H.R. 2086 — Rights for the TSA Workforce Act

This section defines 12 terms used in the Act, including “2022 Determination” (i.e., a December 30, 2022, publication by TSA Administrator David P. Pekoske, as modified), “adjusted basic pay,” “Administration” (i.e., the Transportation Security Administration), “screening agent” (i.e., a full- or part-time non-supervisory covered employee carrying out screening functions under 49 U.S.C. 44901), and “TSA personnel management system.”

This section freezes Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel management systems, policies, and authorities for covered employees and positions (e.g., those carrying out screening under 49 U.S.C. 44901) effective on enactment, prohibiting modifications or new issuances under Aviation and Transportation Security Act §111(d) (49 U.S.C. 44935 note), 49 U.S.C. §114(n), or 5 U.S.C. chapter 97 (with limited exceptions for pay parity adjustments under 5 U.S.C. §§5303, 5304, 5304a, 5318; unresolved matters or emerging threats with 7-day congressional notice); maintains existing systems through a transition period; and converts all such employees and positions to title 5, United States Code, authorities no later than December 31, 2025 (Secretary-determined date). It further (1) applies 5 U.S.C. chapters 71 (labor-management relations) and 77 (appeals) to screening employees within 90 days of enactment, terminating related TSA policies; (2) requires the Office of Personnel Management to establish position series and standards for Transportation Security Officers, Federal air marshals, Transportation Security Inspectors, and other requested roles, and the Department of Agriculture's National Finance Center to align payroll and HR systems with 5 U.S.C. chapter 53, within 180 days of enactment or December 31, 2025, whichever is earlier; and (3) repeals 49 U.S.C. §114(n) and Aviation and Transportation Security Act §111(d), terminates all related TSA policies (including the 2022 Determination) and chapter 97 demonstrations, and preserves pending grievances for transfer to or continuation under title 5 proceedings. (As background, these changes eliminate TSA's post-9/11 personnel flexibilities—originally enacted to enable rapid hiring, pay banding, and performance management for aviation security personnel—and subjects them to standard civil service rules. Thus, approximately 60,000 TSA employees transition to General Schedule pay, union rights, and Merit Systems Protection Board appeals.)

This section establishes transition rules for covered Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees converting from the TSA personnel management system to title 5, United States Code, authorities. Specifically, it (1) prohibits any reduction in adjusted basic pay or law enforcement availability pay (LEAP) for converted employees and requires crediting prior TSA service equivalently for General Schedule step placement; (2) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to congressional committees, within 90 days of enactment, a title 5-compliant proposal for calculating retirement annuities for covered employees retiring within three years after the conversion date that accounts for pre- and post-conversion service and pay; (3) permits federal air marshals and criminal investigators appointed before enactment to receive premium pay up to prior maximum levels, with such pay creditable by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for pay and retirement; (4) preserves LEAP eligibility for TSA federal air marshals by amending 5 U.S.C. §5545a and ensures they receive overtime pay no less than under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, 29 U.S.C. §207) by amending 5 U.S.C. §5542, effective on the conversion date; (5) maintains screening agents' eligibility to form collective bargaining units notwithstanding 5 U.S.C. §7112; and (6) preserves other rights including accrued leave (subject to title 5 limits), part-time pay premiums under chapter 89, national emergency leave notwithstanding 5 U.S.C. §6329a, split-shift differentials, and group retention incentives notwithstanding specified title 5 restrictions.

This section designates the labor organization certified by the Federal Labor Relations Authority on June 29, 2011 (or any successor), as the exclusive representative for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening agents under chapter 71 of title 5, U.S. Code (i.e., the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute), with full rights thereunder beginning when that chapter applies pursuant to section 3(c)(2); permits screening agents to select a different representative; requires collective bargaining at the national level (supplemented by local bargaining and agreements only by mutual consent); and preserves any existing collective bargaining agreement until replaced under chapter 71 (or revised by mutual agreement). This section further requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, within 7 days of enactment, to consult with that exclusive representative on plans and deadlines for converting screening agents under this Act and, before chapter 71 applies, to provide written plans specifying the anticipated conversion date and compliance measures for sections 3 and 4. Finally, this section requires the Secretary to consider any views or recommendations submitted by the exclusive representative during consultation and to provide a written statement of reasons for any final actions taken.

This section states that nothing in this Act repeals or otherwise affects (1)(A) 18 U.S.C. 1918, which criminalizes disloyalty to the government (i.e., advocating overthrow of the constitutional form of government or asserting the right to strike against the federal government or the District of Columbia government) and (B) 5 U.S.C. 7311, which bars from federal or District of Columbia government employment individuals who advocate overthrow of the government, belong to organizations that do so, or assert or belong to organizations asserting the right to strike against the government; or (2) otherwise authorizes any activity not permitted under those provisions.

This section directs the Secretary, not later than one year after enactment, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan to harmonize and update—for appointments and contracting—restrictions under 46 U.S.C. 70105(c) (relating to issuance of transportation worker identification credentials, or TWICs, for maritime facility and vessel access) and 49 U.S.C. 44936 (relating to employment investigations, including criminal history checks, for aviation security screeners and personnel with access to aircraft or secured airport areas).

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct four reviews of the Administration and submit reports to Congress as follows: (1) not later than one year after enactment, on recruitment efforts—including for veterans, their dependents, Armed Forces members, and their dependents—with recommendations for improvement; (2) commencing not later than 60 days after the conversion date and with a report due not later than one year after that date, on implementation of this Act; (3) not later than one year after enactment, on promotion policies and leadership diversity to ensure equitable opportunities reflective of U.S. workforce demographics, including current leadership demographics analysis and recommendations; and (4) not later than one year after enactment, on workplace harassment and assault policies and protections—including for sexual harassment, violence motivated by race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, or sexuality, and incidents involving the general public—with policy analysis, identification of failures, recommendations, and incorporation of comments from covered employees and their labor organizations.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that (1) TSA personnel management systems provide insufficient benefits and workplace protections to the workforce securing U.S. transportation systems; (2) covered employees should receive protections and benefits under title 5, United States Code; and (3) providing those protections should not reduce pay or benefits for current covered employees.

This section directs the Administrator to communicate with organizations representing a significant number of Federal Air Marshals, to the extent provided by law, to address concerns related to (1) mental health, (2) suicide rates, (3) morale and recruitment, (4) equipment and training, (5) work schedules and shifts including mandated periods of rest, and (6) any other personnel issues the Administrator determines appropriate.

This section directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator to brief appropriate congressional committees, not later than 90 days after enactment, regarding (1) reports of physical or verbal assaults or threats against TSA screening agents by the general public since January 1, 2019; (2) procedures for reporting such incidents and how TSA communicates their availability; (3) steps taken by TSA to prevent and respond to such incidents; (4) related civil actions and criminal referrals made annually since January 1, 2019; and (5) any additional authorities needed to better prevent or respond to such incidents.

This section requires the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than one year after the date of enactment and annually thereafter, a report containing (1) an analysis of the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to determine job satisfaction rates of covered TSA employees; (2) retention rates of covered employees at each airport, including transfers, and aggregate retention rates across the TSA workforce; and (3) information on actions taken by TSA to improve workforce morale and retention.