§7101A Members of Board: Appointment; Pay; Performance Review

Summary

The Secretary must appoint all Board members except the Chairman (this includes the Vice Chairman) with the President’s approval, based on the Chairman’s recommendation. Each member must be a lawyer in good standing with a State bar. Members who are not the Chairman and not in the Senior Executive Service are paid at rates equal to those under section 5372 of title 5. The Chairman must create a three-person review panel made of the Chairman plus two other Board members (not the Vice Chairman) and must rotate members so everyone (except the Vice Chairman) serves on the panel within a reasonable time. The panel must make written performance decisions at least one year after job standards are first set and then at least once every three years. If a member meets the standards, the Chairman recertifies them. If not, the Chairman either gives a conditional recertification or recommends noncertification to the Secretary. Conditional recertifications are reviewed again within one year. The Secretary may grant a conditional recertification or decide to noncertify. A noncertified member is removed and their appointment ends. A removed member who was a civil service attorney before joining the Board can ask to be returned to an attorney job at the Board; if they held that attorney job right before joining the Board, they must be returned to the same grade and step unless the Secretary finds them unqualified. The Chairman must set fair, objective job standards with the Secretary’s approval. The Secretary must make procedures and deadlines to run these rules. Removals for poor performance follow these steps. Other removals may follow the protections in section 7521 of title 5; section 554(a)(2) of title 5 does not apply, and the member has the rights in section 7513(b) of title 5.