To provide for a pilot program in the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve recruitment and retention of nurses, and for other purposes.

April 28, 2004

Mr. SIMMONS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

To provide for a pilot program in the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve recruitment and retention of nurses, and for other purposes.

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 `Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse Recruitment and Retention Act of 2004'.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO STUDY INNOVATIVE RECRUITMENT TOOLS TO ADDRESS NURSING SHORTAGES AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH-CARE FACILITIES.

(a) Pilot Program- (1) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall designate a health-care service region, or a section within such a region, in which health care facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs are adversely affected by a shortage of qualified nurses.

(2) The Secretary shall conduct a pilot program in the region or section designated under paragraph (1) to determine the effectiveness of the use of innovative human-capital tools and techniques in the recruitment of qualified nurses for positions at Department health care facilities and for the retention of nurses at such facilities. In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall enter into a contract with a private-sector entity for services under the pilot program for recruitment of qualified nurses.

(b) Private-Sector Recruitment Practices- For purposes of the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall identify and use recruitment practices that have proven effective for placing qualified individuals in positions that are difficult to fill due to shortages of qualified individuals or other factors. Recruitment practices to be reviewed by the Secretary for use in the pilot program shall include--

(1) employer branding and interactive advertising strategies;

(2) internet technologies and automated staffing systems; and

(3) the use of recruitment, advertising, and communication agencies.

(c) Streamlined Hiring Process- In carrying out the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall, at health care facilities of the Department in the region or section in which the pilot program is conducted, revise procedures and systems for selecting and hiring qualified nurses to reduce the length of the hiring process. If the Secretary identifies measures to streamline and automate the hiring process that can only be implemented if authorized by law, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives recommendations for such changes in law as may be necessary to enable such measure to be implemented.

(d) Report- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the extent to which the pilot program achieved the goal of improving the recruitment and retention of nurses in Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities.

SEC. 3. ALTERNATE WORK SCHEDULES FOR NURSES.

(a) Enhanced Shift Flexibility- Chapter 74 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 7456 the following new section:

`Sec. 7456a. Alternate work schedules

`(a) Applicability- This section applies to registered nurses appointed under this chapter.

`(b) 36/40 Work Schedule- (1) Subject to paragraph (2), if the Secretary determines it to be necessary in order to obtain or retain the services of registered nurses at a Department health-care facility, the Secretary may provide, in the case of registered nurses employed at that facility, that such a nurse who works three regularly scheduled 12-hour tours of duty within a workweek shall be considered for all purposes (except computation of full-time equivalent employees for the purposes of determining compliance with personnel ceilings) to have worked a full 40-hour basic workweek. Such a schedule may be referred to as a `36/40 work schedule'.

`(2)(A) Basic and additional pay for a registered nurse who is considered under paragraph (1) to have worked a full 40-hour basic workweek is subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C).

`(B) The hourly rate of basic pay for such a nurse for service performed as part of a regularly scheduled 36-hour tour of duty within the workweek shall be derived by dividing the nurse's annual rate of basic pay by 1,872.

`(C)(i) Such a nurse who performs a period of service in excess of such nurse's regularly scheduled 36-hour tour of duty within a workweek is entitled to overtime pay under section 7453(e) of this title, or other applicable law, for officially ordered or approved service performed in excess of--

`(I) eight hours on a day other than a day on which such nurse's regularly scheduled 12-hour tour falls;

`(II) 12 hours for any day included in the regularly scheduled 36-hour tour of duty; and

`(III) 40 hours during an administrative workweek.

`(ii) Except as provided in clause (i), a registered nurse to whom this subsection is applicable is not entitled to additional pay under section 7453 of this title, or other applicable law, for any period included in a regularly scheduled 12-hour tour of duty.

`(3) A nurse who works a 36/40 work schedule described in this subsection who is absent on approved sick leave or annual leave during a regularly scheduled 12-hour tour of duty shall be charged for such leave at a rate of ten hours of leave for nine hours of absence.

`(c) 7/7 Work Schedule- (1) Subject to paragraph (2), if the Secretary determines it to be necessary in order to obtain or retain the services of registered nurses at a Department health-care facility, the Secretary may provide, in the case of registered nurses employed at such facility, that such a nurse who works seven regularly scheduled 10-hour tours of duty, with seven days off duty, within a two-week pay period, shall be considered for all purposes (except computation of full-time equivalent employees for the purposes of determining compliance with personnel ceilings) to have worked a full 80 hours for the pay period. Such a schedule may be referred to as a `7/7 work schedule'.

`(2)(A) Basic and additional pay for a registered nurse who is considered under paragraph (1) to have worked a full 80-hour pay period is subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C).

`(B) The hourly rate of basic pay for such a nurse for service performed as part of a regularly scheduled 70-hour tour of duty within the pay period shall be derived by dividing the nurse's annual rate of basic pay by 1,820.

`(C)(i) Such a nurse who performs a period of service in excess of such nurse's regularly scheduled 70-hour tour of duty within a pay period is entitled to overtime pay under section 7453(e) of this title, or other applicable law, for officially ordered or approved service performed in excess of--

`(I) eight hours on a day other than a day on which such nurse's regularly scheduled 10-hour tour falls;

`(II) 10 hours for any day included in the regularly scheduled 70-hour tour of duty; and

`(III) 80 hours during a pay period.

`(ii) Except as provided in subparagraph (i), a registered nurse to whom this subsection is applicable is not entitled to additional pay under section 7453 of this title, or other applicable law, for any period included in a regularly scheduled 10-hour tour of duty.

`(3) A nurse who works a 7/7 work schedule described in this subsection who is absent on approved sick leave or annual leave during a regularly scheduled 12-hour tour of duty shall be charged for such leave at a rate of eight hours of leave for seven hours of absence.

`(d) 9-Month Work Schedule- The Secretary may authorize a registered nurse appointed under section 7405 of this title, with the nurse's written consent, to work full-time for nine months with three months off duty, within a fiscal year, and be paid at 75 percent of the full-time rate for such nurse's grade for each pay period of that fiscal year. A nurse working on such a schedule for any fiscal year shall be considered a 3/4 full-time equivalent employee for that fiscal year in computing full-time equivalent employees for the purposes of determining compliance with personnel ceilings. Service on such a schedule shall be considered to be part-time service for purposes of computing benefits under chapters 83 and 84 of title 5.

`(e) Regulations- The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for the implementation of this section.'.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 74 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7456 the following new item:

`7456a. Alternate work schedules.'.

SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT OF NURSES WHO DO NOT HAVE BACCALAUREATE DEGREES.

Section 7403 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(h) In a case in which a registered nurse applying for an appointment under this chapter as a registered nurse has presented the qualifications established under subsection (a) for such an appointment, the lack of a baccalaureate degree in nursing shall not be a bar to appointment, and in such a case the registered nurse shall not be denied appointment on that basis.'.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO LISTING OF CERTAIN HYBRID POSITIONS IN VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION.

Section 7401(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by striking `and dental technologists' and inserting `technologists, dental hygienists, dental assistants,'; and

(2) by striking `technicians, therapeutic radiologic technicians, and social workers' and inserting `technologists, therapeutic radiologic technologists, social workers, blind rehabilitation specialists, and blind rehabilitation outpatient specialists'.

END