[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1722 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1722

 To improve teleworking in executive agencies by developing a telework 
 program that allows employees to telework at least 20 percent of the 
    hours worked in every 2 administrative workweeks, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 25, 2009

  Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. 
     Lynch, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Moran of Virginia, and Mr. 
Ruppersberger) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve teleworking in executive agencies by developing a telework 
 program that allows employees to telework at least 20 percent of the 
    hours worked in every 2 administrative workweeks, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 Improvements Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. TELEWORK.

    (a) In General.--Part III of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after chapter 63 the following:

                         ``CHAPTER 65--TELEWORK

``6501. Definitions.
``6502. Governmentwide telework requirement.
``6503. Implementation.
``6504. Telework Managing Officer.
``6505. Evaluating telework in agencies.
``6506. Continuity of operations.
``Sec. 6501. Definitions
    ``For purposes of this chapter--
            ``(1) the term `agency' means an Executive agency (as 
        defined by section 105), except as provided in section 6506(c);
            ``(2) the term `telework' or `teleworking' refers to a work 
        arrangement under which an employee regularly performs the 
        duties and responsibilities of such employee's position, and 
        other authorized activities, from home or another worksite 
        removed from the employee's regular place of employment;
            ``(3) the term `continuity of operations', as used with 
        respect to an agency, refers to measures designed to ensure 
        that functions essential to the mission of the agency can 
        continue to be performed during a wide range of emergencies, 
        including localized acts of nature, accidents, public health 
        emergencies, and technological or attack-related emergencies; 
        and
            ``(4) the term `Telework Managing Officer', as used with 
        respect to an agency, refers to the Telework Managing Officer 
        of such agency, designated under section 6504.
``Sec. 6502. Governmentwide telework requirement
    ``(a) Telework Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        the enactment of this chapter, the head of each agency shall 
        establish a policy under which employees shall be authorized to 
        telework, subject to paragraph (2) and subsection (b).
            ``(2) Regulations.--The policy of each agency under this 
        subsection--
                    ``(A) shall be in conformance with regulations 
                which the Director of the Office of Personnel 
                Management shall, as soon as practicable after the date 
                of the enactment of this chapter and in coordination 
                with the General Services Administration, prescribe for 
                purposes of this subsection; and
                    ``(B) shall ensure that employees are authorized to 
                telework--
                            ``(i) to the maximum extent possible; and
                            ``(ii) without diminishing employee 
                        performance or agency operations.
    ``(b) Provisions Relating to Certain Circumstances.--Nothing in 
subsection (a) shall be considered--
            ``(1) to require the head of an agency to authorize 
        teleworking in the case of an employee whose duties and 
        responsibilities--
                    ``(A) require daily access to classified 
                information;
                    ``(B) require daily face-to-face contact with 
                members of the public or other persons, or the use of 
                equipment, at the employee's regular place of 
                employment; or
                    ``(C) are such that their performance from a site 
                removed from the employee's regular place of employment 
                is otherwise infeasible; or
            ``(2) to prevent the temporary denial of permission for an 
        employee to telework if, in the judgment of the agency head--
                    ``(A) the employee is needed to respond to an 
                emergency;
                    ``(B) the employee requires additional training; or
                    ``(C) the denial is necessary, for a specific or 
                ascertainable period of time, to achieve goals and 
                objectives of programs administered by the agency.
    ``(c) Reporting Requirements.--
            ``(1) Responsibilities of the agency tmo.--In the event 
        that denial of permission for an employee to telework is 
        considered necessary by reason of circumstances described in 
        paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), the Telework Managing 
        Officer of the agency involved shall log and report such denial 
        to--
                    ``(A)(i) the Chief Human Capital Officer of such 
                agency; or
                    ``(ii) if the agency does not have a Chief Human 
                Capital Officer, the head of such agency; and
                    ``(B) the Office of Personnel Management.
            ``(2) Inclusion in annual report.--The Office of Personnel 
        Management shall transmit a summary of any denials of 
        permission to telework (as received under paragraph (1)) to the 
        Comptroller General for inclusion in the annual report required 
        under section 6505(b).
    ``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this chapter shall--
            ``(1) be considered to require any employee to telework; or
            ``(2) prevent an agency from permitting an employee to 
        telework as part of a continuity of operations plan.
``Sec. 6503. Implementation
    ``In order to carry out the purposes of this chapter--
            ``(1) the head of each agency shall ensure that--
                    ``(A) appropriate training is provided to 
                supervisors and managers and to all employees who are 
                authorized to telework--
                            ``(i) prior to the start of any telework 
                        arrangement; and
                            ``(ii) following the start of any telework 
                        arrangement,
                as directed by the Telework Managing Officer of such 
                agency;
                    ``(B) no distinction is made between teleworkers 
                and nonteleworkers for purposes of--
                            ``(i) periodic appraisals of job 
                        performance of employees;
                            ``(ii) training, rewarding, reassigning, 
                        promoting, reducing in grade, retaining, or 
                        removing employees;
                            ``(iii) work requirements; or
                            ``(iv) other acts involving managerial 
                        discretion; and
                    ``(C) in determining what constitutes diminished 
                performance in the case of an employee who teleworks, 
                the agency shall consult the performance management 
                guidelines of the Office of Personnel Management;
            ``(2) the Office of Personnel Management, in coordination 
        with the General Services Administration, shall provide advice, 
        assistance, and any necessary training to agencies, including 
        with respect to--
                    ``(A) questions of eligibility to telework, such as 
                considerations relating to employee performance; and
                    ``(B) making telework part of the agency's goals, 
                including those of individual supervisors and managers;
            ``(3) the General Services Administration, in coordination 
        with the Office of Management and Budget and the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology, shall prescribe 
        regulations, within 120 days after the date of the enactment of 
        this chapter, to ensure the adequacy of information and 
        security protections for information and information systems 
        used in, or otherwise affected by, teleworking; such 
        regulations shall be consistent with information security 
        policies and guidance issued by the Office of Management and 
        Budget and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
        and shall, at a minimum, include requirements necessary--
                    ``(A) to control access to agency information and 
                information systems;
                    ``(B) to protect agency information (including 
                personally identifiable information) and information 
                systems;
                    ``(C) to limit the introduction of vulnerabilities;
                    ``(D) to protect information systems not under the 
                control of the agency that are used for teleworking; 
                and
                    ``(E) to safeguard wireless and other 
                telecommunications capabilities that are used for 
                teleworking; and
            ``(4) the Office of Personnel Management shall--
                    ``(A) maintain a central, publicly available 
                telework website, to be jointly controlled and funded 
                by the General Services Administration and the Office 
                of Personnel Management;
