H.R. 6861 — Consolidating Veteran Employment Services for Improved Performance Act

This section transfers from the Department of Labor to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), effective October 1, 2027, all functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities associated with four veterans programs: (1) job counseling, training, and placement services under 38 U.S.C. ch. 41; (2) federal government employment services under 38 U.S.C. §4214; (3) administration of employment and reemployment rights of uniformed service members under 38 U.S.C. ch. 43; and (4) homeless veterans' reintegration programs under 38 U.S.C. ch. 20. (As background, these programs—currently administered by DOL's Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training—provide employment services, job training, USERRA enforcement, and homeless outreach to veterans and transitioning service members.) The section further directs the President to include requested funding for these functions in the VA budget submission under 31 U.S.C. §1105 for FY2028 and each subsequent fiscal year; requires VA memorandums of agreement with DOL and states for transition; updates statutory references to VA; authorizes VA to exercise prior authorities; and includes standard savings provisions to maintain continuity of legal documents, proceedings, and suits.

This section replaces the position of Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training with Deputy Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition within the Department of Labor, who shall formulate and implement departmental policies to carry out chapters 41, 20, and 43 of title 38, U.S. Code (from chapters 41, 42, and 43); revises the heading of 38 U.S.C. 4102A and the table of contents for chapter 41 accordingly; effective October 1, 2027. (As background, this position oversees the Veterans' Employment and Training Service, which administers DOL programs providing employment, training, and job placement services to veterans and eligible persons.)

This section consolidates the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists under 38 U.S.C. §4103A and local veterans’ employment representatives (LVERs) under §4104 into a single position of veteran employment specialists (VES), strikes §4103A, requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure VES training, and makes conforming amendments to §4102A to replace prior references with VES. (The DVOP and LVER programs, funded through VA grants to states, deliver priority employment, training, and placement services to veterans via state workforce development systems, with DVOP specialists focused intensively on disabled veterans.) The amended §4104 requires states, subject to Secretary approval, to employ full- or part-time VES as appropriate to provide (1) employment, training, and placement services and (2) intensive services with priority to special disabled veterans, other disabled veterans, and other eligible veterans per Secretary-determined priorities accounting for unemployment rates and chapter 42 employment emphases, with maximum emphasis on economically or educationally disadvantaged veterans. VES principal duties include employer outreach to assist veterans and disabled veterans (e.g., seminars, job search workshops, job search groups) and facilitating services under state employment delivery systems. States must, to the maximum extent practicable, hire qualified veterans as VES with hiring preferences first to service-connected disabled veterans, then eligible veterans, then eligible persons—except that if more than 10% of such positions are held by non-veterans, eligible persons are excluded from consideration. Part-time VES work half-time, report quarterly on compliance with veteran priority services, and are administratively responsible to state employment service managers and Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Training; states must submit annual reports to the Secretary on VES hiring qualifications and salary structures, with the Secretary reporting summaries to the congressional Veterans’ Affairs Committees (first report evaluating standardized pay scales with locality adjustments). (Thus, the consolidation streamlines state staffing while strengthening veteran hiring preferences and oversight of compensation equity.)

This section makes technical and conforming amendments throughout title 38, U.S. Code—including chapters 20 (benefits advisory committees), 41 (vocational rehabilitation and employment), 42 (veterans employment), and 43 (employment and reemployment rights of servicemembers)—to reflect a Department of Labor reorganization by (1) replacing "Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training" with "Deputy Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition" wherever it appears; (2) replacing "Department of Labor" and "Secretary of Labor" with "Department" and "Secretary," respectively; (3) striking cross-references to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, certain paragraphs and sections (e.g., 38 U.S.C. §§4101(8), 4108, 4303(11)), and obsolete phrases; and (4) making related redesignations, rephrasings, and transmittal requirements. The amendments take effect on October 1, 2027.

This section directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Labor to jointly conduct a study on implementing the transfer of functions under section 2 and amendments made by this Act. The study must include (1) a discussion of service improvements for veterans; (2) an analysis of involved personnel, assets, and liabilities; (3) an analysis of the Deputy Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition, including organizational placement, reporting structure, and functions; (4) a detailed federal cost estimate, including implementation costs or savings; (5) an implementation plan with timeline, required revisions to rules, regulations, laws, and memorandums of agreement, enforcement of uniformed services employment rights under 38 U.S.C. ch. 43, and employee transfer details (i.e., options for non-transferring employees, assignments, and VA organizational changes); (6) a training plan for employees carrying out activities under 38 U.S.C. 4104 (i.e., local veterans' employment representatives who conduct employer outreach, job search assistance, and facilitate veterans' employment services), including revisions to training manuals, responsibility for revisions, and employee locations; and (7) other issues deemed appropriate. This section further requires the Secretaries to submit a report on the study to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs not later than one year after enactment, including each Secretary's implementation recommendation, advantages and disadvantages of the transfer, additional required regulatory and statutory actions, estimated time for transfer, needed interoperability for information exchange, post-transfer collaboration plans, training estimates (including number of employees and programs), and other appropriate matters.