Overview

Title

To amend chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, to modify the accumulation of annual leave for use in succeeding years for administrative law judges.

ELI5 AI

H. R. 10285 is a new rule that lets special judges in the U.S., called administrative law judges, save more of their vacation days to use later. This change will start about a month after the rule is officially made into law.

Summary AI

H. R. 10285 aims to change the rules regarding how administrative law judges in the United States can save up their annual leave, or paid time-off, to use in future years. By modifying section 6304(f)(1) of title 5 in the U.S. Code, this bill proposes to include administrative law judge positions in the group of federal positions eligible to carry over more annual leave. The changes will take effect starting the first pay period that occurs at least 30 days after the law is enacted.

Published

2024-12-04
Congress: 118
Session: 2
Chamber: HOUSE
Status: Introduced in House
Date: 2024-12-04
Package ID: BILLS-118hr10285ih

Bill Statistics

Size

Sections:
1
Words:
341
Pages:
2
Sentences:
6

Language

Nouns: 98
Verbs: 25
Adjectives: 17
Adverbs: 1
Numbers: 16
Entities: 28

Complexity

Average Token Length:
3.95
Average Sentence Length:
56.83
Token Entropy:
4.47
Readability (ARI):
28.85

AnalysisAI

General Summary of the Bill

House Bill 10285 of the 118th Congress proposes an amendment to chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code. Specifically, it aims to modify the rules regarding the accumulation of annual leave for administrative law judges. A key change introduced by this bill is to include administrative law judges within the categories of federal employees who have defined limits on the amount of annual leave they can carry over into succeeding years. The effective date for these changes is set for the first applicable federal pay period starting 30 days after the enactment of the bill.

Summary of Significant Issues

The bill presents several notable issues due to its reliance on amending existing legislation with specific technical changes:

  1. Redesignation of Subparagraphs: The amendment involves renumbering certain subparagraphs within Section 6304(f)(1) of the U.S. Code. This could lead to confusion if not all references to these specific subparagraphs are simultaneously updated across other legal documents and codes.

  2. Two Subparagraphs Labeled “H”: Before redesigning, there are two subparagraphs labeled as “H,” which might introduce ambiguity unless correctly delineated after renumbering.

  3. Effective Date Ambiguity: The bill specifies an effective date that is relative to the enactment of the bill. If the enactment date is not clearly documented or communicated, determining when the new rules start could be problematic.

  4. Clarity on Roles of Administrative Law Judges: By introducing a new subparagraph for administrative law judges, there might be questions and clarity needed regarding which specific roles and positions are affected.

Public Impact

The potential impact of this bill on the broader public would likely be indirect. Adjusting the leave accumulation rules for administrative law judges aims to maintain efficiency and prevent significant carryovers that might disrupt workplace operations. Generally, public interactions with the administrative law judge system might experience smoother processing and less delay if judges are encouraged to manage their leave more effectively.

Impact on Stakeholders

Positive Impacts

  • Efficient Government Operations: By limiting annual leave accumulation, the bill could promote more consistent work schedules among administrative law judges, thereby reducing backlog in cases and facilitating timely legal processes.

  • Uniformity in Federal Leave Policies: The amendment brings more uniformity to federal employees' leave policies, aligning administrative law judges with other federal positions that have capped leave accumulations.

Negative Impacts

  • Administrative Law Judges: Judges who prefer to accumulate leave for extended periods may find the new regulation restrictive. This change could impact their long-term planning for personal time.

  • Legal and Administrative Confusion: Stakeholders who must reference legal codes, such as attorneys and federal personnel managers, may experience difficulties if subparagraph redesignations are not adequately reflected in all documents.

Overall, while the bill seems narrow in scope, focusing on internal administrative rules, its implications could foster more effective judicial proceedings by administrative law judges and ensure a more effective distribution of work within the federal government's administrative legal apparatus. However, careful implementation and communication will be key to avoiding confusion and ensuring a smooth transition to the new leave policy rules.

Issues

  • The amendment to Section 6304(f)(1) of title 5, United States Code involves multiple redesignations of subparagraphs, which might create legal ambiguity and interpretation issues if not all references to these subparagraphs are updated across related legislation and documents. (Section 1(a))

  • The effective date for the amendments is defined as the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after 30 days from the date of enactment. This could lead to confusion if the enactment date is unclear or not properly documented. (Section 1(b))

  • Potential confusion regarding the reference to the two subparagraphs labeled as "H" before redesignation might cause legal and administrative challenges if not accurately reflected in updated documents. (Section 1(a)(2) and 1(a)(3))

  • The new subparagraph (J) specifies administrative law judge positions under section 3105, which may raise questions regarding the eligibility and specific roles affected by this amendment. (Section 1(a)(5))

Sections

Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.

1. Limits on accumulation of annual leave for administrative law judges Read Opens in new tab

Summary AI

The section amends the United States Code to include administrative law judges in the list of positions that have specific limits on how much annual leave they can accumulate. These changes will take effect starting the first pay period 30 days after the law is enacted.