Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 1.djvu/570

 102 STAT. 532

PUBLIC LAW 100-322—MAY 20, 1988

SEC. 224. NURSE REPRESENTATION ON POLICYMAKING COMMITTEES. (a) INCLUSION OF FACILITY CHIEF OF NURSING.—Section 4112 is

amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(c) The Administrator shall require that the Chief of the Nursing Service (or the designee of the Chief) at each Veterans' Administration health-care facility be included in the membership of each policymaking committee at that facility. Such committees include (1) committees relating to matters such as budget, education, position management, clinical executive issues, planning, and resource allocation, and (2) the dean's committee or other advisory committee established under subsection (b) of this section.". (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of such section is amended in the first sentence by striking out "deans committee" and inserting in lieu thereof "dean's committee". PART D—REPORTS 38 USC 4104 note.

SEC. 231. STUDY OF PAY AND OTHER PERSONNEL PRACTICES.

MANAGEMENT

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall conduct a study in order to determine— (1) the effects of the pay and other personnel management practices of the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans' Administration on the ability of the Veterans' Administration to recruit and retain categories of employees (A) who are qualified to provide direct patient-care services, or services that are incident to direct patient-care services, in Veterans' Administration health-care facilities, and (B) as to which problems of recruitment and retention have arisen, and (2) the effects that flexible employment benefits programs would have on the recruitment and retention of such employees. (b) MATTERS REQUIRED TO B E DETERMINED.—In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Administrator shall make determinations with respect to various factors which may affect the determinations to be made under subsection (a), including determinations of the following: (1) Whether there is inappropriate pay compression between the rates of pay of long-time employees of the Veterans' Administration and either the rates of pay of their supervisors or the rates of pay of relatively new employees performing the same services as a result of the position classification and pay systems applicable to such long-time and relatively new employees or to their supervisors. (2) If any such inappropriate pay compression exists and such compression results from such position classification and pay systems, whether it is feasible to revise such system or systems in order to eliminate such pay compression and how much would be the cost to revise such system or systems for that purpose and to implement the revisions. (3) Whether the payment of pay differentials (or of increased pay differentials) for evening or night service is needed in order to improve the ability of the Veterans' Administration to recruit and retain personnel to perform services referred to in subsection (a) on evening or night shifts, in what amounts such differentials should be paid, how much would be the cost of the payment of such differentials, and what, if any, effects the

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