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






                                                      Calendar No. 1101
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1000

                To enhance the Federal Telework Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 2007

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

            October 1 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

              Reported by Mr. Lieberman, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Telework Enhancement Act of 
2007''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TELEWORK REQUIREMENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Application to Legislative Branch Employees.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Ineligible Employees.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Executive agencies.--Subsection (a)(1) does 
        not apply to executive agency employees--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) whose duties involve the daily 
                handling of secure materials, necessary contact with 
                special equipment, or daily physical 
                presence;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) who are assigned to national security 
                or intelligence functions; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. TRAINING AND MONITORING.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The head of each executive agency shall ensure that--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) telework training is incorporated in the 
        agency's new employee orientation procedures;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. TELEWORK MANAGING EMPLOYEE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Duties.--The Telework Managing Officer shall--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) serve as liaison between employees engaged in 
        teleworking and their employing entity;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) ensure that the organization's telework policy 
        is communicated effectively to employees;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) encourage all eligible employees to engage in 
        telework to the maximum practicable extent consistent with 
        meeting performance requirements and maintaining 
        operations;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) assist the head of the agency in the 
        development and maintenance of agencywide telework 
        policies;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) educate administrative units on telework 
        policies, programs, and training courses;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) provide written notification to all employees 
        of specific telework programs and employee 
        eligibility;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) focus on expanding and monitoring agency 
        telework programs;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) recommend and oversee telework-specific pilot 
        programs for employees and managers, including tracking 
        performance and monitoring activities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) promote teleconferencing devices;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) develop monthly productivity awards for 
        teleworkers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) develop and administer a telework performance 
        reporting system; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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)).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. ANNUAL TELEWORK AGENCY RATING.</DELETED>

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

<DELETED>SEC. 7 DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) justices of the Supreme Court, judges 
                of Courts of Appeals, or judges of the District 
                Courts;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) a Member of the United States House of 
                Representatives; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) a United States Senator.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive 
        agency'' has the meaning given that term by section 105 of 
        title 5, United States Code.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) reduces or eliminates the employee's 
                commute between his or her residence and his or her 
                place of employment; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) occurs at least 2 business days per 
                week on a recurring basis.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Employee.--The term ``employee'' has the meaning given 
        that term by section 2105 of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given that term by section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Noncompliant.--The term ``noncompliant'' means not 
        conforming to the requirements under this Act.
            (4) 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 during at least 20 
        percent of each pay period that the employee is performing 
        officially assigned duties.

SEC. 3. EXECUTIVE AGENCIES TELEWORK REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Telework Eligibility.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the head of each executive agency shall--
            (1) establish a policy under which eligible employees of 
        the agency may be authorized to telework;
            (2) determine the eligibility for all employees of the 
        agency to participate in telework; and
            (3) notify all employees of the agency of their eligibility 
        to telework.
    (b) Participation.--The policy described under subsection (a) 
shall--
            (1) ensure that telework does not diminish employee 
        performance or agency operations;
            (2) require a written agreement between an agency manager 
        and an employee authorized to telework in order for that 
        employee to participate in telework;
            (3) provide that an employee may not be authorized to 
        telework if the performance of that employee does not comply 
        with the terms of the written agreement between the agency 
        manager and that employee;
            (4) except in emergency situations as determined by an 
        agency head, not apply to any employee of the agency whose 
        official duties require daily physical presence for activity 
        with equipment or handling of secure materials; and
            (5) determine the use of telework as part of the continuity 
        of operations plans the agency in the event of an emergency.

SEC. 4. TRAINING AND MONITORING.

    The head of each executive agency shall ensure that--
            (1) an interactive telework training program is provided 
        to--
                    (A) employees eligible to participate in the 
                telework program of the agency; and
                    (B) all managers of teleworkers;
            (2) no distinction is made between teleworkers and 
        nonteleworkers for the purposes of performance appraisals; and
            (3) when determining what constitutes diminished employee 
        performance, the agency shall consult the established 
        performance management guidelines of the Office of Personnel 
        Management.

SEC. 5. POLICY AND SUPPORT.

