[Senate Report 111-177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 362
111th Congress Report
2d Session SENATE 111-177
_______________________________________________________________________
TELEWORK ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2010
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 707
TO ENHANCE THE FEDERAL TELEWORK PROGRAM
May 3, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
JON TESTER, Montana LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kevin J. Landy, Chief Counsel
Lawrence B. Novey, Senior Counsel
Lisa M. Powell, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Amanda Wood, Minority Director for Governmental Affairs
Jennifer A. Hemingway, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 362
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-177
======================================================================
TELEWORK ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2010
_______
May 3, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Government
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 707]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 707) to enhance the
Federal Telework Program, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill
(as amended) do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................7
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................7
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation...................................12
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................13
VII. Changes in Existing Law.........................................13
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 707, the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, requires
Federal agencies to establish telework policies, determine the
eligibility of individual employees to participate in telework
programs, designate Telework Managing Officers, and work with
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to compile agency data
for annual reports to Congress. The bill also allows Federal
agencies to create test programs for reimbursing certain travel
expenses of teleworking employees and establishes one such
program within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The
goal of this legislation is to ensure that Federal agencies
more effectively integrate telework into their management plans
and agency cultures. The recent snow emergency in the
Washington, D.C., metropolitan area during the first half of
February 2010 vividly underscored the importance of every
agency having a telework policy in place and a culture that
values and is prepared for telework.\1\
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\1\Unprecedented snows in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area
disrupted Federal employee work schedules over a period of two weeks,
including four consecutive days when Federal offices were closed. See
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Federal Government Operating
Status in the Washington, DC, Area: Archive, available online at
[http://www.opm.gov/ status/archive.aspx]. On the fourth day that
offices were closed, OPM Director John Berry stated that the ability of
many Federal workers to telework was tremendously valuable in enabling
the government to keep functioning, and he was optimistic that this
experience would make agencies better appreciate the importance of
``allowing as many workers as possible to telework.'' Michael Hardy,
``OPM's Berry Discusses Telework During Government Shutdowns,''
GCN.COM, Feb. 11, 2010, available online at [http://gcn.com/Articles/
2010/02/11/OPM-Berry-discusses-government-closing.aspx]; see also OPM,
News Release, ``Statement of OPM director John Berry on the Continuing
Snow Emergency,'' Feb. 11, 2010, available online at [http://
www.opm.gov/news/statement-of-opm-director-john-berry-on-the-
continuing-snow-emergency,1546.aspx].
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II. Background and Need for the Legislation
The term ``telework'' refers to work arrangements under
which employees perform officially assigned duties at home or
at other worksites convenient to home. The Federal government
has permitted work--even sensitive work--at remote sites since
at least the 1930s, when some employees worked from their homes
or other off-site locations on such issues as financial reports
of credit union examinations.\2\ One such remote worker--a
consultant rocket scientist named Jack Nilles who in the 1960s
worked from Los Angeles for the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Air
Force Space Program--coined the terms ``teleworking'' and
``telecommuting'' in 1973.\3\
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\2\See Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report, Telework in the
Federal Government: Background, Policy, and Oversight (RL30863), by
Lorraine H. Tong and Barbara L. Schwemle (April 3, 2002), at page 3.
\3\See id.
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During the subsequent decades, Federal agencies began
promoting ``flexiplace'' programs under which Federal personnel
worked from home or remote sites. By the early 1990s the
President's Council on Management Improvement implemented a
pilot flexiplace program government-wide.\4\ Over the past
decade, advances in information and computer technology have
greatly increased the ability of many Federal employees to work
from home or from other locations convenient to home, and in
2006 more than 110,000 employees teleworked for the Federal
government.\5\
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\4\See id., at pages 3-5.
\5\See OPM, Status of Telework in the Federal Government: Report to
Congress 2007 (December 2007), available online at [http://
www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/Annual_Reports/
2007_TeleworkReport.pdf] (hereinafter referred to as the ``2007
Telework Status Report''), at page 2.
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As the Congressional Research Service aptly summarized,
numerous considerations combine to make telework a valuable
benefit for Federal agencies:
Management considerations, such as productive and
satisfied workers; environmental considerations, such
as reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality;
and quality of life considerations, such as
accommodating the short- or long-term health problems
or family responsibilities of employees, have been
offered as justification for telework programs. Some
believe that the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the
discovery of anthrax in Washington, DC, and other
cities have fundamentally changed the workplace and
demonstrated the practical application of telework to
the continued operation of the government. Issues of
security, crisis management, disaster recovery, and
remote access to office computer systems are prompting
some federal executive and legislative branch agencies
and their employees to expand existing telework
programs or to consider telework . . . .\6\
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\6\CRS Report, note 2 above, at Summary page.
This Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
heard substantial testimony about telework's potential to serve
as a powerful management tool for Federal agencies at a 2007
hearing.\7\ An OPM representative, for example, testified that
``telework is a useful tool which can help attract and retain a
21st century high-performing workforce that produces high-
quality results,''\8\ and the Director of the PTO reported that
teleworking at his agency has allowed for ``decreased commute
time, greater control over workloads, and even a more balanced
lifestyle. This all translates into increased employee
productivity and satisfaction, as well as higher employee
retention.''\9\
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\7\Hearing on ``Assessing Telework Policies and Initiatives in the
Federal Government,'' before this Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight
of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia, June 12, 2007, available online at [http://hsgac.senate.gov/
public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=be652718-fa97-
45e0-a700-d2d9d7aa0313] (hereinafter referred to as the ``Telework
Hearing'').
\8\Testimony of Mr. Daniel A. Green, Deputy Associate Director for
Employee and Family Support Policy, Strategic Human Resources Policy
Division, OPM, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
\9\Testimony of the Honorable Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
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A representative of the General Services Administration
(GSA) also testified at the Subcommittee's 2007 hearing that
telework is a natural mechanism for agencies' emergency
continuity of operations (COOP) plans''\10\--the plans agencies
adopt to allow for continued work during events, such as
natural disasters or terrorist attacks, that could prevent
employees from getting to the agency's offices. To be an
effective part of the COOP plan, telework must be integrated
into the agency's normal operations, ``so that employees may
fully transition to this alternative work arrangement in the
event of an emergency. The result would be a better trained and
more properly equipped work force that is allowed to
participate in telework to the maximum extent possible.''\11\
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\10\Testimony of Mr. Stan Kaczmarczyk, Principle Deputy Associate
Administrator for Government-Wide Policy, General Services
Administration, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
\11\Id.
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Telework also brings benefits beyond a particular agency
itself: for traffic decongestion, the environment, and energy
conservation. The Federal government is the largest employer in
the United States as well as the largest employer in the
National Capital Region, and the environmental benefits of
telework are a further reason to foster stronger telework
participation by Federal employees. The GSA witness at the 2007
hearing offered the following hypothetical illustration: ``As
an example, if 50 percent of the Federal workforce teleworked 2
days per week, that theoretically could cut nearly a fourth (23
percent), or 944,000 tons of work trip emissions produced by
Federal workers who commute to work in single occupancy
vehicles. Collectively, these teleworking employees could
theoretically save nearly 2 billion miles of vehicle travel,
more than 90 million gallons of gasoline, more than 277 million
dollars in gasoline expenses, and more than 32,000 typical work
years of time.''\12\ Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of
Transportation includes expansion of telecommuting as a key
part of the National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's
Transportation Network.\13\
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\12\Id.
\13\U.S. Department of Transportation, National Strategy to Reduce
Congestion on America's Transportation Network (May 2006), available
online at [http://isddc.dot.gov/OLPFiles/OST/ 012988.pdf].
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Witnesses at the 2007 hearing also testified that creative
worksite arrangements help agencies to get the most benefit out
of telework. One such measure is called ``hoteling,'' where
individual employees who spend much of their work time
teleworking are not assigned their own permanent office space
at their agency, but rather have access to shared workspace
when they are on site. The Director of the PTO testified that
his agency's telework program combines rigorous goal-setting
with hoteling, ``which translates into documented space and
related cost-savings for the PTO.''\14\ The GSA witness further
testified that ``telework combined with alternative officing
can enable agencies to reduce cost and improve the utilization
of existing facilities.''\15\
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\14\Testimony of Jon Dudas, note 9 above.
\15\Testimony of Stanley Kaczmarczyk, note 10 above.
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Congress has long recognized the benefits--to the
government and to the public--of telework by Federal workers.
Until now, though, Congress has addressed the issue piecemeal,
primarily through appropriations legislation. The fiscal year
1991 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government
Appropriations Act, for example, authorized Federal agencies to
pay for telephone lines, related equipment, and monthly fees in
the homes of teleworking employees participating in a telework
pilot program.\16\ That authorization was repeated in
subsequent corresponding Appropriations Acts\17\ and was made
permanent in the act for fiscal year 1996.\18\
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\16\Pub. L. 101-509, Sec. 624 (Nov. 5, 1990).
\17\Pub. L. 102-141, Sec. 625 (Oct. 28, 1991); Pub. L. No. 102-393,
Sec. 625 (Oct. 6, 1992); Pub. L. No. 103-123, Sec. 623 (Oct. 28, 1993);
Pub. L. No. 103-329, Sec. 625 (Sept. 30, 1994).
\18\Pub. L. 104-52, Sec. 620 (Nov. 19, 1995).
