§2445 Limitation on Bonuses for Employees Who Engage in Improper Program Management

Summary

The Energy Secretary or the Administrator cannot pay a covered employee a bonus for one year after they decide the employee mismanaged a program in a way that caused a required notice under section 2753 or that seriously harmed the cost, scope, or schedule for approval of critical decision 3 for a DOE project. The Secretary must issue rules for this within one year after November 25, 2015. Also, within 180 days after November 25, 2015, the Secretary and the Administrator must each issue rules banning one-year bonuses for covered employees whose mismanagement endangered health, safety, or security of nuclear workers or facilities, or who did so while doing defense nuclear nonproliferation work. The Secretary or the Administrator can waive the ban in a specific case, but they must tell the appropriate congressional committees and wait 60 days after that notice. Appropriate congressional committees are the congressional defense committees, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “Bonus” means a bonus or award paid under title 5 or other law. “Covered employee” is defined in section 2443.