38 U.S.C. § 7421
Section 7421 · Personnel administration: in general
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 19 court decisions — leading case James v. Von Zemenszky (2002)
Most recently applied in 128 F. Supp. 3d 159 - National Federation of Federal Employees, Fd1, Iamaw, Afl-Cio v. Gibson (September 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Notwithstanding any law, Executive order, or regulation, the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the hours and conditions of employment and leaves of absence of employees appointed under any provision of this title in positions in the Veterans Health Administration listed in subsection (b).
(b) Subsection (a) refers to the following positions:
(1) Physicians.
(2) Dentists.
(3) Podiatrists.
(4) Optometrists.
(5) Registered nurses.
(6) Physician assistants.
(7) Expanded-duty dental auxiliaries.
(8) Chiropractors.
(9) Any position for which the employee is appointed under section 7306 or 7401(4) of this title.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 4108(a) of this title prior to the repeal of that section as part of the complete revision of chapter 73 of this title by Pub. L. 102–40.
Amendments
2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–168, §906(c)(1)(A), substituted "this title" for "this chapter".
Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 117–168, §906(c)(1)(B), added par. (9).
2003—Subsec. (b)(8). Pub. L. 108–170 added par. (8).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2003 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 108–170 effective at end of 180-day period beginning on Dec. 6, 2003, see section 302(h) of Pub. L. 108–170, set out as a note under section 7316 of this title.
Treatment of Prior Leave Balances
Pub. L. 117–168, title IX, §906(c)(5), Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1813, provided that: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary [of Veterans Affairs] may adjust the leave balance and carryover leave balance of any employee described in section 7421(b)(9) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by paragraph (1)(B), to ensure any leave accrued or carried over before the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 10, 2022] remains available to such employee."
Preservation of Existing Collective-Bargaining Arrangements and Pending Actions
Pub. L. 102–40, title II, §205, May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 207, provided that:
"(a) Existing Collective-Bargaining Arrangements.—Any determination under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, of a collective bargaining unit within the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and any recognition under that chapter of an employee labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative for employees in a collective bargaining unit of the Department of Veterans Affairs, that is in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [May 7, 1991] shall not be affected by the amendments made by this Act [see Tables for classification] and shall continue in effect in accordance with the terms of such determination or regulation.
"(b) Pending Cases.—With respect to cases pending on the date of the enactment of this Act [May 7, 1991], or those cases which are brought before the establishment of either an administrative grievance procedure pursuant to section 7463 of title 38, United States Code (as added by the amendments made by this title), or a negotiated grievance procedure established under a collective bargaining agreement, such cases shall proceed in the same manner as they would have if this Act [see Tables for classification] had not been enacted."