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The fiscal year 2001 Department of Transportation and
Related Appropriations Act included provisions that required
each executive agency to ``establish a policy under which
eligible employees of the agency may participate in
telecommuting to the maximum extent possible without diminished
employee performance,'' and that called on the Director of OPM
to assure that 25 percent of the Federal workforce was covered
by such policies within six months (April 2001) and that the
remainder would be covered over the next three years.\19\ To
track agencies' compliance with these requirements, the
accompanying conference report directed OPM to survey Federal
agencies' progress annually.\20\
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\19\Pub. L. 106-346, Sec. 359 (Oct. 23, 2000) (5 U.S.C. Sec. 6120
note); Memorandum for Heads of Executive Branch Departments and
Agencies, from Steven R. Cohen, Acting OPM Director, subject:
``Establishing Telecommuting Policies'' (Jan. 29, 2001) (describing the
legislative mandate), available online at [http://www.telework.gov/
Reports_and_Studies/tw_rpt02/dirmemo1.aspx].
\20\H.R. Rep. No. 106-940, 106th Cong., 2d Sess., at 151 (Oct. 5,
2000).
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In surveys conducted annually from 2001 through 2004, OPM
found that agencies made substantial progress in establishing
telework policies, though these policies fell short of covering
the entire workforce as required under the 2001 Act.\21\ OPM
also reported that the numbers of Federal employees eligible to
telework rose steadily between 2001 and 2004, from 521,542 to
752,337, bringing the total eligibility up to 44 percent of the
1.7 million member Federal workforce.\22\ Likewise, the number
of Federal employees actually teleworking rose, from 72,844 to
140,694 during the years 2001 and 2004.\23\ However, in 2003,
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that, since
each agency had its own telework policy to fit the agency's
mission and culture, efforts to report on and measure telework
programs were inconsistent.\24\
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\21\OPM, The Status of Telework in the Federal Government 2002,
available online at [http:// www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/
tw_rpt02/status-toc.aspx]; OPM, The Status of Telework in the Federal
Government 2005 (December 2005), available online at [http://
www.telework.gov/Reports_and_Studies/tw_rpt05/index.aspx].
\22\Id.
\23\Id.
\24\U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Human Capital:
Further Guidance, Assistance, and Coordination Can Improve Federal
Telework Efforts (GAO-03-679) (July 2003).
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Concerned about the relatively low percentage of Federal
employees actually participating in telework, Congress included
provisions in the fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2004
Appropriations Acts for the Departments of Commerce, Justice,
and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies setting aside
money for implementation of telework programs, requiring each
agency to submit progress reports to the Appropriations
Committees every six months, and directing each agency to
designate a telework coordinator to develop agency telework
programs.\25\ The Act for 2004 also specified that each
agency's telework policy must provide that ``eligible employees
may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible
without diminished employee performance.''\26\ The following
year, Congress included a provision in the fiscal year 2005
Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations Act requiring
agencies funded by the bill to certify that telework
opportunities were offered to 100 percent of the eligible
workforce and making $5 million of each agency's funding
available only upon such certification.\27\ For fiscal year
2006, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act made $5 million of each agency's
funding available only upon certification that the agency had
increased the number of eligible teleworkers above the previous
year's level.\28\
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\25\Pub. L. 108-7, Division B, Sec. 623 (Feb. 20, 2003); Pub. L.
108-199, Division B, Sec. 627 (Jan. 23, 2004).
\26\Id.
\27\Pub. L. 108-447, Division B, Sec. 622 (Dec. 8, 2004).
\28\Pub. L. 109-108, Sec. 617 (Nov. 22, 2005).
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Despite these actions by Congress and despite resources
provided by OPM and GSA, only 110,592 Federal employees
teleworked at least one day per month in 2006, which was about
6.1 percent of the total population of Federal employees.\29\
Of those teleworkers, only 52 percent teleworked at least one
day each week, and about 13 percent did so at least three days
per week.\30\ These numbers actually declined slightly from
2005, when 119,248 employees teleworked at least one day per
month, constituting approximately 6.6 percent of all Federal
employees; 25 percent of those teleworkers did so at least 3
days per week.\31\
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\29\2007 Telework Status Report, note 5 above. The decrease in
teleworking employees from 140,694 in 2004 to 110,592 in 2006 was
attributed to decreases in three large agencies: the Departments of
Commerce, Treasury, and Interior. The Departments of Commerce and
Treasury cited faulty telework reporting mechanisms across their
components as the reason for the variation in the number of teleworking
employees between 2004 and 2006. The Department of the Interior cited
technological security concerns as the reason for reigning in their
telework policy. Id., at pages 5-6.
\30\Id.
\31\Id., at page 8.
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At the Subcommittee's 2007 hearing, a number of witnesses
emphasized that although many agency managers start out
resistant to telework, experience with telework and its
benefits often overcomes that initial resistance. For example,
the PTO Director, who has established a robust telework policy,
discussed the importance of convincing management to support
telework:
The leaders really had to be convinced originally by
some very bright people within the office who
recognized the good that could be done and that it
would improve morale. . . . Then it was just a matter
of making certain all the managers realized this is the
direction and the vision.\32\
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\32\Testimony of Dudas, note 9 above.
