[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3659-S3661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 674. A bill to amend chapter 41 of title 5, United States Code, to 
provide

[[Page S3660]]

for the establishment and authorization of funding for certain training 
programs for supervisors of Federal employees; to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the Federal 
Supervisor Training Act to enhance Federal employee and manager 
performance.
  Performance is essential to the success of our Federal Government. 
However, we cannot expect employees and managers to perform well if we 
do not invest in them through training and professional development. In 
particular, Federal employees deserve the support and guidance of well-
trained managers who empower them to perform effectively, and managers 
deserve tools to successfully motivate and supervise employees.
  For managers and supervisors in the Federal Government, few things 
are more important than training. Supervisor trading programs improve 
communication, promote stronger manager-employee relationships, reduce 
conflict, and cultivate efficiency in the federal workforce. While the 
federal government encourages management and supervisory training, the 
development and implementation of training programs is left to the 
discretion of individual agencies. This leads to inconsistent guidance 
on training and sometimes inadequate training due to an agency's other 
priorities and limited resources.
  According to the 2002 report Making Public Service Work: 
Recommendations for Change, the Merit Systems Protection Board reported 
that poor supervisors or managers are the most common reason employees 
leave a position. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management 2008 Federal 
Human Capital Survey also shows the need for improvement: only 40 
percent of Federal employees believed that their organization's leaders 
generate high levels of motivation and commitment to the workforce; 
only 42 percent said they are satisfied with their leaders' policies 
and practices; and only 48 percent of Federal employees said they were 
satisfied with the information they get from management.
  Given the growing number of Federal managers who are eligible to 
retire, it is increasingly important to train new supervisors to manage 
effectively. Good leadership begins with strong management training. It 
is time to ensure that Federal managers receive appropriate training to 
supervise Federal employees.
  The Federal Supervisor Training Act has three major training 
components. First, the bill will require that new supervisors receive 
training in the initial 12 months on the job, with mandatory retraining 
every three years on how to work with employees to develop performance 
expectations and evaluate employees. Current managers will have three 
years to obtain their initial training. Second, the bill requires 
mentoring for new supervisors and training on how to mentor employees. 
Third, the measure requires training on the laws governing and the 
procedures for enforcing whistleblower and anti-discrimination rights.
  In addition, my bill will: set standards that supervisors should meet 
in order to manage employees effectively; assess a manager's ability to 
meet these standards; and provide training to improve areas identified 
in personnel assessments.
  I am delighted that my bill has received support from the Government 
Managers Coalition, which represents members of the Senior Executives 
Association, the Federal Managers Association, the Professional 
Managers Association, the Federal Aviation Administration Managers 
Association, and the National Council of Social Security Management 
Associations; the American Federation of Government Employees; the 
National Treasury Employees Union; the International Federation of 
Professional and Technical Engineers; the AFL-CIO, Metal Trades 
Department; as well as the Partnership for Public Service. I believe 
this broad support, from employee unions to management associations to 
outside good government groups, demonstrates the need for this bill.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 674

       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 ``Federal Supervisor Training 
     Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. MANDATORY TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR SUPERVISORS.

