§6243. Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities workforce restructuring plan

(a) In General.-Upon determination that a change in the workforce at a defense nuclear facility is necessary, the Secretary of Energy shall develop a plan for restructuring the workforce for the defense nuclear facility that takes into account-

(1) the reconfiguration of the defense nuclear facility; and

(2) the plan for the nuclear weapons stockpile that is the most recently prepared plan at the time of the development of the plan referred to in this subsection.

(b) Consultation.-(1) In developing a plan referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Labor, appropriate representatives of local and national collective-bargaining units of individuals employed at Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities, appropriate representatives of departments and agencies of State and local governments, appropriate representatives of State and local institutions of higher education, and appropriate representatives of community groups in communities affected by the restructuring plan.

(2) The Secretary shall determine appropriate representatives of the units, governments, institutions, and groups referred to in paragraph (1).

(c) Objectives.-In preparing the plan required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall be guided by the following objectives:

(1) Changes in the workforce at a Department of Energy defense nuclear facility-

(A) should be accomplished so as to minimize social and economic impacts;

(B) should be made only after the provision of notice of such changes not later than 120 days before the commencement of such changes to such employees and the communities in which such facilities are located; and

(C) should be accomplished, when possible, through the use of retraining, early retirement, attrition, and other options that minimize layoffs.

(2) Employees whose employment in positions at such facilities is terminated shall, to the extent practicable, receive preference in any hiring of the Department of Energy (consistent with applicable employment seniority plans or practices of the Department of Energy and with section 3152 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–189; 103 Stat. 1682)).

(3) Employees shall, to the extent practicable, be retrained for work in environmental restoration and waste management activities at such facilities or other facilities of the Department of Energy.

(4) The Department of Energy should provide relocation assistance to employees who are transferred to other Department of Energy facilities as a result of the plan.

(5) The Department of Energy should assist terminated employees in obtaining appropriate retraining, education, and reemployment assistance (including employment placement assistance).

(6) The Department of Energy should provide local impact assistance to communities that are affected by the restructuring plan and coordinate the provision of such assistance with-

(A) programs carried out by the Secretary of Labor under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.);

(B) programs carried out pursuant to the Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization Act of 1990 (division D of Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C. 2391 note); and

(C) programs carried out by the Department of Commerce pursuant to title II of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.).

(d) Implementation.-The Secretary shall, subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, work on an ongoing basis with representatives of the Department of Labor, workforce bargaining units, and States and local communities in carrying out a plan required under subsection (a).

(e) Submittal to Congress.-(1) The Secretary shall submit to Congress a plan referred to in subsection (a) with respect to a defense nuclear facility within 90 days after the date on which a notice of changes described in subsection (c)(1)(B) is provided to employees of the facility, or 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,¹ whichever is later.

(2) In addition to the plans submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress every six months a report setting forth a description of, and the amount or value of, all local impact assistance provided during the preceding six months under subsection (c)(6).

(f) Department of Energy Defense Nuclear Facility Defined.-In this section, the term "Department of Energy defense nuclear facility" means-

(1) a production facility or utilization facility (as those terms are defined in section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014)) that is under the control or jurisdiction of the Secretary and that is operated for national security purposes (including the tritium loading facility at Savannah River, South Carolina, and the 236 H facility at Savannah River, South Carolina), but the term does not include any facility that does not conduct atomic energy defense activities and does not include any facility or activity covered by Executive Order Number 12344, dated February 1, 1982, pertaining to the naval nuclear propulsion program;

(2) a nuclear waste storage or disposal facility that is under the control or jurisdiction of the Secretary;

(3) a testing and assembly facility that is under the control or jurisdiction of the Secretary and that is operated for national security purposes (including the Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, and the Pantex facility, Texas);

(4) an atomic weapons research facility that is under the control or jurisdiction of the Secretary (including Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories); or

(5) any facility described in paragraphs (1) through (4) that-

(A) is no longer in operation;

(B) was under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission, or the Energy Research and Development Administration; and

(C) was operated for national security purposes.

(Added and amended Pub. L. 119–60, div. C, title XXXI, §3111(a), (d)(2)(B), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1415 , 1462.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 3152 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is section 3152 of Pub. L. 101–189, div. C, title XXXI, Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1682 , which is not classified to the Code.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(6)(A), is Pub. L. 113–128, July 22, 2014, 128 Stat. 1425 . Title I of the Act is classified generally to subchapter I (§3111 et seq.) of chapter 32 of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3101 of Title 29 and Tables.

The Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (c)(6)(C), is Pub. L. 89–136, Aug. 26, 1965, 79 Stat. 552 . Title II of the Act is classified generally to subchapter II (§3141 et seq.) of chapter 38 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3121 of Title 42 and Tables.

The date of the enactment of this Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), originally meant the date of enactment of Pub. L. 102–484, which enacted the predecessor to this section and was approved Oct. 23, 1992. Such section was subsequently transferred to Pub. L. 107–314, which was approved Dec. 2, 2002, and later repealed and restated as this section by Pub. L. 119–60, which was approved Dec. 18, 2025.

Executive Order Number 12344, referred to in subsec. (f)(1), is set out as a note under section 2511 of Title 50, War and National Defense.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6243 was renumbered section 8293 of this title.

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2704 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 119–60, §3111(b)(1).

Amendments

2025-Pub. L. 119–60, §3111(d)(2)(B), realigned margins.

¹ See References in Text note below.