The difficulties gaining manager support for telework were
further illustrated by a survey conducted by the Telework
Exchange and the Federal Managers Association (FMA).\33\ As
explained in testimony by a representative of FMA at the 2007
hearing, the study found that managers cite productivity issues
and a fear of not having control over employees as the top
inhibitors of telework.\34\ However, the study also found that,
as managers become more exposed to and involved with telework,
they express more favorable attitudes toward telework.\35\
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\33\Telework Exchange and the Federal Managers Association, Face-
to-Face with Management Reality--A Telework Research Report (January
22, 2007), available online at [http://www.teleworkexchange.com/
managementstudy/Face-to-Face-with-Management-Reality-Study-012207.pdf],
at slide 5.
\34\Testimony of Tom Davison, Trustee, Chapter 275, Environmental
Protection Agency Region 5 FMA, at Telework Hearing, note 7 above.
\35\Id.
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To help address managers' concerns and provide them
reassurance about telework, the FMA witness recommended
training of both managers and employees:
Strong policies and procedures in place before
teleworking occurs is one way to ensure employees focus
on their work. . . . Educating managers and employees
alike on the benefits of teleworking would certainly
make one more likely to participate. Training is an
essential part of helping both employees and agencies
realize the benefits of teleworking. . . .
. . . Without educating managers and employees alike
regarding teleworking opportunities available across
the government, participation will remain stagnant.\36\
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\36\Id.
The Committee has concluded that telework is an essential
tool that agencies should deploy as part of their overall
strategies for human capital management and continuity of
operations, and that legislation is needed to help agencies
overcome resistance to telework arising from inertia and fear
of the unknown. To accomplish this, S. 707, the Telework
Enhancement Act of 2010, would require each agency to establish
a robust telework policy, while also leaving each agency ample
discretion to tailor and implement the policy in a manner that
best serves its own particular circumstances. Building upon
provisions in past Appropriations Acts that foster telework,
this bill would be the first authorization legislation--and the
most comprehensive legislation thus far--to address telework
policies for government employees.
Under S. 707, executive branch agencies would establish
policies to authorize eligible employees to telework and would
determine, and notify each employee of, his or her eligibility.
These agency policies would have to ensure that telework would
not diminish employee performance or agency operations, and
would not apply to employees who must daily handle secure
materials or perform on-site activities that cannot be done
remotely. Agencies would have to incorporate their telework
policies into their COOP plans. Agencies also would have to set
up training programs for employees and managers involved in
telework and designate Telework Managing Officers devoted to
developing and implementing telework programs at their
agencies. The bill also would authorize test programs under
which employing agencies could pay certain travel expenses for
employees who telework, such as the costs for employees who
live outside of the commuting area and who generally telework
from home to travel occasionally to the agency's offices.
III. Legislative History
S. 707 was introduced by Senators Daniel K. Akaka and
George V. Voinovich on March 25, 2009, was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and
was then further referred on April 23, 2009 to the Subcommittee
on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce,
and the District of Columbia. Senator Mary L. Landrieu was
added as a co-sponsor on May 18, 2009.
The Committee considered S. 707 on May 20, 2009. Senator
Tom Coburn offered an amendment to require the PTO to conduct a
test program to pay expenses of an employee for travel to and
from a PTO worksite under certain conditions. The Committee
adopted the amendment by unanimous consent and ordered the bill
reported favorably, as amended, by voice vote. Present for both
actions were Senators Lieberman, Akaka, Carper, Pryor,
McCaskill, Burris, Collins, Coburn, and Voinovich.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
This section titles the bill the ``Telework Enhancement Act
of 2010.''
Section 2. Definitions
Paragraph (1)--Employee. This paragraph, by cross
referencing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 2105, defines the term ``employee''
as meaning Federal civilian employees generally, including
employees of the military exchanges. However, postal employees
are not included in this definition of employee.
Paragraph (2)--Executive Agency. This paragraph cross
references 5 U.S.C. Sec. 105, which defines ``executive
agency'' to include executive departments, government
corporations, and other establishments in the executive branch.
The definition under this paragraph also includes the
Government Accountability Office (GAO). This definition applies
to all provisions of the Act except section 7, which has its
own definition of ``executive agency,'' which excludes GAO.
Paragraph (3)--Telework. This paragraph defines the term
``telework'' as a work arrangement under which an employee
performs his or her officially assigned duties at home or at
another location convenient to home.
Section 3. Executive agencies telework requirement
Subsection (a)--Telework Eligibility. This subsection
requires the head of each agency to establish a telework policy
under which eligible employees may be authorized to telework.
It also directs the head of each agency to determine employees'
eligibility to telework and to inform employees of their
eligibility.
Subsection (b)--Participation. Under this subsection,
agency telework policies must--(1) not diminish employee or
agency performance; (2) require a written telework agreement
detailing an employee's telework arrangement with the agency;
(3) allow an employing agency to discontinue an employee's
telework authorization if that employee does not comply with
the terms of the telework agreement; (4) require an agency to
deem certain employees ineligible to participate in telework if
the employees' official duties require daily on-site activity
that cannot be handled remotely, except in emergencies
situations; and (5) incorporate telework in the agency's
continuity of operations plan.
