Continued VA Investigations and Adverse Notations

Summary#

The Personnel Integrity in Veterans Affairs Act of 2025 would amend title 38 of the U.S. Code. It would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to finish certain personnel investigations even after an employee leaves, and to put an adverse finding in the employee’s personnel file. Its stated goal is reflected in its title; the bill does not guarantee a particular outcome.

  • The VA Secretary must continue an eligible investigation when a covered employee resigns, retires, transfers, or otherwise leaves before it is resolved. The investigation must start no later than 60 days after the employee leaves.
  • If the investigation results in an adverse finding, the Secretary must permanently note it in the employee’s official personnel file within 40 days after the investigation is completed. The employee must first receive notice, supporting material, at least 30 days to respond, and a written decision.
  • The bill covers VA employees in the competitive service, excepted service, and Senior Executive Service. Eligible investigations include ones by VA’s Inspector General; specified VA offices; and other federal agencies responsible for investigating employee misconduct, including the Office of Special Counsel and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  • The bill gives an employee a right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board and a VA Disciplinary Appeals Board. It also sets rules for removing file notations after certain Merit Systems Protection Board decisions.
  • It would require the Secretary to send annual performance plans to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees within 30 days after completion of an annual performance under an existing title 38 provision.
  • The supplied text does not include the amended title 38 provisions, so current law and the precise meaning of that annual-performance requirement could not be verified. The bill is not law; its passage remains uncertain.

What it means for you#

  • Covered VA employees: If you leave the VA while an eligible investigation is unresolved, the investigation would continue. Leaving would not be considered when carrying it out. If there is an adverse finding, it could be permanently recorded in your official personnel file.
  • Employees responding to a finding: Before the permanent notation, you must receive the finding and supporting documents, and have at least 30 days to respond with written evidence. A summary of your response must be included in the notation.
  • Employees appealing: The bill provides appeal rights to two boards. If you prevail on a Merit Systems Protection Board appeal, the VA must remove both the adverse-finding notation and the pending-appeal notation. If the VA prevails, it must remove the pending-appeal notation; the adverse-finding notation remains.
  • VA Secretary and staff: The Secretary would have to continue investigations, provide notices and decisions, keep or remove file notations as required, and submit the annual plans to Congress.
  • Congress: The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees would receive the annual performance plans.
  • Other members of the public: The bill does not directly change veterans’ benefits, taxes, or public access to VA services.

Money#

No publicly available information.

  • The bill requires VA work on investigations, notices, records, appeals, and congressional submissions, but the supplied material gives no cost estimate or staffing level.

What is unclear#

  • The supplied material does not include the existing title 38 provisions. Current law, including how the new rules would interact with existing employee protections, could not be verified.
  • The bill does not set a deadline for completing an investigation.
  • It does not explain how its 40-day deadline for recording a finding fits with the employee’s response period and the requirement to issue a written decision.
  • The appeal section names both the Merit Systems Protection Board and a VA Disciplinary Appeals Board, but the later rules for changing file notations address only Merit Systems Protection Board appeals. The text also refers to the wrong subsection when describing that appeal.
  • The bill does not explain what “reasonable time” means beyond setting a minimum of 30 days, or how the annual performance plan requirement relates to the existing provision it amends.

Case for#

  • A possible argument for the bill is that an employee’s departure should not prevent the VA from completing an investigation into alleged performance problems or misconduct.
  • Keeping a record of an adverse finding could help preserve the outcome after an employee leaves the department.
  • The notice, response, and appeal provisions give an employee a chance to challenge the finding and have their response included in the record.
  • Sending performance plans to Congress could give the relevant committees information about VA political appointees’ performance plans.

Case against#

  • The bill covers a wide range of investigations, including internal VA investigations and investigations by other federal agencies. The text does not explain how these different processes would fit together.
  • It requires an investigation to continue but sets no deadline for finishing it. A finding could therefore take an unclear amount of time to reach a final stage.
  • A permanent adverse notation could have lasting consequences for an employee, while the bill does not explain how the notation may be used or who may access it.
  • The appeal rules are unclear: the bill names two appeal bodies but specifies removal rules only for one, and its appeal provision contains an incorrect cross-reference.
  • VA would have new duties, but the bill provides no cost estimate or staffing plan.