[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3672 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3672
To require the head of each agency to establish a plan to resume in-
person operations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 16, 2022
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Kelly)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the head of each agency to establish a plan to resume in-
person operations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Return Employees to Understaffed
Work Sites to Reopen Now Act of 2022'' or the ``RETURN Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. AGENCY PLANS TO RESUME IN-PERSON OPERATIONS.
(a) Definitions.-- In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Covered agreement.--The term ``covered agreement''
means an agreement between an agency and a labor organization
that--
(A) is entered into before the date on which the
agency submits a plan under subsection (b)(1); and
(B) relates to the resumption of in-person
operations by the agency.
(3) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means an employee of
an agency.
(4) Essential government service.--The term ``essential
Government service'', with respect to an agency, includes--
(A) the facilitation of the delivery, receipt,
processing, or issuance of a document, fund, or permit;
(B) the facilitation of access to public lands or
another public space that is open to the public for
use;
(C) the conduction of an in-person activity or
interaction that is required by law to be performed in
person; and
(D) the conduction of an inspection or other in-
person activity that cannot be replicated virtually or
without a physical presence.
(5) Official work site.--The term ``official work site''
means the place where an employee works, or at which the
activities of an employee are based, as determined by the
employing agency.
(6) Remote work.--The term ``remote work'' means an
arrangement under which an employee is scheduled to perform the
work of the employee at an alternative work site.
(b) Plans.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall submit to
Congress and publish on the website of the agency a plan for
the agency to resume in-person operations.
(2) Contents.--Subject to paragraph (3), the plan of an
agency required under paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) the policy of the agency with respect to
permitting permanent remote work capabilities for
employees who can successfully achieve the duties of
those employees away from the official work sites of
those employees, which shall include, if applicable,
the policy of the agency under section 6502(a)(1) of
title 5, United States Code;
(B) requirements for employees that, as part of the
duties of those employees, handle original documents
issued by the Federal Government or a State government
that contain sensitive or private information to return
to the official work sites of those employees;
(C) explicit guidelines for protecting sensitive or
private information if any employee described in
subparagraph (B) must perform remote work;
(D) metrics to measure the work productivity of
employees performing remote work to identify employees
that fail to fulfill the duties of those employees;
(E) a plan to provide essential Government services
in person for individuals in the United States;
(F) a contingency plan in the event that the rate
of COVID-19 transmission increases in a region in which
official work sites of employees of the agency are
located, which shall be based on metrics for COVID-19
transmission to trigger the contingency plan
established by the agency;
(G) an assurance that the agency will update the
physical address of any employee of the agency who
permanently moves for the purposes of determining
whether the employee is eligible to receive a
comparability payment under section 5304 of title 5,
United States Code; and
(H) measures to prepare for future public health
emergencies that can be quickly implemented if remote
work becomes necessary.
(3) Labor agreements.--If a plan submitted by an agency
under paragraph (1) conflicts with any provision of a covered
agreement to which the agency is a party, the head of the
agency shall, not later than 60 days after the date on which
the agency submits the plan under that paragraph, after
consultation with the applicable labor organization, and
notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation
regarding the covered agreement, modify the covered agreement
so that the covered agreement is consistent with, and complies
with, the terms of that plan.
(c) GSA Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the head of each agency shall submit to the Administrator
of General Services a report on the physical work spaces used by the
agency that recommends the termination of any leases of the agency for
physical work spaces that are underused by the agency.
<all>