Section 4. Training and monitoring
Subsection (a)--In General. Under this subsection, the head
of each agency must ensure that--(1) an interactive training
program is provided both to employees eligible to telework and
to managers of teleworkers; (2) the training is completed by an
employee prior to engaging in telework; and (3) teleworking and
non-teleworking employees are treated the same for purposes of
pay, performance appraisals, or work requirements.
Subsection (b)--Training Requirement Exemptions. Under this
subsection, employees who were engaged in telework prior to the
enactment of this bill may be exempted by their agencies from
the training requirement under subsection (a).
Section 5. Policy and support
Subsection (a)--Agency Consultation with the Office of
Personnel Management. Under this subsection, agencies must
consult with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in
developing telework policies.
Subsection (b)--Guidance and Consultation. This subsection
directs OPM to--(1) provide policy and guidance for telework in
areas including pay and leave, performance management,
recruitment and retention, accommodations for employees with
disabilities, and others; (2) assist agencies in developing
measures and teleworking goals; and (3) consult with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on policies
regarding continuity of operations (COOP) plans, and with the
General Services Administration (GSA) on policies regarding
telework centers, travel, technology, equipment, and dependent
care.
Subsection (c)--Continuity of Operations Plans. This
subsection requires agencies to incorporate telework into their
COOP plans and provides that when agencies are operating under
their COOP plans, those plans supersede any telework policies.
Subsection (d)--Telework Website. Under this subsection,
OPM is directed to maintain a central website with links to
webpages with general information about telework,
announcements, and guidance developed by OPM and submitted to
OPM by FEMA and GSA.
Section 6. Telework Managing Officer
Subsection (a)--In General. Under this subsection, the head
of each executive agency must designate a Telework Managing
Officer (TMO) within the Office of the Chief Human Capital
Officer (CHCO) or similar office within the agency. The
subsection also makes conforming amendments to Appropriations
Acts under which certain agencies now designate individuals to
perform similar functions.
Subsection (b)--Duties. This subsection directs the TMO to
develop and implement telework policy and to serve within the
agency as an advisor and resource and as OPM's primary point of
contact regarding telework matters within the agency.
Section 7. Reports
Subsection (a)--Definition. This subsection exempts GAO
from the definition of ``executive agency'' for the purposes of
section 7. (This exemption is also cross referenced in section
2(2) of the bill, which states the definition of ``executive
agency'' for purposes of the entire legislation.)
Subsection (b)--Reports by the Office of Personnel
Management. This subsection requires OPM, in consultation with
the Chief Human Capital Officers Council (CHCO Council), to
report on telework within 18 months after enactment of the bill
and annually thereafter. OPM must submit its reports to the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, GAO,
and the Office of Management and Budget. These reports must
include, for each executive agency, data on employee
participation in telework; the reasons for any variations of
more than 10 percent from the previous year; the agency goal
for increasing telework participation; an explanation of
whether or not the goal from the last reporting period was met
and, if not, actions being taken to eliminate barriers to
teleworking; and an assessment of the progress made and the
impact of telework on emergency readiness, energy use, and
other factors. OPM's annual reports are also to include best
practices in agency telework programs.
Subsection (c)--Comptroller General Reports. This
subsection requires GAO to report on its telework program
within 18 months after enactment, and annually thereafter, to
the same Senate and House Committees referred to in subsection
(b). GAO also must review OPM's initial report required under
subsection (b), and report to Congress on the progress each
executive agency has made towards meeting the goals established
under section 5(b)(2).
Subsection (d)--Chief Human Capital Officer Reports. Under
this subsection, the CHCO of each executive agency must, in
consultation with the agency's TMO, submit an annual report to
the Chair and Vice Chair of the CHCO Council addressing agency
management efforts to promote telework. The subsection then
tells the Chair and Vice Chair to review the reports, to
include relevant information in the annual report to Congress
required under subsection (b), and to also use that information
to formulate human capital strategies. (The Chair of the CHCO
Council is the OPM Director, and in that capacity would prepare
the report under subsection (b).)\37\
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\37\See Pub. L. 107-292, 1303(a)(1) (Nov. 25, 2002, 5 U.S.C.
Sec. 1401 note) (OPM Director acts as chairperson of the CHCO Council).
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Section 8. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs
This section of the bill adds a new Sec. 5711 to title 5,
United States Code, authorizing telework travel-expenses test
programs. New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711 is similar to existing 5
U.S.C. Sec. 5710, which was enacted in 1998 and expired in 2005
and which authorized pilot programs by agencies to test
innovative arrangements for reimbursement of employee travel
expenses.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(a). This subsection authorizes
agencies, subject to GSA's approval, to establish test programs
to pay the necessary travel expenses of teleworking employees.