                    ``(B) include on the website under subparagraph 
                (A)--
                            ``(i) any regulations relating to telework, 
                        and any other information, the General Services 
                        Administration and the Office of Personnel 
                        Management consider appropriate;
                            ``(ii) a confidential hotline and e-mail 
                        address which may be used to contact the Office 
                        of Personnel Management in order to report any 
                        abuse of agency telework programs or 
                        agreements; and
                            ``(iii) a copy of the most recent report 
                        available under section 6505(b); and
                    ``(C) provide a summary of any reports of abuse, 
                received by the Office of Personnel Management (whether 
                under subparagraph (B)(ii) or otherwise), to the 
                Comptroller General for inclusion in the annual report 
                required under section 6505(b).
``Sec. 6504. Telework Managing Officer
    ``(a) Designation and Compensation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each agency shall designate an officer, 
        to be known as the `Telework Managing Officer'. The Telework 
        Managing Officer of an agency--
                    ``(A) shall be designated--
                            ``(i) by the Chief Human Capital Officer of 
                        such agency; or
                            ``(ii) if the agency does not have a Chief 
                        Human Capital Officer, by the head of such 
                        agency; and
                    ``(B) shall be compensated at a rate not less than 
                the minimum rate of basic pay for grade GS-15 of the 
                General Schedule.
            ``(2) Waiver.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management may waive the minimum rate requirement under 
        paragraph (1)(B) with respect to an agency if such agency has 
        fewer than 100 employees (determined on a full-time equivalent 
        basis) and the head of such agency certifies that being 
        required to comply with paragraph (1)(B) would adversely impact 
        the operations of such agency.
    ``(b) Limitations.--An individual may not hold the position of 
Telework Managing Officer as a noncareer appointee (as defined in 
section 3132(a)(7)), and such position may not be considered or 
determined to be of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, 
or policy-advocating character.
    ``(c) Duties and Responsibilities.--The duties and responsibilities 
of the Telework Managing Officer of an agency shall be as follows:
            ``(1) Serving as--
                    ``(A) an advisor on teleworking to the head of such 
                agency and to the Chief Human Capital Officer of such 
                agency (if any);
                    ``(B) a resource on teleworking for supervisors, 
                managers, and employees of such agency;
                    ``(C) the primary point of contact for any agency 
                employee who elects to telework, in the event of a 
                telework-related dispute between the employee and a 
                supervisor or manager; and
                    ``(D) the agency's primary point of contact on 
                teleworking matters for employees of such agency, 
                Congress, and other agencies.
            ``(2) Ensuring that the agency's teleworking policy is 
        communicated effectively to employees.
            ``(3) Ensuring that electronic or written notification is 
        provided to each employee of specific telework programs and the 
        agency's teleworking policy, including authorization criteria 
        and application procedures.
            ``(4) Developing and administering a tracking system for 
        compliance with Governmentwide telework reporting requirements.
            ``(5) Providing to the Comptroller General and to the 
        Director of the Office of Personnel Management such information 
        as the Comptroller General may require to prepare the annual 
        reports under section 6505(b).
            ``(6) Establishing a system for receiving feedback from 
        agency employees on the telework policy of such agency.
            ``(7) Developing and implementing a program to identify and 
        remove barriers to telework and to maximize telework 
        opportunities in the agency.
            ``(8) Ensuring that employees are notified of grievance 
        procedures available to them (if any) with respect to any 
        disputes that relate to telework.
            ``(9) Performing such other duties and responsibilities 
        relating to telework as the head of the agency may require.
``Sec. 6505. Evaluating telework in agencies
    ``(a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall establish a system 
for evaluating--
            ``(1) the telework policy of each agency; and
            ``(2) employee participation in telework programs at each 
        agency.
    ``(b) Annual Report.--The Comptroller General shall, based on the 
system established under subsection (a), submit an annual report to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate. Each report under this subsection shall, with 
respect to the period covered by such report--
            ``(1) evaluate the telework policy of each agency;
            ``(2) for each agency, indicate the total number of 
        employees in such agency and specify--
                    ``(A) the number and percentage of employees who 
                were eligible to telework;
                    ``(B) the number and percentage of employees who 
                teleworked an average of at least once a week on a 
                regular basis, determined based on time spent actually 
                teleworking;
                    ``(C) the number and percentage of employees who 
                teleworked an average of at least 20 percent of the 
                hours that they worked in every 2 administrative 
                workweeks, determined based on time spent actually 
                teleworking;
                    ``(D) the number and percentage of employees who 
                teleworked at least once a month on a regular basis, 
                determined based on time spent actually teleworking;
                    ``(E) the number and percentage of employees who 
                were not authorized to telework and the reasons why 
                they were not so authorized;
                    ``(F) the number and percentage of employees who 
                were authorized to telework and then later stopped 
                teleworking, the reasons why those employees stopped 
                teleworking, and whether their stopping was voluntary 
                or due to other factors, such as office coverage needs 
                or productivity;
                    ``(G) the extent to which barriers to maximizing 
                teleworking opportunities have been identified and 
                eliminated;
                    ``(H) the impact (if any) of the agency's telework 
                policy on the recruitment and retention of employees;
                    ``(I) the impact (if any) of the agency's telework 
                policy on the performance of agency employees;
                    ``(J) the level of employee satisfaction with the 
                agency's telework policy, determined based on employee 
                feedback; and
                    ``(K) the amount of training provided to 
                supervisors and managers, and any additional training 
                that would better enable supervisors and managers to 
                manage teleworking employees;
            ``(3) evaluate the compliance of each agency with the 
        requirements of this chapter; and
            ``(4) identify best practices in agency telework programs.
A report under this subsection shall be submitted for the year in which 
the regulations under section 6502(a)(2)(A) take effect and for each of 
the 4 succeeding years. Each such report shall be submitted within 6 
months after the end of the year to which it relates.
    ``(c) Minimum Requirement for Compliance.--For purposes of 
subsection (b)(3), an agency shall not be considered to be in 
compliance with the requirements of this chapter unless the employees 
of such agency who were authorized to telework were permitted to 
telework for at least 20 percent of the hours that they worked in every 
2 administrative workweeks (disregarding any workweeks for which such 
employees did not submit a request or for which they were otherwise 
ineligible to telework).
``Sec. 6506. Continuity of operations
    ``(a) In General.--The head of each agency shall ensure that--
            ``(1) to the maximum extent practicable, telework is 
        incorporated into the continuity of operations planning of such 
        agency; and
            ``(2) mission critical personnel, as determined by the head 
        of such agency, are equipped to telework in time of a 
        catastrophe.
    ``(b) Coordination Rule.--The continuity of operations plan of an 
agency shall supersede any telework policy of such agency to the extent 
that they are inconsistent with one another.
    ``(c) Agency Defined.--For purposes of carrying out subsection 
(a)(2), the term `agency' means an agency named in paragraph (1) or (2) 
of section 901(b) of title 31.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--(1) The analysis for part 
III of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to chapter 63 the following:

