WASHINGTON – Last week, the Senate passed S. 899, a bipartisan bill introduced by Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Representative Mark Takano (D-CA) in the House and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Jon Tester (D-MT) in the Senate. The Veterans Providing Healthcare Transition Improvement Act is now headed to the President’s desk for his signature.
Due to a loophole in current law, newly hired veterans in frontline medical positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (such as doctors, registered nurses, chiropractors, or physician assistants) are not able to take paid sick leave to receive the care that they need. S. 899 will close that loophole and provide the same Wounded Warrior Act benefits that veteran employees in other federal agencies currently receive.
This change would provide immediate paid sick leave for veteran employees in their first year of work that they otherwise would have to accrue over time or take unpaid leave to receive care for their service-connected injuries.
“Veterans have made an incredible choice to serve our nation, and thousands continue to care for their fellow soldiers. To then force these individuals to choose between a full paycheck and receiving care for their service-connected disabilities is outrageous,” Stivers said. “I’m thrilled that my colleagues in the Senate followed suit to right this wrong, and I look forward to this bill becoming the law of the land.”
“I’m glad Congress has overwhelmingly supported expanding paid sick leave benefits to wounded warriors serving in medical roles at the VA,” said Rep. Mark Takano. “This legislation will not only help prevent veterans employed at the VA from having to take a leave of absence to get the care they need, it will also help more veterans transition into Title 38 vacancies that must be filled nationwide. This is exactly the type of leadership and bipartisan cooperation our veterans deserve to see from their representatives.”
In 2015, the Wounded Warrior Federal Leave Act was signed into law to make paid sick leave available to some new veteran federal employees with service-connected conditions rated at 30 percent or more disabled so they could receive treatment. However, this did not extend to “Title 38” employees, which includes VA physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists.
According to March 2018 data from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), there are over 14,000 “Title 38” vacancies nationwide.
This bill is supported by the National Association of VA Physicians and Dentists (NAVAPD), Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs (NOVA), American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Association of the U.S. Navy (AUSN), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AMVETS and the Federal Managers Association (FMA).
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