[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3015 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 732
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3015
[Report No. 118-312]
To amend title 5, United States Code, to address telework for Federal
employees, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 4, 2023
Mr. Lankford (for himself, Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Peters) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to address telework for Federal
employees, and for other purposes.
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 Reform Act of
2023''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. TELEWORK AND REMOTE WORK.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Amendments to Definitions.--Section 6501 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) by striking paragraph (3); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Remote work.--The term `remote work',
`remotely work', or `remotely working' refers to a work
flexibility arrangement under which an employee routinely
performs the duties and responsibilities of such employee's
position, and other authorized activities, from an approved
worksite--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) other than the location from which
the employee would otherwise work;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) that may be inside or outside the
local commuting area of the location from which the
employee would otherwise work; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) that is typically the residence of
the employee.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Telework.--The term `telework' or
`teleworking'--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) refers to a work flexibility
arrangement under which an employee performs the duties
and responsibilities of such employee's position, and
other authorized activities, from an approved worksite
other than the location from which the employee would
otherwise work; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) includes remote work or remotely
working.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Executive Agencies Telework Requirement.--Section
6502(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at
the end; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) is for a 1-year period;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) the agency manager, in consultation
with the supervisor of the applicable employee, shall
review annually to determine whether to renew the
agreement, taking into consideration--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) whether the scope of the
agreement, or the duties of the employee, have
changed;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the performance of the
employee; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) the needs of the
agency;''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Training and Monitoring.--Section 6503(a)(1) of title
5, United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in subparagraph (A)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) by inserting ``, which shall include
training on accurate reporting of remote work and
telework usage'' after ``agency''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) all managers and supervisors of
teleworkers and remote workers, which shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) be provided on an annual
basis; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) include training on
accurate reporting of employee remote work and
telework eligibility and participation in
agency time and attendance
systems;''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Policy and Support.--Section 6504 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in paragraph (1), by striking
``performance management,''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting
``remote work and telework performance management''
before ``measures''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in subsection (c)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in paragraph (1), by striking
``guidelines not later than'' and all that follows
through the period at the end and inserting the
following: ``guidelines--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this chapter to ensure the
adequacy of information and security protections for
information and information systems used while
teleworking; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the Telework Reform Act of 2023 to
ensure the adequacy of information and security
protections for information and information systems
used while remotely working.''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) by adding at the end the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Review.--The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, in coordination with the Department of
Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) perform an annual review of the
guidelines issued under this subsection; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) make any updates to the guidelines
issued under this subsection that are determined to be
appropriate as a result of a review conducted under
subparagraph (A).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Duties of Telework Managing Officer.--Section 6505(b)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``and'' at
the end;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(5); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) by inserting after paragraph (2)(C), as
amended by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) issue to employees of the applicable
executive agency a biannual remote work and telework survey--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) which shall be designed to evaluate,
at a minimum, the effectiveness of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) performance management with
respect to executive agency employees who
participate in the telework program of the
executive agency, as compared to the
effectiveness of performance management for
other employees;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) strategies for engaging
with executive agency employees while those
employees participate in the telework program
of the executive agency; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) remote work and telework
training for executive agency managers and
employees; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) the results of which the Telework
Managing Officer shall submit to the leadership of the
executive agency, including the Chief Human Capital
Officer of the executive agency;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) maintain an executive agency remote work and
telework web page that serves as an information portal for
employees of the executive agency who are seeking information
with respect to remote work and telework policies, contact
information for remote work and telework coordinators, and
remote work and telework training resources; and''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) OPM Reports.--Section 6506 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by striking
``Government Reform'' and inserting ``Accountability'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in paragraph (2)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) in subparagraph (A), by
striking clause (iii) and inserting the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) the number and percent of
eligible employees in the agency who are
remotely working or teleworking--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) full-time, such that
those employees are not required to
report to the locations from which
those employees would otherwise work on
a regular and recurring
basis;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) 3 or more days per
pay period;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(III) 1 or 2 days per
pay period; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(IV) on a situational,
episodic, or short-term basis;'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) in subparagraph (F)--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) in clause (v), by
inserting ``and cost savings'' after
``productivity''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) in clause (vi), by
inserting ``well-being and'' after
``employee''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii), by striking
``Government Reform'' and inserting
``Accountability''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (g) Reports.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms
``executive agency'', ``remote work'', and ``telework'' have
the meanings given those terms in section 6501 of title 5,
United States Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this
section.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Chief human capital officers.--Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chief
Human Capital Officer of each executive agency shall submit to
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and Congress
a report that contains--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) an overview of a process to update
current (as of the date on which the report is
submitted) remote work and telework eligibility
requirements of the executive agency;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) recommendations regarding ways in
which to update matters relating to remote work and
telework practices, including practices relating to
core business hours, flexible schedules, performance
management, and employee satisfaction; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) recommended solutions to barriers that
prevent the executive agency from delivering consistent
and reliable data with respect to remote work and
telework to the Office of Personnel
Management.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Executive agencies.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each
executive agency, in coordination with the Chief Human Capital
Officer of the executive agency, the Chief Financial Officer of
the executive agency, the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, and the Administrator of General Services, shall
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and
Accountability of the House of Representatives a report that
identifies--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the potential value that would result
from increasing remote work and other telework
opportunities for employees of particular departments
within the executive agency;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) which job classifications within the
executive agency could benefit from being performed
exclusively through remote work;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) the ways that the executive agency
could coordinate with the Secretary of Defense to
recruit the spouses of members of the Armed Forces for
positions, the responsibilities of which are performed
through remote work;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) expected cost savings as a result of
increased remote work and telework by employees of the
executive agency, taking into consideration the fact
that the executive agency may need to reinvest those
future cost savings to meet increased demands with
respect to technology;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) expected productivity outcomes from
the increased use of remote work and telework;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) cybersecurity and information
technology infrastructure changes necessitated by the
increased use of remote work and telework.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (h) Amendments to Regulations.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall amend section 531.605(d)(1) of title 5, Code
of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) to provide that the regular worksite of an
employee (where an employee's work activities are based) is the
employee's official worksite if the employee is scheduled to
work at least twice each biweekly pay period on a regular basis
at the regular worksite, or within the locality pay area for
that worksite, for the employee's position of record;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) to eliminate the material in the second
sentence of that provision.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. NONCOMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT TO REMOTE WORK
POSITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Competitive service.--The term ``competitive
service'' has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of
title 5, United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 105 of title
5, United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Law enforcement officer.--The term ``law
enforcement officer'' means an individual occupying a position
in the 1801 or 1811 occupational series, as established by the
Director.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Remotely work.--The term ``remotely work'' has
the meaning given the term in section 6501 of title 5, United
States Code, as amended by section 2 of this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) Remote work position.--The term ``remote work
position'' means a position in the competitive service in which
the individual occupying the position remotely works.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning
given the term in section 2108 of title 5, United States
Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Regulations.--Under such regulations as the Director
shall issue, an Executive agency may noncompetitively appoint, for
other than temporary employment, to a remote work position any of the
following individuals, if the head of that Executive agency determines
that the individual is qualified for the position:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) An individual who--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) is certified by the Director as having
been a high-performing employee in a former position in
the competitive service; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) has been separated f