For example, if an agency wishes to recruit an individual who
lives a substantial distance from the agency and who wants to
telework, the agency might use the test program to pay for the
employee's occasional trips to the agency's offices. Under the
bill, telework travel test programs must be designed to save
the Government money, so the agency would have to demonstrate
that its ability to pay teleworkers' travel expenses would
yield gains in efficiency and productivity that would more than
make up for the increased travel expenses paid by the agency.
The bill also specifies that if an employee voluntarily
relocates away from the employee's pre-existing duty station,
and if the agency wishes to retain the employee as a
teleworker, the agency may establish a reasonable number of
occasional visits to the agency offices that the employee must
make at the employee's own expense before the employee would
become eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses by the
agency.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(b). Under this subsection, GSA must
transmit a copy of any test program approved, and the rationale
for approval, to Congress at least 30 days before the effective
date of the program.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(c). This subsection requires any
agency conducting a test program to provide to GSA, the
agency's own TMO, and the appropriate committees of Congress a
report on the results of that program not later than three
months after the program is completed.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(d). Under this subsection, no more
than ten test programs may be conducted simultaneously across
the agencies at any one time.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(e). Under this subsection, the
authority to conduct telework travel-expense test programs
expires seven years after the date of enactment.
Section 9. Patent and Trademark Office travel expenses test program
As noted in the preceding analysis of section 8 of the
bill, existing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710 authorized agencies to
conduct travel expense test programs, but expired in 2005.
Section 9 of the bill amends Sec. 5710 to authorize the PTO to
conduct a test program through 2018 for reimbursing travel
expenses for PTO employees engaged in telework.
Subsection (a)--In General. This subsection strikes the
provision in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(a)(1) that limits travel
expense test programs to a period not to exceed 24 months.
Therefore, the test program at PTO would not be subject to the
former 24-month limit on test programs. This subsection (c) of
the bill also repeals existing subsection (e) of 5 U.S.C.
Sec. 5710, under which the authority to conduct travel expenses
test programs expired in 2005, and adds new subsections (e) and
(f) to Sec. 5710, which are described below.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e)(1)-(2). These provisions require
the PTO to conduct a travel expense test program under 5 U.S.C.
Sec. 5710 and allow the PTO, in conducting the program, to pay
travel expenses to and from a PTO worksite if--(A) the PTO
employee enters into an approved telework arrangement; (B) the
PTO employee requests to telework from beyond the local
commuting area of the PTO worksite; and (C) the PTO approves
the request for the purpose of employee convenience.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e)(3). Under this paragraph, the PTO
must establish an oversight committee, composed of an equal
number of management and labor representatives, that would
develop operating procedures for the test program.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e)(4). This paragraph requires
that--(A) the PTO test program must be designed to enhance cost
savings or efficiencies for the Federal government; (B) the
Director of the PTO, before implementing a test program, must
evaluate the cost effectiveness of the program and submit an
analysis to GSA and appropriate congressional committees; (C)
the program may require that a PTO employee who voluntarily
relocates from the employee's pre-existing duty station must
make a reasonable number of occasional visits to his or her
pre-existing duty station before the employee is eligible for
repayment of travel expenses; and (D) the Director of the PTO,
within three months of completion of a test program, must
submit a report on the results of the test program to the GSA
and appropriate congressional committees. The paragraph also
specifies that the ``appropriate'' congressional committees are
the Senate Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs and the Judiciary and the House Committees on
Government Oversight and Reform and the Judiciary.
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(f)(1). This paragraph states that,
except with respect to the PTO telework test program, the
authority to conduct test programs under 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710
expired seven years after the date of enactment of the Travel
and Transportation Reform Act of 1998. (This expiration date is
the same as under existing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e), which the
bill repeals.)
New 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(f)(2). Under this paragraph, the
PTO's authority to conduct test programs under the bill will
expire 20 years after the date of enactment of the Travel and
Transportation Reform Act of 1998.
Subsection (b)--Effective Date. This subsection of the bill
states that the amendments made by section 9 take effect as
though they had been enacted as part of the Travel and
Transportation Reform Act of 1998. The amendments include the
repeal of existing 5 U.S.C. Sec. 5710(e), under which the
authority to conduct test programs expired in 2005, and include
the enactment of the new authority for PTO to conduct the test
program. Accordingly, the repeal of the sunset and the
enactment of the new authority apply as though they had both
been enacted before the original 2005 expiration date.
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation
June 1, 2009.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 707, the Telework
Enhancement Act of 2009.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 707--Telework Enhancement Act of 2009
S. 707 would require the executive branch of the federal
government to establish policies to determine which federal
employees are eligible to participate in federal telework
programs (telework programs enable employees to work from
places other than their official duty stations). The
legislation also would require agencies to incorporate telework
options into their emergency operations plans. Finally, S. 707
would authorize appropriations to pay for the cost of two test
programs regarding certain travel expenses of telework
employees.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 707 would increase
administrative costs across federal agencies by $5 million in
2010 and by $25 million over the 2010-2014 period assuming
availability of appropriated funds. That amount includes
initial costs to notify employees of their eligibility to
participate in telework programs and the rest of the annual
reporting requirements specified in the bill. S. 707 could
affect direct spending and revenues, but CBO estimates that
such amounts would not be significant in any year.
