§7464 Disciplinary Appeals Boards

Summary

The Secretary must set up Disciplinary Appeals Boards to hear appeals of major adverse actions. Each board has three Department employees. Each member 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 pre‑selected panel. For each case the Secretary picks a chairman and a secretary for the board, and they can administer oaths. Hearings must follow the Secretary’s rules and a word‑for‑word record of the hearing must be kept. If the employee or their representative asks, the board chairman can review and share records that are usually protected, but only as needed for the hearing and while taking steps to protect others’ privacy. Anyone who uses or shares those protected records for other reasons can be fined up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for a later offense. The Secretary must keep a roster of qualified employees who can serve on boards, provide the list free on request, announce the roster at least once a year (including at medical facilities and in the Federal Register), give at least 30 days’ notice before someone on the list may serve, accept comments on nominees, and train panel members on board duties and grievance procedures.