       (a) In General.--Section 4121 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting before ``In consultation with'' the 
     following:
       ``(a) In this section, the term `supervisor' means--
       ``(1) a supervisor as defined under section 7103(a)(10);
       ``(2) a management official as defined under section 
     7103(a)(11); and
       ``(3) any other employee as the Director of the Office of 
     Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe.'';
       (2) by striking ``In consultation with'' and inserting 
     ``(b) Under operating competencies promulgated by, and in 
     consultation with,''; and
       (3) by striking paragraph (2) (of the matter redesignated 
     as subsection (b) as a result of the amendment under 
     paragraph (2) of this subsection) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2)(A) a program to provide training to supervisors on 
     actions, options, and strategies a supervisor may use in--
       ``(i) developing and discussing relevant goals and 
     objectives together with the employee, communicating and 
     discussing progress relative to performance goals and 
     objectives and conducting performance appraisals;
       ``(ii) mentoring and motivating employees and improving 
     employee performance and productivity;
       ``(iii) fostering a work environment characterized by 
     fairness, respect, equal opportunity, and attention paid to 
     the merit of the work of employees;
       ``(iv) effectively managing employees with unacceptable 
     performance;
       ``(v) addressing reports of a hostile work environment, 
     reprisal, or harassment of, or by, another supervisor or 
     employee; and
       ``(vi) otherwise carrying out the duties or 
     responsibilities of a supervisor;
       ``(B) a program to provide training to supervisors on the 
     prohibited personnel practices under section 2302 
     (particularly with respect to such practices described under 
     subsection (b) (1) and (8) of that section), employee 
     collective bargaining and union participation rights, and the 
     procedures and processes used to enforce employee rights; and
       ``(C) a program under which experienced supervisors mentor 
     new supervisors by--
       ``(i) transferring knowledge and advice in areas such as 
     communication, critical thinking, responsibility, 
     flexibility, motivating employees, teamwork, leadership, and 
     professional development; and
       ``(ii) pointing out strengths and areas for development.
       ``(c) Training in programs established under subsection 
     (b)(2)(A) and (B) shall be interactive instructor-based for 
     managers in their first year as a supervisor.
       ``(d)(1) Not later than 1 year after the date on which an 
     individual is appointed to the position of supervisor, that 
     individual shall be required to have completed each program 
     established under subsection (b)(2).
       ``(2) After completion of a program under subsection (b)(2) 
     (A) and (B), each supervisor shall be required to complete a 
     program under subsection (b)(2) (A) and (B) at least once  
     every 3 years.
       ``(3) Each program established under subsection (b)(2) 
     shall include provisions under which credit shall be given 
     for periods of similar training previously completed.
       ``(e) Notwithstanding section 4118(c), the Director of the 
     Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to 
     carry out this section, including the monitoring of agency 
     compliance with this section. Regulations prescribed under 
     this subsection shall include measures by which to assess the 
     effectiveness of agency supervisor training programs.''.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 
     Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations in 
     accordance with subsection (e) of section 4121 of title 5, 
     United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this 
     section.
       (c) Effective Date and Application.--
       (1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall 
     take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act 
     and apply to--
       (A) each individual appointed to the position of a 
     supervisor, as defined under section 4121(a) of title 5, 
     United States Code, (as added by subsection (a) of this 
     section) on or after that effective date; and
       (B) each individual who is employed in the position of a 
     supervisor on that effective date as provided under paragraph 
     (2).
       (2) Supervisors on effective date.--Each individual who is 
     employed in the position of a supervisor on the effective 
     date of this section shall be required to--
       (A) complete each program established under section 
     4121(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code (as added by 
     subsection (a) of this section), not later than 3 years after 
     the effective date of this section; and
       (B) complete programs every 3 years thereafter in 
     accordance with section 4121(d) (2) and (3) of such title.

[[Page S3661]]

     SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT  COMPETENCIES.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating section 4305 as section 4306; and
       (2) inserting after section 4304 the following:

     ``Sec. 4305. Management  competencies

       ``(a) In this section, the term `supervisor' means--
       ``(1) a supervisor as defined under section 7103(a)(10);
       ``(2) a management official as defined under section 
     7103(a)(11); and
       ``(3) any other employee as the  Director of the Office of 
     Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe.
       ``(b) The  Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
     shall issue guidance to agencies on  competencies supervisors 
     are expected to meet in order to effectively manage, and be 
     accountable for managing, the performance of employees.
       ``(c) Each agency shall--
       ``(1) develop competencies to assess the performance of 
     each supervisor and in developing such  competencies shall 
     consider the guidance developed by the  Director of the 
     Office of Personnel Management under subsection (b) and any 
     other qualifications or factors determined by the agency;
       ``(2) assess the overall capacity of the supervisors in the 
     agency to meet the guidance developed by the  Director of 
     theOffice of Personnel Management issued under subsection 
     (b);
       ``(3) develop and implement a supervisor training program 
     to strengthen issues identified during such assessment; and
       ``(4) measure the effectiveness of the supervisor training 
     program established under paragraph (3) in improving 
     supervisor competence.
       ``(d) Every year, or on any basis requested by the Director 
     of the Office of Personnel Management, each agency shall 
     submit a report to the Office on the progress of the agency 
     in implementing this section, including measures used to 
     assess program effectiveness.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter 
     43 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
     item relating to section 4305 and inserting the following:

``4305. Management competencies.
``4306. Regulations.''.
       (2) Reference.--Section 4304(b)(3) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``section 4305'' and 
     inserting ``section 4306''.
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