[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1000 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1000

                To enhance the Federal Telework Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 2007

  Mr. Stevens (for himself and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                   Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                To enhance the Federal Telework Program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Telework Enhancement Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TELEWORK REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Eligibility.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, the head of each Executive agency shall establish 
        a policy under which each employee of the agency, except as 
        provided in subsection (d), shall be eligible to participate in 
        telework.
            (2) Participation policy.--The policy shall ensure that 
        eligible employees participate in telework to the maximum 
        extent possible without diminishing employee performance or 
        agency operations.
    (b) Application to Judicial Branch Employees.--Within 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Justice of the United 
States shall establish a policy for employees of the judicial branch 
under which such employees, except employees designated by the Chief 
Justice as employees to whom the policy does not apply, shall 
participate in telework to the maximum extent possible without 
diminishing employee performance or judicial operations.
    (c) Application to Legislative Branch Employees.--
            (1) House of Representatives.--Within 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives, in consultation with the Minority Leader of 
        the House, shall establish a policy for employees of the House 
        of Representatives under which such employees, except employees 
        designated by the Speaker as employees to whom the policy does 
        not apply, shall participate in telework to the maximum extent 
        possible without diminishing employee performance or House 
        operations.
            (2) Senate.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, the Majority Leader of the Senate, in consultation 
        with the Minority Leader of the Senate, shall establish a 
        policy for employees of the Senate under which such employees, 
        except employees designated by the Majority Leader as employees 
        to whom the policy does not apply, shall participate in 
        telework to the maximum extent possible without diminishing 
        employee performance or Senate operations.
            (3) Other Legislative Branch Employees.--Within 1 year 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the Senate 
        jointly shall establish a policy for employees of the 
        legislative branch who are not employees of either House under 
        which such employees, except employees designated by the 
        Speaker and the Majority Leader as employees to whom the policy 
        does not apply, shall participate in telework to the maximum 
        extent possible without diminishing employee performance or 
        legislative branch operations.
    (d) Ineligible Employees.--
            (1) Executive agencies.--Subsection (a)(1) does not apply 
        to executive agency employees--
                    (A) whose duties involve the daily handling of 
                secure materials, necessary contact with special 
                equipment, or daily physical presence;
                    (B) who are assigned to national security or 
                intelligence functions; or
                    (C) whose functions are otherwise inappropriate for 
                teleworking and which are designated by the head of the 
                agency as functions to which the policy does not apply.
            (2) Judicial and legislative branch employees.--The Chief 
        Justice and the officers of the Senate and House of 
        Representatives described in subsection (c) may designate as 
        ineligible to participate in telework employees whose duties 
        are the same as, or similar to, the duties described in 
        paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. TRAINING AND MONITORING.

    The head of each executive agency shall ensure that--
            (1) telework training is incorporated in the agency's new 
        employee orientation procedures;
            (2) periodic employee reviews are conducted for all 
        employees, including those described in section 1(a)(3), to 
        ascertain whether telework is appropriate for the employee's 
        job description and the extent to which it is being utilized by 
        the employee.

SEC. 4. TELEWORK MANAGING EMPLOYEE.

    (a) In General.--The head of each executive agency, the Chief 
Justice, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Majority 
Leader of the Senate shall appoint a full time senior level employee of 
the agency, the judicial branch, the House of Representatives, and the 
Senate, respectively as the Telework Managing Officer. The Telework 
Managing Office shall be established within the office of the chief 
administrative officer or a comparable office with similar functions.
    (b) Duties.--The Telework Managing Officer shall--
            (1) serve as liaison between employees engaged in 
        teleworking and their employing entity;
            (2) ensure that the organization's telework policy is 
        communicated effectively to employees;
            (3) encourage all eligible employees to engage in telework 
        to the maximum practicable extent consistent with meeting 
        performance requirements and maintaining operations;
            (4) assist the head of the agency in the development and 
        maintenance of agencywide telework policies;
            (5) educate administrative units on telework policies, 
        programs, and training courses;
            (6) provide written notification to all employees of 
        specific telework programs and employee eligibility;
            (7) focus on expanding and monitoring agency telework 
        programs;
            (8) recommend and oversee telework-specific pilot programs 
        for employees and managers, including tracking performance and 
        monitoring activities;
            (9) promote teleconferencing devices;
            (10) develop monthly productivity awards for teleworkers;
            (11) develop and administer a telework performance 
        reporting system; and
            (12) assist the head of the agency in designating employees 
        to telework to continue agency operations in the event of a 
        major disaster (as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5122)).
    (c) Report.--The Telework Managing Officer shall submit a report to 
the head of the employing agency, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, or the Majority Leader of the Senate, as the 
case may be, and the Comptroller General at least once every 12 months 
that includes a statement of the applicable telework policy, a 
description of measures in place to carry out the policy, and an 
analysis of the participation by employees of the entity in teleworking 
during the preceding 12-month period.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL TELEWORK AGENCY RATING.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall establish a system 
for evaluating--
            (1) the telework policy of each executive agency, the 
        judicial branch, and the legislative branch; and
            (2) on an annual basis the participation in teleworking by 
        their employees.
    (b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall publish a report each 
year rating--
            (1) the telework policy of each entity to which this Act 
        applies;
            (2) the degree of participation by employees of each such 
        entity in teleworking during the 12-month period covered by the 
        report; and
            (3) for each executive agency--
                    (A) the number of employees in the agency;
                    (B) the number of those employees who are eligible 
                to telework;
                    (C) the number of employees who engage on a regular 
                basis in teleworking; and
                    (D) the number of employees who engage on an 
                occasional or sporadic basis in teleworking.

SEC. 7 DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Employee.--The term ``employee'' has the meaning given 
        that term by section 8101(1) of title 5, United States Code, 
        but does not include--
                    (A) justices of the Supreme Court, judges of Courts 
                of Appeals, or judges of the District Courts;
                    (B) a Member of the United States House of 
                Representatives; or
                    (C) a United States Senator.
            (2) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given that term by section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Telework.--The term ``telework'' means a work 
        arrangement in which an employee regularly performs officially 
        assigned duties at home or other worksites geographically 
        convenient to the residence of the employee that--
                    (A) reduces or eliminates the employee's commute 
                between his or her residence and his or her place of 
                employment; and
                    (B) occurs at least 2 business days per week on a 
                recurring basis.
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