To ensure that a Federal employee who takes leave without pay in order to perform service as a member of the uniformed services or member of the National Guard shall continue to receive pay in an amount which, when taken together with the pay and allowances such individual is receiving for such service, will be no less than the basic pay such individual would then be receiving if no interruption in employment had occurred.

January 7, 2003

Mr. WEXLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

To ensure that a Federal employee who takes leave without pay in order to perform service as a member of the uniformed services or member of the National Guard shall continue to receive pay in an amount which, when taken together with the pay and allowances such individual is receiving for such service, will be no less than the basic pay such individual would then be receiving if no interruption in employment had occurred.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Reservists Pay Security Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. NONREDUCTION IN PAY WHILE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE IS PERFORMING ACTIVE SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES OR NATIONAL GUARD.

(a) IN GENERAL- Subchapter IV of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`Sec. 5538. Nonreduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or National Guard

`(a) An employee who is absent from a position of employment with the Federal Government in order to perform service in the uniformed services or the National Guard shall be entitled to receive, for each pay period described in subsection (b), an amount equal to the amount by which--

`(1) the amount of basic pay which would otherwise have been payable to such employee for such pay period if such employee's civilian employment with the Government had not been interrupted by that service, exceeds (if at all)

`(2) the amount of pay and allowances which (as determined under subsection (d))--

`(A) is payable to such employee for that service; and

`(B) is allocable to such pay period.

`(b)(1) Amounts under this section shall be payable with respect to each pay period (which would otherwise apply if the employee's civilian employment had not been interrupted)--

`(A) during which such employee is entitled to reemployment rights under chapter 43 of title 38 with respect to the position from which such employee is absent (as referred to in subsection (a)); and

`(B) for which such employee does not otherwise receive basic pay (including by taking any annual, military, or other paid leave) to which such employee is entitled by virtue of such employee's civilian employment with the Government.

`(2) For purposes of this section, the period during which an employee is entitled to reemployment rights under chapter 43 of title 38--

`(A) shall be determined disregarding the provisions of section 4312(d) of title 38; and

`(B) shall include any period of time specified in section 4312(e) of title 38 within which an employee may report or apply for employment or reemployment following completion of service in the uniformed services or National Guard.

`(c) Any amount payable under this section to an employee shall be paid--

`(1) by such employee's employing agency;

`(2) from the appropriation or fund which would be used to pay the employee if such employee were in a pay status; and

`(3) to the extent practicable, at the same time and in the same manner as would basic pay if such employee's civilian employment had not been interrupted.

`(d) The Office of Personnel Management shall, in consultation with Secretary of Defense, prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out the preceding provisions of this section.

`(e)(1) The head of each agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) shall, in consultation with the Office, prescribe procedures to ensure that the rights under this section apply to the employees of such agency.

`(2) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall, in consultation with the Office, prescribe procedures to ensure that the rights under this section apply to the employees of that agency.

`(f) For purposes of this section--

`(1) the terms `employee', `Federal Government', and `uniformed services' have the same respective meanings as given them in section 4303 of title 38;

`(2) the term `service in the uniformed services' has the meaning given that term in section 4303 of title 38 and includes duty performed by a member of the National Guard under section 502(f) of title 32 at the direction of the Secretary of the Army or Secretary of the Air Force;

`(3) the term `employing agency', as used with respect to an employee entitled to any payments under this section, means the agency or other entity of the Government (including an agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii)) with respect to which such employee has reemployment rights under chapter 43 of title 38; and

`(4) the term `basic pay' includes any amount payable under section 5304.'.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of sections for chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5537 the following:

`5538. Nonreduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or National Guard.'.

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to pay periods (as described in section 5538(b) of title 5, United States Code, as amended by this section) beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

END