, 1996.

^[205] As amended through P.L. 114–92, November 25, 2015.

^[206] As amended through P.L. 104–275, October 9, 1996.

^[207] As amended through P.L. 106–419, November 1, 2009.

^[208] As amended through P.L. 109–233, June 15, 2006.

^[209] As amended through P.L. 104–275, October 9, 1996.

^[210] As amended through P.L. 112–154, August 6, 2012.

^[211] As amended through P.L. 108–183, December 16, 2003.

^[212] As amended through P.L. 114–315, December 16, 2016.

^[213] As amended through P.L. 115–46, August 12, 2017.

^[214] As amended through P.L. 113–37, September 30, 2013.

^[215] As amended through P.L. 108–183, December 16, 2003.

^[216] As amended through P.L. 105–115, November 21, 1997.

^[217] As amended through P.L. 111–350, January 4, 2011.

Compilation of the Social Security Laws

Title 38 United States Code[183]

Veterans’ Benefits

§101. Definitions[184]

§1703. Contracts for hospital care and medical services in non-Department facilities[185]

§1741. Criteria for payment[187]

§1781. Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans[188]

§3005. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation[189]

CHAPTER 41—JOB COUNSELING, TRAINING, AND PLACEMENT SERVICE FOR VETERANS

§4101. Definitions[190]

§4102A. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training; Program Functions; Regional Administrators[191]

§4103. Directors and Assistant Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Training; Additional Federal Personnel[192]

§4103A. Disabled veterans’ outreach program[193]

§4104. Local veterans’ employment representatives[194]

§4104A. Performance of disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and local veterans’ employment representatives

§4105. Cooperation of Federal agencies[195]

§4106. Estimate of funds for administration; authorization of appropriations[196]

§4107. Administrative controls; annual report[197]

§4108. Cooperation and coordination[198]

§4109. National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute[199]

§4110. Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach[200]

§4110A. Special unemployment study[201]

CHAPTER 43—EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES

SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL

§4301. Purposes; sense of Congress[202]

§4302. Relation to other law and plans or agreements

§4303. Definitions[203]

§4304. Character of service

SUBCHAPTER II—EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS; PROHIBITIONS

§4311. Discrimination against persons who serve in the uniformed services and acts of reprisal prohibited[204]

§4312. Reemployment rights of persons who serve in the uniformed services[205]

§4313. Reemployment positions[206]

§4314. Reemployment by the Federal Government

§4315. Reemployment by certain Federal agencies

§4316. Rights, benefits, and obligations of persons absent from employment for service in a uniformed service[207]

§4317. Health plans[208]

§4318. Employee pension benefit plans[209]

§5105. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation[210]

§5301. Nonassignability and exempt status of benefits[211]

§5303A. Minimum active-duty service requirement[212]

§5317. Use of income information from other agencies: notice and verification[213]

§5317A. Use of income information from other agencies: independent verification required before termination or reduction of certain benefits and services[214]

§5318. Review of Social Security Administration death information[215]

§8126. Limitation on prices of drugs procured by Department and certain other Federal agencies[216]

§8153. Sharing of Medical Facilities, Equipment, and Information[217]

Title 38 United States Code^[183]

§101. Definitions^[184]

§1703. Contracts for hospital care and medical services in non-Department facilities^[185]

§1741. Criteria for payment^[187]

§1781. Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans^[188]

§3005. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation^[189]

§4101. Definitions^[190]

§4102A. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training; Program Functions; Regional Administrators^[191]

§4103. Directors and Assistant Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Training; Additional Federal Personnel^[192]

§4103A. Disabled veterans’ outreach program^[193]

§4104. Local veterans’ employment representatives^[194]

§4105. Cooperation of Federal agencies^[195]

§4106. Estimate of funds for administration; authorization of appropriations^[196]

§4107. Administrative controls; annual report^[197]

§4108. Cooperation and coordination^[198]

§4109. National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute^[199]

§4110. Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach^[200]

§4110A. Special unemployment study^[201]

§4301. Purposes; sense of Congress^[202]

§4303. Definitions^[203]

§4311. Discrimination against persons who serve in the uniformed services and acts of reprisal prohibited^[204]

§4312. Reemployment rights of persons who serve in the uniformed services^[205]

§4313. Reemployment positions^[206]

§4316. Rights, benefits, and obligations of persons absent from employment for service in a uniformed service^[207]

§4317. Health plans^[208]

§4318. Employee pension benefit plans^[209]

§5105. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation^[210]

§5301. Nonassignability and exempt status of benefits^[211]

§5303A. Minimum active-duty service requirement^[212]

§5317. Use of income information from other agencies: notice and verification^[213]

§5317A. Use of income information from other agencies: independent verification required before termination or reduction of certain benefits and services^[214]

§5318. Review of Social Security Administration death information^[215]

§8126. Limitation on prices of drugs procured by Department and certain other Federal agencies^[216]

§8153. Sharing of Medical Facilities, Equipment, and Information^[217]