§7464 Disciplinary Appeals Boards

Summary

The Secretary must set up Disciplinary Appeals Boards to hear appeals of major adverse actions under section 7462. Each board has three Department employees. They must be the same grade or higher than the person appealing. At least two members must work in the same job category as that person. Members come from a preselected panel. For each case the Secretary names one member as chair and one as secretary. The chair and the secretary can give oaths. The boards follow rules the Secretary makes. A verbatim record of the hearing must be kept. If an employee or their representative asks, the board chair can review certain confidential records (those covered by sections 5701 and 7332) and share them with the employee or representative when needed for the hearing. The chair can order steps to protect people’s privacy. Using those records for any other purpose can bring fines of up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for later offenses. The Secretary must keep and update a list of employees qualified to serve on these boards. That list must be given free to anyone who asks and announced at least once a year at medical facilities and in the Federal Register. A person must receive at least 30 days’ notice before they may serve. Employees, unions, and others may send comments about people on the list. The Secretary must train panel members on board duties and the grievance rules under section 7463.