(a) In general

(1) Hiring
Notwithstanding section 3503 of title 5, and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may—

(A) appoint, hire, and discharge officers and employees to administer the Recreation Area; and

(B) pay the officers and employees at levels that are commensurate with levels at other units of the National Forest System.

(2) Interim retention of eligible employees

(A) In general
For a period of not less than 5 months after the effective date of transfer to the Forest Service—

(i) all eligible employees shall be retained in the employment of the Tennessee Valley Authority;

(ii) those eligible employees shall be considered to be placed on detail to the Secretary and shall be subject to the direction of the Secretary; and

(iii) the Secretary shall reimburse the Tennessee Valley Authority for the amount of the basic pay and all other compensation of those eligible employees.

(B) Notice to employees
The Secretary shall provide eligible employees a written notice of not less than 60 days before termination.

(C) Termination for cause
Subparagraph (A) does not preclude a termination for cause during the period described in subparagraph (A).

(b) Applications for transfer and appointment
An eligible employee shall have the right to apply for employment by the Secretary under procedures for transfer and appointment of Federal employees outside the Department of Agriculture.

(c) Hiring by Secretary

(1) In general
Subject to subsection (b), in filling personnel positions within the Recreation Area, the Secretary shall follow all laws (including regulations) and policies applicable to the Department of Agriculture.

(2) Notification and hiring
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary—

(A) shall notify all eligible employees of all openings for positions with the Forest Service at the Recreation Area before notifying other individuals or considering applications by other individuals for the positions; and

(B) after applications by eligible employees have received consideration, if any positions remain unfilled, shall notify other individuals of the openings.

(3) Noncompetitive appointments
Notwithstanding any other placement of career transition programs authorized by the Office of Personnel Management of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Secretary may noncompetitively appoint eligible employees to positions in the Recreation Area.

(4) Period of service
Except to the extent that an eligible employee that is appointed by the Secretary may be otherwise compensated for the period of service as an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority, that period of service shall be treated as a period of service as an employee of the Secretary for the purposes of probation, career tenure, time-in-grade, and leave.

(d) Transfer to positions in other units of Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority—

(1) shall notify all eligible employees of all openings for positions in other units of the Tennessee Valley Authority before notifying other individuals or considering applications by other individuals for the positions; and

(2) after applications by eligible employees have received consideration, if any positions remain unfilled, shall notify other individuals of the openings.

(e) Employee benefit transition

(1) Memorandum of understanding

(A) In general
The Secretary and the heads of the Office of Personnel Management, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System shall enter into a memorandum of understanding providing for the transition for all eligible employees of compensation made available through the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System.

(B) Employee participation
In deciding on the terms of the memorandum of understanding, the Secretary and the heads of the Office of Personnel Management, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System shall meet and consult with and give full consideration to the views of employees and representatives of the employees of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(2) Eligible employees that are transferred to other units of TVA
An eligible employee that is transferred to another unit of the Tennessee Valley Authority shall experience no interruption in coverage for or reduction of any retirement, health, leave, or other employee benefit.

(3) Eligible employees that are hired by the Secretary

(A) Level of benefits
The Secretary shall provide to an eligible employee that is hired by the Forest Service a level of retirement and health benefits that is equivalent to the level to which the eligible employee would have been entitled if the eligible employee had remained an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(B) Transfer of retirement benefits

(i) In general
Eligible employees hired by the Forest Service shall become members of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Offset Plan and shall have the option to transfer into the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) within six months of their date of transfer. Such employees shall have the option at any time to receive credit in CSRS Offset or FERS for all of their TVA service in accordance with applicable procedures. Any deposits necessary to receive credit for such service shall be considered transfers to a qualified plan for purposes of favorable tax treatment of such amount under title 26.

(ii) Funding shortfall

(I) In general

For all eligible employees that are not part of the Civil Service Retirement System, the Tennessee Valley Authority shall meet any funding shortfall resulting from the transfer of retirement benefits.

(II) Notification

The Secretary shall notify the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of the cost associated with the transfer of retirement benefits.

(III) Payment

The Tennessee Valley Authority shall fully compensate the Secretary for the costs associated with the transfer of retirement benefits.

(IV) No interruption

An eligible employee that is hired by the Forest Service and is eligible for Civil Service Retirement shall not experience any interruption in retirement benefits.

(C) No interruption
An eligible employee that is hired by the Secretary—

(i) shall experience no interruption in coverage for any health, leave, or other employee benefit; and

(ii) shall be entitled to carry over any leave time accumulated during employment by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(D) Period of service
Notwithstanding section 8411(b)(3) of title 5, except to the extent that an eligible employee may be otherwise compensated (including the provision of retirement benefits in accordance with the memorandum of understanding) for the period of service as an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority, that period of service shall be treated as a period of service as an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for all purposes relating to the Federal employment of the eligible employee.

(4) Eligible employees that are discharged not for cause

(A) Level of benefits
The parties to the memorandum of understanding shall have authority to deem any applicable requirement to be met, to make payments to an employee, or take any other action necessary to provide to an eligible employee that is discharged as being excess to the needs of the Tennessee Valley Authority or the Secretary and not for cause and that does not accept an offer of employment from the Secretary, an optimum level of retirement and health benefits that is equivalent to the level that has been afforded employees discharged in previous reductions in force by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(B) Minimum benefits
An eligible employee that is discharged as being excess to the needs of the Tennessee Valley Authority or the Secretary and not for cause shall, at a minimum be entitled to—

(i) at the option of the eligible employee—

(I) a lump-sum equal to $1,000, multiplied by the number of years of service of the eligible employee (but not less that $15,000 nor more than $25,000);

(II) a lump-sum payment equal to the amount of pay earned by the eligible employee for the last 26 weeks of the eligible employee's service; or

(III) the deemed addition of 5 years to the age and the years of service of an eligible employee;

(ii) 15 months of health benefits for employees and dependents at the same level provided as of the date of transfer pursuant to section 460lll–41 of this title;

(iii) 1 week of pay per year of service as provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System;

(iv) a lump-sum payment of all accumulated annual leave;

(v) unemployment compensation in accordance with State law;

(vi) eligible pension benefits as provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System; and

(vii) retraining assistance provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(C) Shortfall
If the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement System determines that the cost of providing the benefits described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) would have a negative impact on the overall retirement system, the Tennessee Valley Authority shall be required to meet any funding shortfalls.