(a) An employee may not directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other employee for the purpose of interfering with—“(1) such employee’s rights under title I to elect a time of arrival or departure, to work or not to work credit hours, or to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment for overtime hours; or
“(2) such employee’s right under section 202(b)(1) to vote whether or not to be included within a compressed schedule experiment or such employee’s right to request an agency determination under section 202(b)(2).
For the purpose of the preceding sentence, the term ‘intimidate, threaten, or coerce’ includes, but is not limited to, promising to confer or conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion, or compensation), or effecting or threatening to effect any reprisal (such as deprivation of appointment, promotion, or compensation).
“(b) Any employee who violates the provisions of subsection (a) shall, upon a final order of the Commission, be—“(1) removed from such employee’s position, in which event that employee may not thereafter hold any position as an employee for such period as the Commission may prescribe;
“(2) suspended without pay from such employee’s position for such period as the Commission may prescribe; or
“(3) disciplined in such other manner as the Commission shall deem appropriate.
The commission shall prescribe procedures to carry out this subsection under which an employee subject to removal, suspension, or other disciplinary action shall have rights comparable to the rights afforded an employee subject to removal or suspension under subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, relating to certain prohibited political activities.