§ 3530 — Office Of Wellness And Workforce Support

(a) The Director shall establish within the Agency an office (in this section referred to as the “Office”) to provide support for the physical health, mental health, and wellbeing of eligible individuals under subsection (d). (1) The head of the Office is the Chief Wellbeing Officer, who shall provide to the Director regular updates on the operations of the Office. (2) To assist in performing the functions under subsection (c), the Director shall assign to the Office a sufficient number of individuals, who shall have no official duties other than duties related to the Office while so assigned. (1) The Director shall establish the functions and role of the Office, which shall include the following: (A) Providing to eligible individuals under subsection (d) advice and assistance on health and wellbeing, including with respect to— (i) physical health and access to physical health care; (ii) mental health and access to mental health care; and (iii) other related programs and benefits for which the individual may be eligible. (B) In providing advice and assistance to individuals under subparagraph (A), assisting such individuals who are applying for, and navigating the process to obtain, benefits furnished by the United States Government for which the individual is eligible, including, at a minimum— (i) health care and benefits described in such subparagraph; and (ii) benefits furnished pursuant to section 3519b of this title. (C) Maintaining, and making available to eligible individuals under subsection (d), the following: (i) A list of physicians and mental health care providers (including from the private sector, as applicable), who have experience with the physical and mental health care needs of the Agency workforce. (ii) A list of chaplains and religious counselors who have experience with the needs of the Agency workforce, including information regarding access to the Chaplain Corps established under section 3527 of this title. (iii) Information regarding how to select and retain private attorneys who have experience with the legal needs of the Agency workforce, including detailed information on the process for the appropriate sharing of information with retained private attorneys. (D) Any other functions the Director determines appropriate. (2) The inclusion of any person on a list maintained or made available pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) shall not be construed as an endorsement of such person (or any service furnished by such person), and the Director shall not be liable, as a result of such inclusion, for any portion of compensable injury, loss, or damage attributable to such person or service. (A) The Director shall ensure that, to the extent permitted by law, the advice and assistance provided by the Office to eligible individuals under subsection (d) is provided in a confidential manner. (B) The Director may prescribe regulations regarding the requirement for confidentiality under this paragraph. The Director shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees (as defined in section 3003 of this title), the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives any such regulations not later than 30 days after prescribing such regulations. (1) An individual described in paragraph (2) may receive a service under the Office at the election of the individual. (2) An individual described in this paragraph is— (A) a current or former officer or employee of the Agency; or (B) an individual affiliated with the Agency, as determined by the Director.