    (a) Agency Consultation With the Office of Personnel Management.--
Each executive agency shall consult with the Office of Personnel 
Management in developing telework policies.
    (b) Guidance and Consultation.--The Office of Personnel Management 
shall--
            (1) provide policy and policy guidance for telework in the 
        areas of pay and leave, agency closure, performance management, 
        official worksite, recruitment and retention, and 
        accommodations for employees with disabilities; and
            (2) consult with--
                    (A) the Federal Emergency Management Agency on 
                policy and policy guidance for telework in the areas of 
                continuation of operations and long-term emergencies; 
                and
                    (B) the General Services Administration on policy 
                and policy guidance for telework in the areas of 
                telework centers, travel, technology, equipment, and 
                dependent care.
    (c) Continuity of Operations Plans.--During any period that an 
agency is operating under a continuity of operations plan, that plan 
shall supersede any telework policy.
    (d) Telework Website.--The Office of Personnel Management shall--
            (1) maintain a central telework website; and
            (2) include on that website related--
                    (A) telework links;
                    (B) announcements;
                    (C) guidance developed by the Office of Personnel 
                Management; and
                    (D) guidance submitted by the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency, and the General Services 
                Administration to the Office of Personnel Management 
                not later than 10 business days after the date of 
                submission.

SEC. 6. TELEWORK MANAGING OFFICER.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Appointment.--The head of each executive agency shall 
        appoint an employee of the agency as the Telework Managing 
        Officer. The Telework Managing Officer shall be established 
        within the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer or a 
        comparable office with similar functions.
            (2) Telework coordinators.--
                    (A) Appropriations act, 2004.--Section 627 of the 
                Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the 
                Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
                2004 (Public Law 108-199; 118 Stat. 99) is amended by 
                striking ``designate a `Telework Coordinator' to be'' 
                and inserting ``appoint a Telework Managing Officer to 
                be''.
                    (B) Appropriations act, 2005.--Section 622 of the 
                Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the 
                Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
                2005 (Public Law 108-447; 118 Stat. 2919) is amended by 
                striking ``designate a `Telework Coordinator' to be'' 
                and inserting ``appoint a Telework Managing Officer to 
                be''.
    (b) Duties.--The Telework Managing Officer shall--
            (1) be devoted to policy development and implementation 
        related to agency telework programs;
            (2) serve as--
                    (A) an advisor for agency leadership, including the 
                Chief Human Capital Officer;
                    (B) a resource for managers and employees; and
                    (C) a primary agency point of contact for the 
                Office of Personnel Management on telework matters; and
            (3) perform other duties as the applicable appointing 
        authority may assign.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Submission of Reports.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act and on an annual basis thereafter, the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall--
            (1) submit a report addressing the telework programs of 
        each executive agency to--
                    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Oversight and Government 
                Reform of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) transmit a copy of the report to the Comptroller 
        General and the Office of Management and Budget.
    (b) Contents.--Each report submitted under this section shall 
include--
            (1) the telework policy, the measures in place to carry out 
        the policy, and an analysis of employee telework participation 
        during the preceding 12-month period provided by each executive 
        agency;
            (2) an assessment of the progress of each agency in 
        maximizing telework opportunities for employees of that agency 
        without diminishing employee performance or agency operations;
            (3) the definition of telework and telework policies and 
        any modifications to such definitions;
            (4) the degree of participation by employees of each agency 
        in teleworking during the period covered by the evaluation, 
        including--
                    (A) the number and percent of the employees in the 
                agency who are eligible to telework;
                    (B) the number and percent of employees who engage 
                in telework;
                    (C) the number and percent of eligible employees in 
                each agency who have declined the opportunity to 
                telework; and
                    (D) the number of employees who were not 
                authorized, willing, or able to telework and the 
                reason;
            (5) the extent to which barriers to maximize telework 
        opportunities have been identified and eliminated; and
            (6) best practices in agency telework programs.

