RESTORE Act Proposes Back Pay for Reinstated VA Employees Fired After January 20, 2025

A new piece of legislation, titled the "Reinstating Employee Salaries To Original Rates and Entitlements Act" or the "RESTORE Act," is on the table, and Section 2 has a clear goal: to provide back pay for certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees. If a VA staff member was involuntarily removed from their job and then subsequently reinstated or reappointed between January 20, 2025, and the date this Act is officially signed into law, this section aims to ensure they receive the pay they missed out on.

Getting Paid What's Owed: The Nitty-Gritty

So, how does this work? The RESTORE Act specifies that eligible VA employees are entitled to back pay "in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 5596." For those not up on their federal code, 5 U.S.C. 5596 is the Back Pay Act. It's the existing federal playbook for making employees financially whole when they've been affected by an unjustified personnel action that led to a loss of pay. Think of it as hitting the rewind button on their earnings, aiming to put them in the financial spot they would have been in if the removal hadn't happened. This isn't just about wages; the Back Pay Act can also cover things like lost allowances or differentials.

Who's In, Who's Out: The Fine Print on Eligibility

Now, this back pay provision isn't a free-for-all. The RESTORE Act clearly carves out exceptions for individuals in certain political positions. If an employee was removed from a role defined as a "political position," this back pay guarantee doesn't apply. The bill gets specific here, referencing:

• Positions listed under 5 U.S.C. 5312 through 5316: These generally cover high-level Executive Schedule positions, like cabinet secretaries and other top agency leaders.
• Noncareer appointees as defined in 5 U.S.C. 3132(a)(7): These are typically political appointees within the Senior Executive Service.
• Confidential or policy-determining positions in the executive branch under schedule C of 5 CFR part 213, subpart C: These are roles where the employee has a close, confidential working relationship with a political appointee or is involved in shaping policy.

Essentially, if the job was primarily political or policy-shaping at a high level, rather than a standard civil service role, this particular back pay measure isn't intended for them.

The Real-World Impact: A Financial Reset for Some VA Staff

For the rank-and-file VA employees – the nurses, administrators, support staff, and others who keep the department running – this could be significant. If someone was let go without proper cause during the specified timeframe and then the VA corrected this by bringing them back, the RESTORE Act wants to make sure their bank account is also corrected. It’s about fairness. An involuntary removal that's later undone implies an error, and this provision seeks to mitigate the financial hardship that error might have caused. For an employee reinstated after an unjust dismissal, this means not just getting their job back, but also the income they unfairly lost, helping them get back on their feet without the added stress of a financial shortfall caused by the initial removal.