VA Employee Fairness Act Removes Specific Collective Bargaining Rules for VHA Staff, Preserving Hiring Authority

The newly introduced VA Employee Fairness Act of 2025 is a technical piece of legislation aimed at updating the rules governing labor relations within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Essentially, this bill cleans up the statute books by getting rid of several specific sections—subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Section 7422 in Title 38, U.S. Code—that previously dictated how VHA employees could engage in collective bargaining.

What’s Being Erased and Why It Matters

Think of this like cleaning out a closet full of old policy manuals. The bill is specifically targeting the detailed statutory language that used to control the process for VHA employees negotiating their contracts and working conditions. While this might sound like a major overhaul, the main action here is removing old, specific rules. For VHA nurses, doctors, and other staff who rely on collective bargaining to secure fair wages, benefits, and working conditions, the immediate question is: what replaces those rules? The bill doesn't introduce new rules; it removes old ones, suggesting that VHA labor relations will now fall under more general, federal collective bargaining statutes.

The Hiring and Pay Loophole Stays Put

Here’s the critical detail: the bill explicitly states that removing these bargaining rules does not touch the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’ existing power to use incentive pay or expedited hiring processes. This is key for everyday operations. The VA often needs to hire specialized medical staff quickly, especially in high-demand areas. If you’re a VA employee, this means the VHA can still offer bonuses or fast-track the hiring of new colleagues—authorities designed to keep the VHA competitive in the healthcare job market—without those powers being tied up in the collective bargaining cleanup. This ensures that the VA's ability to staff hospitals and clinics quickly remains intact, which is good news for veterans needing timely care.

The Real-World Impact for VHA Employees

The biggest impact is on the statutory framework governing VHA employees' ability to negotiate. If you are a VHA employee, your union’s negotiating power previously operated under specific, detailed statutes. The removal of these specific rules means that collective bargaining will now likely be governed by broader federal labor law. While this might streamline the statutes, it raises a question for current VHA employees: did those specific, repealed subsections offer unique protections or procedures that the general federal labor law doesn't cover? If so, VHA staff and their unions will need to confirm that the existing, general legal framework provides the same level of protection and clarity for their agreements. This change is more about administrative procedure than a direct change to a paycheck, but it’s a significant shift in the legal foundation of labor relations at the VHA.