Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/783

 PUBLIC LAW 97-35—AUG. 13, 1981

95 STAT. 757

"(B) if the agency head certifies, in writing, to the Office of Personnel Management that no such position is available in the agency, is entitled to be placed by the Office in any agency in any vacant Senior Executive Service position unless the head of that agency determines that the career appointee is not qualified for that position. The Office of Personnel Management shall take all reasonable steps to place a career appointee under subparagraph (B) and may require any agency to take any action which the Office considers necessary to carry out any such placement. "(4) A career appointee who is not assigned under paragraph (3)(A) may be removed from the Senior Executive Service and the civil service due to a reduction in force if— "(A) the career appointee declines a reasonable offer for placement in a Senior Executive Service position under paragraph (3)(B); or "(B) subject to paragraph (5), the career appointee is not placed in another Senior Executive Service position under paragraph (3)(B) within 120 days after the Office receives certification regarding that appointee under paragraph (3)(B). "(5) An individual who was a career appointee on May 31, 1981, may be removed from the Senior Executive Service and the civil service due to a reduction in force after the 120-day period specified in paragraph (4)(B) only if the Director of the Office of Personnel Management certifies to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, no later than 30 days prior to the effective date of such removal, that— "(A) the Office has taken all reasonable steps to place the career appointee in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection, and "(B) due to the highly specialized skills and experience of the career appointee, the Office has been unable to place the career appointee. "(c) A career appointee is entitled to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under section 7701 of this title— "(1) whether the reduction in force complies with the competitive procedures required under subsection (a), "(2) any removal under subsection (b)(4)(A), and "(3) in the event the career appointee is not placed under subsection (b)(3) of this section whether the Office of Personnel Management took all reasonable steps to achieve such placement. "(d) For purposes of this section, 'reduction in force' includes the "Reduction in elimination or modification of a position due to a reorganization, due fo^e." to a lack of funds or curtailment of work, or due to any other factor.". (2) The table of sections for chapter 35 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking out the item relating to section 3595 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "3595. Reduction in force in the Senior Executive Service. "3596. Regulations.".

(b) Section 3593 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(c)(1) A former career appointee shall be reinstated, without regard to section 3393(b) and (c) of this title, to any vacant Senior Executive Service position in an agency for which the appointee is qualified if—

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