§ 19312 — Entrepreneurial Leave Program

(a) The Secretary shall delegate to Directors the authority to carry out an entrepreneurial leave program (referred to in this section as the “program”) to allow National Laboratory employees to take a full leave of absence from their position, with the option to return to that or a comparable position up to 3 years later, or a partial leave of absence, to advance the commercial application of energy and related technologies relevant to the mission of the Department. (b) Directors shall retain the authority to terminate National Laboratory employees that participate in the program if such employees are found to violate terms prescribed by the National Laboratory at which such employee is employed. (c) To reduce barriers to participation in the program, the Secretary shall delegate to the Directors the requirement to establish streamlined mechanisms for facilitating the licensing of technology that is the focus of National Laboratory employees who participate in the program. (d) In accordance with section 16391a of this title, the Secretary shall report annually on the utilization of this authority at National Laboratories, including the number of employees who participate in this program at each National Laboratory and the number of employees who take a permanent leave from their positions at National Laboratories as a result of participating in this program. (e) Nothing in this section shall affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal personnel.