SEC. 8. COMPLIANCE OF EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

    (a) Executive Agencies.--An executive agency shall be in compliance 
with this Act if each employee of that agency participating in telework 
regularly performs officially assigned duties at home or other 
worksites geographically convenient to the residence of the employee 
during at least 20 percent of each pay period that the employee is 
performing officially assigned duties.
    (b) Agency Manager Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the 
establishment of a policy described under section 3, and annually 
thereafter, each agency manager shall submit a report to the Chief 
Human Capital Officer and Telework Managing Officer of that agency that 
contains a summary of--
            (1) efforts to promote telework opportunities for employees 
        supervised by that manager; and
            (2) any obstacles which hinder the ability of that manager 
        to promote telework opportunities.
    (c) Chief Human Capital Officer Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Each year the Chief Human Capital Officer 
        of each agency, in consultation with the Telework Managing 
        Officer of that agency, shall submit a report to the Chair and 
        Vice Chair of the Chief Human Capital Offices Council on agency 
        management efforts to promote telework.
            (2) Review and inclusion of relevant information.--The 
        Chair and Vice Chair of the Chief Human Capital Offices Council 
        shall--
                    (A) review the reports submitted under paragraph 
                (1);
                    (B) include relevant information from the submitted 
                reports in the annual report to Congress required under 
                section 7(b)(2); and
                    (C) use that relevant information for other 
                purposes related to the strategic management of human 
                capital.
    (d) Compliance Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
submission of each report under section 7, the Office of Management and 
Budget shall submit a report to Congress that--
            (1) identifies and recommends corrective actions and time 
        frames for each executive agency that the Office of Management 
        and Budget determines is noncompliant; and
            (2) describes progress of noncompliant executive agencies, 
        justifications of any continuing noncompliance, and any 
        recommendations for corrective actions planned by the Office of 
        Management and Budget or the executive agency to eliminate 
        noncompliance.

SEC. 9. CONGRESS AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AGENCIES.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``legislative branch 
agencies'' means the Government Accountability Office, the Library of 
Congress, the Government Printing Office, the Capitol Guide Service, 
the Capitol Police, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of the 
Architect of the Capitol, the Office of the Attending Physician, and 
the Office of Compliance.
    (b) Application to Legislative Branch Employees.--
            (1) Senate.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Committee on Rules 
                and Administration of the Senate, in consultation with 
                the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate, 
                shall establish guidelines for a policy under which 
                employees of the Senate, except employees designated by 
                the applicable employing authority to whom the policy 
                does not apply, may be authorized to telework.
                    (B) Establishment of policies.--Not later than 180 
                days after the establishment of telework policy 
                guidelines under subparagraph (A), each employing 
                authority that is included under such guidelines shall 
                submit to the Committee on Rules and Administration of 
                the Senate a telework policy for applicable employees.
            (2) House of representatives.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Committee on House 
                Administration of the House of Representatives, in 
                consultation with the Speaker and minority leader of 
                the House of Representatives, shall establish 
                guidelines for a policy under which employees of the 
                House of Representatives, except employees designated 
                by the applicable employing authority to whom the 
                policy does not apply, may be authorized to telework.
                    (B) Establishment of policies.--Not later than 180 
                days after the establishment of telework policy 
                guidelines under subparagraph (A), each employing 
                authority that is included under such guidelines shall 
                submit to the Committee on House Administration of the 
                House of Representatives a telework policy for 
                applicable employees.
            (3) Legislative branch agencies.--Not later than 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the heads of the 
        legislative branch agencies shall establish a policy for their 
        respective employees under which such employees, except 
        employees designated by the heads of each agency to whom the 
        policy does not apply, may be authorized to telework.
            (4) Training.--Each employee and manager of that employee 
        participating in telework under a policy established under this 
        section shall be required to participate in a telework training 
        program.
            (5) Similar policies.--
                    (A) In general.--The policies established under 
                this section may be similar to the policies established 
                by executive agencies under this Act.
                    (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act 
                shall be construed as requiring the application of 
                sections 1 through 8 to any policy established under 
                this section.

SEC. 10. EXTENSION OF TRAVEL EXPENSES TEST PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5710 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``for a period not to 
        exceed 24 months''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``7 years'' and 
        inserting ``16 years''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as though enacted as part of the Travel and Transportation 
Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-264; 112 Stat. 2350).
                                                      Calendar No. 1101

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1000

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

                To enhance the Federal Telework Program.

_______________________________________________________________________

            October 1 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

                       Reported with an amendment