37 U.S.C. § 316 : US Code - Section 316: Special pay: bonus for members with foreign language proficiency

Search 37 U.S.C. § 316 : US Code - Section 316: Special pay: bonus for members with foreign language proficiency

(a) Availability of Bonus. - Subject to subsection (c), the
Secretary concerned may pay a bonus under this section to a member
of the uniformed services who -
(1) is qualified in a uniformed services specialty requiring
proficiency in a foreign language identified by the Secretary
concerned as a foreign language in which it is necessary to have
personnel proficient because of national defense or public health
considerations;
(2) received training, under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary concerned, designed to develop a proficiency in such a
foreign language;
(3) is assigned to duties requiring a proficiency in such a
foreign language; or
(4) is proficient in a foreign language for which the uniformed
service may have a critical need, as determined by the Secretary
concerned.
(b) Bonus Amount; Time for Payment. - A bonus under subsection
(a) may not exceed $12,000 per one-year certification period under
subsection (c). The Secretary concerned may pay the bonus in a
single lump sum at the beginning of the certification period or in
installments during the certification period. The bonus is in
addition to any other pay or allowance payable to a member under
any other provision of law.
(c) Certification of Proficiency. - To be eligible to receive a
bonus under this section, a member described in subsection (a) must
be certified by the Secretary concerned as being proficient in the
foreign language for which the bonus is offered. The certification
of the member shall expire at the end of the one-year period
beginning on the first day of the first month beginning on or after
the certification date.
(d) Certification Interrupted by Contingency Operation. - (1)
Notwithstanding subsection (c), the Secretary concerned may waive
the certification requirement under such subsection and pay a bonus
under this section to a member who -
(A) is assigned to duty in connection with a contingency
operation;
(B) is unable to schedule or complete the certification
required by subsection (c) because of that assignment; and
(C) except for the lack of such certification, satisfies the
eligibility requirements under subsection (a).
(2) The Secretary concerned may treat the date on which the
member was assigned to duty in connection with the contingency
operation as equivalent to a certification date. In the case of a
member whose certification will expire during such a duty
assignment, the Secretary shall commence the next one-year
certification period on the date on which the prior certification
period expires.
(3) A member who is paid a bonus under the authority of this
subsection shall complete the certification required by subsection
(c) for the foreign language for which the bonus was paid not later
than the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on which
the member is released from the assignment in connection with the
contingency operation. The Secretary concerned may extend that
period for a member in accordance with regulations prescribed under
subsection (f).
(4) If a member fails to obtain the required certification under
subsection (c) before the end of the period provided under
paragraph (3), the Secretary concerned may require the member to
repay all or a portion of the bonus in the manner provided in
section 303a(e) of this title.
(e) Repayment. - A member who receives a bonus under this
section, but who does not satisfy an eligibility requirement
specified in paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) for
the entire certification period, shall be subject to the repayment
provisions of section 303a(e) of this title.
(f) Regulations. - This section shall be administered under
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the armed
forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, by the Secretary of
Homeland Security for the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not
operating as a service in the Navy, by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services for the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health
Service, and by the Secretary of Commerce for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.