Under current law, executive branch agencies are required
to establish policies for employees to participate in telework
programs to the maximum extent possible without diminishing
employees' performance. The General Services Administration
(GSA) and the Office of Personnel Management provide guidance
and resources to federal agencies to support telework policies
governmentwide. This bill would require agencies to establish
and implement policies to enable eligible employees to
participate in telework programs and annually report on their
efforts.
For most agencies, any such impact on spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds; however, the
bill could affect direct spending by agencies not funded
through annual appropriations, such as the Tennessee Valley
Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration. CBO
estimates, however, that any increase in spending for telework
programs by those agencies would not be significant.
The legislation also would authorize two test programs--one
seven-year program for the government as a whole and one eight-
year program for the Patent and Trademark Office to reimburse
the travel expenses of certain teleworking employees. CBO
expects that few federal employees would change their work
location as a result of those programs. We expect that any
savings, such as lower costs for office space or diminished
locality pay adjustments, would be offset by additional costs
for travel and equipment so that implementing those programs
would have no significant net impact on the federal budget.
S. 707 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa M. Gullo,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) states that there are no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and no costs on State, local, or
tribal governments. The legislation contains no other
regulatory impact.
VII. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic and existing law, in which no
change is proposed, is shown in roman):
TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE: GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
PART III--EMPLOYEES
Subpart D--Pay and Allowances
CHAPTER 57--TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, AND SUBSISTENCE
Subchapter I--Travel, Subsistence Expenses; Mileage Allowances
Sec.
5701. * * *
* * * * * * *
5711. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs
* * * * * * *
Subchapter I--Travel, Subsistence Expenses; Mileage Allowances
* * * * * * *
Sec. 5710. Authority for travel expenses test programs
(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subchapter, under a test program which the Administrator of
General Services determines to be in the interest of the
Government and approves, an agency may pay through the proper
disbursing official [for a period not to exceed 24 months] any
necessary travel expenses in lieu of any payment otherwise
authorized or required under this subchapter. * * *
* * * * * * *
[(e) The authority to conduct test programs under this
section shall expire 7 years after the date of the enactment of
the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998.]
(e)(1) The Patent and Trademark Office shall conduct a test
program under this section.
(2) In conducting the program under this subsection, the
Patent and Trademark Office may pay any travel expenses of an
employee for travel to and from a Patent and Trademark Office
worksite, if--
(A) the employee is employed at a Patent and
Trademark Office worksite and enters into an approved
telework arrangement;
(B) the employee requests to telework from a location
beyond the local commuting area of the Patent and
Trademark Office worksite; and
(C) the Patent and Trademark Office approves the
requested arrangement for reasons of employee
convenience instead of an agency need for the employee
to relocate in order to perform duties specific to the
new location.
(3)(A) The Patent and Trademark Office shall establish an
oversight committee comprising an equal number of members
representing management and labor, including representatives
from each collective bargaining unit.
(B) The oversight committee shall develop the operating
procedures for the program under this subsection to--
(i) provide for the effective and appropriate
functioning of the program; and
(ii) ensure that--
(I) reasonable technological or other
alternatives to employee travel are used before
requiring employee travel, including
teleconferencing, videoconferencing or
internet-based technologies;
(II) the program is applied consistently and
equitably throughout the Patent and Trademark
Office; and
(III) an optimal operating standard is
developed and implemented for maximizing the
use of the telework arrangement described under
paragraph (2) while minimizing agency travel
expenses and employee travel requirements.
(4)(A) The test program under this subsection shall be
designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies that
accrue to the Government.
(B) The Director of the Patent and Trademark Office shall--
(i) prepare an analysis of the expected costs and
benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program; and
(ii) before the test program is implemented, submit
the analysis and criteria to the Administrator of
General Services and to the appropriate committees of
Congress.
(C) With respect to an employee of the Patent and Trademark
Office who voluntarily relocates from the preexisting duty
station of that employee, the operating procedures of the
program may include a reasonable maximum number of occasional
visits to the pre-existing duty station before that employee is
eligible for payment of any accrued travel expenses by the
Office.
(D)(i) Not later than 3 months after completion of the test
program under this subsection, the Director of the Patent and
Trademark Office shall provide a report on the results of the
program to the Administrator of General Services and to the
appropriate committees of Congress.
(ii) The results in the report described under paragraph
(1) may include--
(I) the number of visits an employee makes to the
pre-existing duty station of that employee;
(II) the travel expenses paid by the Office;
(III) the travel expenses paid by the employee; or
(IV) any other information that the Director
determines may be useful to aid the Administrator and
Congress in understanding the test program and the
impact of the program.
