STUDY OF PAY AND OTHER PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.

SEC. 231. STUDY OF PAY AND OTHER PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. (a) In General.— The Administrator shall conduct a study in order to determine— (1) the effects of the pay and other personnel management practices of the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veteran’ Administration on the ability of the Veterans’ Administration to recruit and retain categories of employees (A) who are qualified to provide direct patient-care services, or services that are incident to direct patient-care services, in Veteran’ Administration health-care facilities, and (B) as to which problems of recruitment and retention have arisen, and (2) the effects that flexible employment benefits programs would have on the recruitment and retention of such employees. (b) Matters Required To Be Determined.— In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Administrator shall make determinations with respect to various factors which may affect the determinations to be made under subsection (a), including determinations of the following: (1) Whether there is inappropriate pay compression between the rates of pay of long-time employees of the Veterans’ Administration and either the rates of pay of their supervisors or the rates of pay of relatively new employees performing the same services as a result of the position classification and pay systems applicable to such long-time and relatively new employees or to their supervisors. (2) If any such inappropriate pay compression e)(ists and such compression results from such position classification and pay systems, whether it is feasible to revise such system or systems in order to eliminate such pay compression and how much would be the cost to revise such system or systems for that purpose and to implement the revisions. (3) Whether the payment of pay differentials (or of increased pay differentials) for evening or night service is needed in order to improve the ability of the Veteran’ Administration to recruit and retain personnel to perform services referred to in subsection (a) on evening or night shifts, in what amounts such differentials should be paid, how much would be the cost of the payment of such differentials, and what, if any, effects the 102 STAT. 533payment of such differentials would be expected to have on the ability of the Veterans’ Administration to recruit and retain personnel to perform such services on a shift for which a differential is not paid. (c) Consideration of flexible Employee Benefits Programs.— In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Administrator shall review the personnel management practices of an appropriate sample of employers other than the Federal Government. The Administrator shall consider— (1) the extent to which such employers provide flexible employment benefits under programs designed to meet the individual needs to their employees, (2) the advantages of such programs for such employers and employees, and (3) the feasibility, desirability, and appropriateness of establishing and carrying out any such flexible employment benefits program for employees of the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans’ Administration. (d) Reports.— Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committees on Veteran’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the results of the study required by subsection (a). The report shall contain— (1) the determinations of the Administrator under subsections (a) and (b); and (2) any planned administrative actions, and any recommendations for legislation, that the Administrator considers appropriate to include in the report on the basis of the results of the study.