``65. Telework..............................................    6501''.
    (2) Section 622 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, 
the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005, as 
contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (5 U.S.C. 6120 
note) is amended by striking ``designate a `Telework Coordinator' to 
be'' and inserting ``designate a Telework Managing Officer or designate 
the Chief Human Capital Officer or other career employee to be''.

SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Incorporation of Telework Into Continuity of Operations 
Planning.--Within 12 months after the effective date of the regulations 
under section 6502(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code (as amended 
by section 2), the General Services Administration, in coordination 
with the Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, shall 
report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the incorporation 
of telework into agencies' continuity of operations planning, 
including--
            (1) the extent to which such incorporation has occurred 
        within each of the respective agencies;
            (2) the extent to which each agency has conducted 
        continuity of operations tests and exercises incorporating 
        telework for essential and non-essential personnel;
            (3) the extent to which agencies have used telework in 
        response to emergencies; and
            (4) any recommendations the General Services Administration 
        considers appropriate.
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means 
        the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
        of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
            (2) the terms ``telework'' and ``continuity of operations'' 
        have the meanings given those terms by section 6501 of title 5, 
        United States Code (as amended by section 2); and
            (3) the term ``agency'' means an agency named in paragraph 
        (1) or (2) of section 901(b) of title 31, United States Code.
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