[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4043 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 735
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4043
[Report No. 118-315]
To amend title 5, United States Code, to make executive agency telework
policies transparent, to track executive agency use of telework, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2024
Mr. Peters (for himself and Ms. Ernst) 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 make executive agency telework
policies transparent, to track executive agency use of telework, 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 Transparency Act
of 2024''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. TELEWORK POLICY TRANSPARENCY AND TRACKING.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Monitoring Executive Agency Telework Policies and
Requiring Transparency.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Telework eligibility policy.--Section
6502(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this chapter, the'' and inserting
``The'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``and'' at the end;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) by adding at the end the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this subparagraph, and as updates
are made thereafter--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) submit to the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management a
description of the policy established under
subparagraph (A), or any successor policy;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) make publicly available on
the website of the executive agency the most
current version of the policy described in
clause (i).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Training and monitoring.--Section 6503 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(c) Monitoring Employee Use of Telework.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term
`Shared Service Centers' has the meaning given the term in
section 850.103 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor regulation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Establishment of common data standards; data
reporting requirements.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, in part to aid in the
collection of data for the purposes of satisfying the reporting
requirements under section 6506, the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall establish--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) executive agency telework data
reporting requirements, including required timeframes
for reporting;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) data standards and protocols for
tracking employee use of telework;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) best practices and training for
managers of employees who telework to review and verify
the amount of a locality payment, as defined in section
531.602 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (or any
successor regulation), paid to such an
employee;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) internal controls for data quality
with respect to the use of telework, including
procedures to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) consistently monitor system-
generated errors;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) produce reports on
adherence to data standards and edit rules;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) ensure prompt action to
address issues identified in clauses (i) and
(ii); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) mechanisms to provide regular
feedback to executive agencies and Shared Service
Centers on data quality with respect to telework, which
shall include the provision of any human capital data
needed to evaluate telework practices.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) Establishment of automated telework tracking
systems within payroll systems.--The head of each executive
agency, in consultation (where applicable) with each Shared
Service Center that provides payroll or human resources
services to that executive agency, shall establish telework
tracking within each payroll system that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) is automated; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) conforms to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) the telework data standards
and coding requirements issued by the Director
of the Office of Personnel Management;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the requirements
established by the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management under paragraph
(2).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) Establishment of online tool.--Not later
than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall
establish and maintain a publicly available online tool that--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) makes available the data required to
be reported under paragraph (2) in an appropriate and
readable format;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) incorporates appropriate protections
for personal and sensitive information; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) uses data visualization or other
data presentation techniques to support strategic
executive agency workforce planning and talent
management objectives.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(d) Monitoring the Effects of Telework on Office
Building Space Utilization and Executive Agency Performance.--The head
of each executive agency shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) establish a system to track office building
space utilization rates that aligns with guidance and
benchmarks issued by the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, in coordination with the Administrator of General
Services and the Federal Real Property Council established by
section 623(a) of title 40, under section
6504(b)(2)(A);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) identify a set of indicators, and establish
routines using the indicators, to assess and monitor the
effects of telework policy on the performance of the executive
agency, including, as applicable to the mission of the
executive agency--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) indicators related to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) customer experience and
service, including backlogs and wait
times;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) security;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) cost to
operations;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) the management of real
property and personal property;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(v) investments in network
capacity or communications infrastructure,
including technology capabilities to improve
efficiency and reduce the use of outdated
technology; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vi) the ability of the
executive agency to recruit and retain top
talent; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) any other indicator determined
appropriate by the head of the executive agency,
including as the result of policy and policy guidance
provided under section 6504(b)(2)(B);</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this subsection, and as updates are made
thereafter--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) submit to the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office
of Personnel Management a description of the indicators
and routines described in paragraph (2); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) make publicly available on the
website of the executive agency the most current
version of the indicators and routines described in
paragraph (2); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) with respect to the office building space
utilization rates described in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) include those rates in the budget
justification materials (as defined in section 3(b)(2)
of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note)) of the executive
agency; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) make those rates publicly
available.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Telework website.--Section 6504(e)(2) of title
5, United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``telework links'' and inserting the following: ``links
to Government websites, including a compilation of
links to executive agency websites with descriptions of
telework policies and indicators and routines described
in sections 6502(a)(1)(D) and 6503(d)(2),
respectively''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in subparagraph (D)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) by striking ``, and the
General Services Administration'' and inserting
``, the General Services Administration, and
the Department of State''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) by striking ``10'' and
inserting ``30''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Establishing Benchmarks and Providing Guidance.--
Section 6504(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in paragraph (3), by redesignating
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and
(iii), respectively, and adjusting the margins
accordingly;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)
as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), and adjusting the margins
accordingly;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) by striking ``The Office of Personnel
Management shall'' and inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Office of personnel management.--The Office
of Personnel Management shall''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) Office of management and budget.--The
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall take the
following actions:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) In coordination with the
Administrator of General Services and the Federal Real
Property Council established by section 623(a) of title
40, the following actions:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) Develop benchmarks for
measuring office building space utilization
that account for the use of telework.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Provide guidance to each
executive agency for collecting office building
space occupancy data regarding the average
daily onsite attendance in the office building
space owned or leased by the executive
agency.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) Establish office building
space utilization rate goals for each executive
agency of not less than 60 percent.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) Until the benchmarks
described in clause (i) are developed, and the
guidance described in clause (ii) is provided,
ensure that each executive agency, not less
frequently than quarterly, uses the following
formula to calculate office building space
utilization with respect to the office building
space that the executive agency leases or
owns:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) Calculate the usable
square feet of the office building
space so leased or owned, which shall
be calculated--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(aa) by using
the portion of that office
building space that is
available for occupants,
including offices, team rooms,
and conference rooms;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(bb) in
accordance with the standard
methods of measurement
developed by the Building
Owners and Managers Association
International, as approved by
the American National Standards
Institute.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) Divide the number
of usable square feet calculated under
subclause (I) by 180.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(III) Divide the daily
average of the number of individuals
who are present working in the space
that is the subject of the calculation
under subclause (I) by the quotient
obtained under subclause (II), which
shall be expressed as a
percentage.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) In coordination with the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management and the
Administrator of General Services, provide policy and
policy guidance for the indicators and routines
described in section 6503(d)(2), including with respect
to the identification of additional indicators under
section 6503(d)(2)(B).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Continuity of Operations.--Section 6504(d) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in the subsection heading, by striking
``Plans'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Emergency incidents.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the
term `emergency incident' means an event that, as
determined by the head of an executive agency, would
pose a threat to the life, health, or safety of an
employee, or a group of employees, of the executive
agency if the employee, or group of employees, were to
report to the worksite of the employee or group of
employees.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Telework during emergency
incidents.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the head of an executive agency may require that an
employee, or a group of employees, of the executive
agency telework during an emergency incident under
procedures established by the Director of the Office of
Personnel Manageme