§7515 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

§7515 Discipline of supervisors based on retaliation against whistleblowers

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart F— - Labor-Management and Employee Relations › Chapter CHAPTER 75— - ADVERSE ACTIONS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - REMOVAL, SUSPENSION FOR MORE THAN 14 DAYS, REDUCTION IN GRADE OR PAY, OR FURLOUGH FOR 30 DAYS OR LESS › § 7515

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Subject to section 1214(f), when the head of an agency, an administrative law judge, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Special Counsel, a U.S. judge, or the agency’s Inspector General finds that a supervisor committed a prohibited personnel action against an agency employee, the agency head must propose discipline. For a first violation the agency head must propose a suspension of at least 3 days and may also propose other penalties like a cut in pay or demotion. For a second violation the agency head must propose removing the supervisor. The supervisor must get written notice saying why discipline is proposed and must be allowed to review the evidence. The supervisor has 14 days to answer and give evidence. If no evidence is given or it is judged insufficient, the agency must carry out the proposed action. The action follows the usual disciplinary and appeal rules, with some specified exceptions. The agency term, prohibited personnel action, and supervisor are defined by the listed statutes.

Title 5, §7515

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section—

(1)the term “agency”—

(A)has the meaning given the term in section 2302(a)(2)(C), without regard to whether any other provision of this chapter is applicable to the entity; and

(B)does not include any entity that is an element of the intelligence community, as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003);

(2)the term “prohibited personnel action” means taking or failing to take an action in violation of paragraph (8), (9), or (14) of section 2302(b) against an employee of an agency; and

(3)the term “supervisor” means an employee who would be a supervisor, as defined in section 7103(a), if the entity employing the employee was an agency.

(b)(1)Subject to section 1214(f), if the head of the agency in which a supervisor is employed, an administrative law judge, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Special Counsel, a judge of the United States, or the Inspector General of the agency in which a supervisor is employed has determined that the supervisor committed a prohibited personnel action, the head of the agency in which the supervisor is employed, consistent with the procedures required under paragraph (2)—

(A)for the first prohibited personnel action committed by the supervisor—

(i)shall propose suspending the supervisor for a period that is not less than 3 days; and

(ii)may propose an additional action determined appropriate by the head of the agency, including a reduction in grade or pay; and

(B)for the second prohibited personnel action committed by the supervisor, shall propose removing the supervisor.

(2)(A)A supervisor against whom an action is proposed to be taken under paragraph (1) is entitled to written notice that—

(i)states the specific reasons for the proposed action; and

(ii)informs the supervisor about the right of the supervisor to review the material that is relied on to support the reasons given in the notice for the proposed action.

(B)(i)A supervisor who receives notice under subparagraph (A) may, not later than 14 days after the date on which the supervisor receives the notice, submit an answer and furnish evidence in support of that answer.

(ii)If, after the end of the 14-day period described in clause (i), a supervisor does not furnish any evidence as described in that clause, or if the head of the agency in which the supervisor is employed determines that the evidence furnished by the supervisor is insufficient, the head of the agency shall carry out the action proposed under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), as applicable.

(C)An action carried out under this section—

(i)except as provided in clause (ii), shall be subject to the same requirements and procedures, including those with respect to an appeal, as an action under section 7503, 7513, or 7543; and

(ii)shall not be subject to—

(I)paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 7503(b);

(II)paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) and subsection (c) of section 7513; and

(III)paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) and subsection (c) of section 7543.

(3)If the head of an agency is responsible for determining whether a supervisor has committed a prohibited personnel action for purposes of paragraph (1), the head of the agency may not delegate that responsibility.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 7515, Pub. L. 115–73, title I, § 104(a), Oct. 26, 2017, 131 Stat. 1236, related to discipline of supervisors based on retaliation against whistleblowers, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1097(e)(1)(A), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1621.