VA Employee Fairness Act of 2025
The VA Employee Fairness Act of 2025 would make a major change to how collective bargaining is handled for employees of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Specifically, it would repeal subsections (b), (c), and (d) of 38 U.S.C. 7422 and redesignate the existing subsection (e) as subsection (b). In practical terms, this action would significantly alter or reduce the current statutory framework that governs collective bargaining between the VHA and its employees. The bill also includes a rule of construction clarifying that these amendments do not affect the Secretary’s authorities related to incentive pay and expedited hiring under section 706 (and other similar laws). The bill is titled the VA Employee Fairness Act of 2025 and was introduced in the Senate on May 7, 2025, with a group of sponsors led by Senator Duckworth.
Key Points
- 1Subsections (b), (c), and (d) of 38 U.S.C. 7422 would be struck out, effectively removing the current statutory authorities governing collective bargaining for VHA employees.
- 2The bill would redesignate subsection (e) as subsection (b), altering the structure of the statutory provision without showing the full text of the resulting framework.
- 3A rule of construction in the bill states that these amendments must not be interpreted to affect incentive pay and expedited hiring authorities under section 706 or other similar authorities.
- 4The change signals a substantial shift in how labor relations are handled within the Veterans Health Administration, potentially reducing or reorganizing formal collective bargaining processes.
- 5The bill is titled “VA Employee Fairness Act of 2025” and was introduced in the Senate by a coalition including Ms. Duckworth and several other senators.