(E) In this paragraph, the term ``appropriate committees of
Congress'' means--
(i) the Committees on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and on the Judiciary of the
Senate; and
(ii) the Committees on Government Oversight and
Reform and on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(F)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), the
authority to conduct test programs under this section shall
expire 7 years after the date of the enactment of the Travel
and Transportation Reform Act of 1998.
(2) The authority to conduct a test program by the Patent
and Trademark Office under this section shall expire 20 years
after the date of the enactment of the Travel and
Transportation Reform Act of 1998.
Sec. 5711. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs
(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subchapter, under a test program which the Administrator of
General Services determines to be in the interest of the
Government and approves, an employing agency may pay through
the proper disbursing official any necessary travel expenses in
lieu of any payment otherwise authorized or required under this
subchapter for employees participating in a telework program.
An agency shall include in any request to the Administrator for
approval of such a test program an analysis of the expected
costs and benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program.
(2) Any test program conducted under this section shall be
designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies that
accrue to the Government.
(3) Under any test program, if an agency employee
voluntarily relocates from the pre-existing duty station of
that employee, the Administrator may authorize the employing
agency to establish a reasonable maximum number of occasional
visits to the pre-existing duty station before that employee is
eligible for payment of any accrued travel expenses by that
agency.
(4) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the
authority of any agency to conduct test programs.
(b) The Administrator shall transmit a copy of any test
program approved by the Administrator under this section, and
the rationale for approval, to the appropriate committees of
Congress at least 30 days before the effective date of the
program.
(c)(1) An agency authorized to conduct a test program under
subsection (a) shall provide to the Administrator, the Telework
Managing Officer of that agency, and the appropriate committees
of Congress a report on the results of the program not later
than 3 months after completion of the program.
(2) The results in a report described under paragraph (1)
may include--
(A) the number of visits an employee makes to the
pre-existing duty station of that employee;
(B) the travel expenses paid by the agency;
(C) the travel expenses paid by the employee; or
(D) any other information the agency determines
useful to aid the Administrator, Telework Managing
Officer, and Congress in understanding the test program
and the impact of the program.
(d) No more than 10 test programs under this section may be
conducted simultaneously.
(e) The authority to conduct test programs under this
section shall expire 7 years after the date of the enactment of
the Telework Enhancement Act of 2009.
DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2003 (Public Law 108-7; 117 STAT. 103;
Feb. 20, 2003)
* * * * * * *
DIVISION B--COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, 2003
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 623. Of the funds appropriated in this Act for the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and
the Small Business Administration, $100,000 shall be available
to each Department or agency only to implement telecommuting
programs: Provided, That, 6 months after the date of enactment
of this Act and every 6 months thereafter, each Department or
agency shall provide a report to the Committees on
Appropriations on the status of telecommuting programs,
including the number of Federal employees eligible for, and
participating in, such programs: Provided further, That each
Department or agency shall [designate a ``Telework
Coordinator'' to be] designate a Telework Managing Officer to
be responsible for overseeing the implementation of
telecommuting programs and serve as a point of contact on such
programs for the Committees on Appropriations.
DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004 (Public Law 108-199; 118 STAT. 99;
Jan. 23, 2004)
* * * * * * *
DIVISION B--DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY,
AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, 2004
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 627. The Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the
Judiciary, and the Small Business Administration shall each
establish a policy under which eligible employees may
participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible
without diminished employee performance: * * * Provided
further, That each Department or agency shall [designate a
``Telework Coordinator'' to be] designate a Telework Managing
Officer to be responsible for overseeing the implementation of
telecommuting programs and serve as a point of contact on such
programs for the Committees on Appropriations.
DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 (Public Law 108-447; 118 STAT. 2919;
Dec. 8, 2004)
* * * * * * *
DIVISION B--DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY,
AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, 2005
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 622. The Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the
Judiciary, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Small
Business Administration shall, not later than two months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, certify that
telecommuting opportunities are made available to 100 percent
of the eligible workforce: * * * Provided further, That each
Department or agency shall [designate a ``Telework
Coordinator'' to be] designate a Telework Managing Officer to
be responsible for overseeing the implementation and operations
of telecommuting programs, and serve as a point of contact on
such programs for the Committees on Appropriations.
SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
ACT, 2006 (Public Law 109-108; 119 STAT. 2340; Nov. 22, 2005)
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 617. The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State,
the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Small Business
Administration shall, not later than two months after the date
of the enactment of this Act, certify that telecommuting
opportunities have increased over levels certified to the
Committees on Appropriations for fiscal year 2005: * * *
Provided further, That each Department or agency shall
[maintain a ``Telework Coordinator'' to be] maintain a Telework
Managing Officer to be responsible for overseeing the
implementation and operations of telecommuting programs, and
serve as a point of contact on such programs for the Committees
on Appropriations.