PUBLIC LAW 106-398 —APPENDIX 114 STAT. 1654A-321 "(E) The employee is within the scope of an offer of voluntary early retirement, as defined on the basis of one or more of the following objective criteria: "(i) One or more organizational units, "(ii) One or more occupational groups, series, or levels, "(iii) One or more geographical locations. "(iv) Any other similar objective and nonpersonal criteria that the Office of Personnel Management determines appropriate. "(4) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, the determinations of whether an employee meets— "(A) the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) shall be made by the Office, upon the request of the Secretary of Defense; and "(B) the requirements of subparagraph (E) of such paragraph shall be made by the Secretary of Defense. "(5) A determination of which employees are within the scope of an offer of early retirement shall be made only on the basis of consistent and well-documented application of the relevant criteria. "(6) In this subsection, the term 'major organizational adjustment' means any of the following: "(A) A major reorganization. "(B) A major reduction in force. "(C) A major transfer of function. "(D) A workforce restructuring— "(i) to meet mission needs; "(ii) to achieve one or more reductions in strength; "(iii) to correct skill imbalances; or "(iv) to reduce the number of high-grade, managerial, supervisory, or similar positions.", (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. —Section 8414 of such title is amended— (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting "except in the case of an employee who is separated from the service under a program carried out under subsection (d)," after "(B)"; and (2) by adding at the end the following: "(d)(1) The Secretary of Defense may, during fiscal years 2002 and 2003, carry out a program under which an employee of the Department of Defense may be separated from the service entitled to an immediate annuity under this subchapter if the employee— "(A) has— "(i) completed 25 years of service; or "(ii) become 50 years of age and completed 20 years of service; and "(B) is eligible for the annuity under paragraph (2) or (3). "(2)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (1), an employee referred to in that paragraph is eligible for an immediate annuity under this paragraph if the employee— "(i) is separated from the service involuntarily other than for cause; and "(ii) has not declined a reasonable offer of another position in the Department of Defense for which the employee is qualified, which is not lower than 2 grades (or pay levels) below the employee's grade (or pay level), and which is within the employee's commuting area.
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