Title 6, Domestic SecurityRelease 119-102
§416 Use of Protective Equipment or Measures by Employees
Title 6 › CHAPTER 1 — HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION › SUBCHAPTER VIII — COORDINATION WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES; INSPECTOR GENERAL; UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE; COAST GUARD; GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part E — Human Resources Management › § 416
Summary
From fiscal year 2013 onward, funds cannot be used to punish Department of Homeland Security employees who regularly deal with the public solely for using protective gear (masks, N95s, gloves, hand sanitizer) when that use follows DHS, CDC, and OPM guidance.
Full Legal Text
Title 6, §416
Domestic Security, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
None of the funds made available in this or any other Act for fiscal year 2013 and thereafter may be used to propose or effect a disciplinary or adverse action, with respect to any Department of Homeland Security employee who engages regularly with the public in the performance of his or her official duties solely because that employee elects to utilize protective equipment or measures, including but not limited to surgical masks, N95 respirators, gloves, or hand-sanitizers, where use of such equipment or measures is in accord with Department of Homeland Security policy, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Office of Personnel Management guidance.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This Act, referred to in text, means div. D of Pub. L. 113–6, Mar. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 342, known as the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2013. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2013, and not as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 which comprises this chapter.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
6 U.S.C. § 416
Title 6, Domestic Security
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102