The Department of Veterans Affairs reinstated more than 100 former employees it had fired under a widely disputed law that once made it easier to remove staff accused of misconduct.

The department also paid about $134 million to 1,700 former VA employees who were laid off during the Trump administration, under the VA Whistleblower Protection and Accountability Act of 2017.

The VA agreed to these actions, as part of a agreement reached with the American Federation of Government Employees in July 2023.

The general terms of the agreement were widely reported by the media last year. But specific details of the deal were first reported earlier this month by fox news and the America First Policy Institutebased on documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.

A VA spokesperson said in a statement that the department “has ensured that bad actors cannot return to work and has saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Department officials said only 3% of the 4,000 employees laid off under the VA Whistleblower Protection and Accountability Act of 2017 (about 120 people) have returned to work at the VA and that no employees fired for serious misconduct have been rehired.

“VA continues to hold every employee accountable for providing the world-class care and benefits veterans deserve. — and when they don’t, we take quick and decisive action,” a VA spokesperson said.

VA officials said the department, under the Trump administration, failed to negotiate with AFGE over implementation of the 2017 law, violating provisions of its contract with the union.

The department defended its position in court between 2017 and 2023, but federal courts and arbitrators repeatedly ordered the VA to reinstate employees it laid off under the 2017 legislation.

“The previous administration’s implementation of the 2017 law was repeatedly overturned by the courts, putting the VA at risk of having to rehire individuals who committed abuse, harassment, and criminal activity against patients. — and put taxpayers on the hook for more than $1 billion,” a VA spokesperson said.

federal judges and the Merit Systems Protection Board It also blocked many of the provisions of the VA Whistleblower Protection and Accountability Act from covering most of the VA workforce.

VA leaders decided that starting in April 2024, the department would no longer use the legislation’s authorities to expedite the firing of employees accused of misconduct.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough he told reporters in March that the legislation did not help the department fire poor-performing employees and that the department has the tools it needs to hold employees accountable.

“To be honest… it didn’t necessarily help us manage our workforce, but it got us in front of federal judges and in front of administrative bodies,” McDonough said. “So, we just want to make sure that we’re exercising the authorities that we have.”

In a July 2023 settlement, AFGE and VA agreed to allow thousands of former employees, fired for misdemeanors under the VA Whistleblower Protection and Accountability Act, to choose between reinstatement or compensation.

As part of the settlement, AFGE and VA agreed to confirm the terminations of hundreds of other former VA employees who had committed serious misconduct.

Robert Wilkie, former VA secretary during the Trump administration, now a distinguished fellow at AFPI’s Center for American Security, said the VA’s compensation and reinstatement of former employees has “disappointed American veterans and taxpayers.”

“Those fired for mistreating American veterans should not even be allowed near the VA, much less reinstated,” Wilkie said in a statement.

VA leaders under the Biden administration say they have the tools necessary to discipline and remove employees accused of misconduct.

However, members of the House and Senate VA committees have led bills during this session of Congress that would change the way the department treats low-performing employees.

Last year, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Leadership, Engagement, Accountability, and Development (LEAD) Act of 2023.

The bill would standardize how the VA builds a case against employees facing allegations of misconduct or poor performance, and train the entire VA workforce on the ins and outs of the process.

VA Senate Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced the legislation last year, along with Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Sen. Mike Rounds (RS.D.). .

“While the VA has the ability and authority to root out bad actors today, there may be delays and reductions in penalties due largely to inconsistent processes and paperwork deficiencies,” the senators wrote in a summary of the bill.

The LEAD Act also requires the VA to keep its medical facilities staffed when employees under investigation are removed from their front-line medical positions.

VA’s top human resources officials supported core elements of the LEAD Act. but they efforts rejected by House lawmakers allowing the department to once again expedite the termination of employees, using a lower standard of evidence to prove misconduct or poor performance.

Department officials said Record Veteran Confidence Scores They are a sign that the VA is holding employees accountable.

Meanwhile, the VA announced provided more health care and benefits to more veterans than ever before, breaking previous records.

The department provided 127.5 million health care appointments to veterans in fiscal year 2024, a 6% increase from the previous year.

The VA also provided $187 billion in benefits to 6.7 million veterans and survivors in fiscal year 2024. It processed more than 2.5 million applications for disability benefits, a 27% increase over the record in the year. last year.

McDonough said in a speech Tuesday that, “in almost every respect, the VA is breaking records we set last year.”

“It’s not just about more attention. It’s better world-class care and better health outcomes for veterans than in the private sector. “It’s not just more benefits, but faster, more accessible benefits that we’re providing by meeting veterans where they are, rather than waiting for them to come to us,” McDonough said at the National Press Club.

The VA is seeing this record workload under the PACT Act. The 2022 law expands health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service.

More than 796,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care since the PACT Act was signed into law. That’s an increase of nearly 37%, compared to the roughly two-year period before the PACT Act became law.

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