[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3015 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3015
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 and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
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,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Telework Reform Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. TELEWORK AND REMOTE WORK.
(a) Amendments to Definitions.--Section 6501 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (3); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(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--
``(A) other than the location from which the
employee would otherwise work;
``(B) that may be inside or outside the local
commuting area of the location from which the employee
would otherwise work; and
``(C) that is typically the residence of the
employee.
``(4) Telework.--The term `telework' or `teleworking'--
``(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
``(B) includes remote work or remotely working.''.
(b) Executive Agencies Telework Requirement.--Section 6502(b)(2) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) is for a 1-year period; and
``(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--
``(i) whether the scope of the agreement,
or the duties of the employee, have changed;
``(ii) the performance of the employee; and
``(iii) the needs of the agency;''.
(c) Training and Monitoring.--Section 6503(a)(1) of title 5, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by inserting ``, which shall include training
on accurate reporting of remote work and telework
usage'' after ``agency''; and
(2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
``(B) all managers and supervisors of teleworkers
and remote workers, which shall--
``(i) be provided on an annual basis; and
``(ii) include training on accurate
reporting of employee remote work and telework
eligibility and participation in agency time
and attendance systems;''.
(d) Policy and Support.--Section 6504 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``performance
management,''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``remote work
and telework performance management'' before
``measures''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(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--
``(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
``(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
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(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--
``(A) perform an annual review of the guidelines
issued under this subsection; and
``(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).''.
(e) Duties of Telework Managing Officer.--Section 6505(b) of title
5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (5); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2)(C), as amended by
paragraph (1) of this subsection, the following:
``(3) issue to employees of the applicable executive agency
a biannual remote work and telework survey--
``(A) which shall be designed to evaluate, at a
minimum, the effectiveness of--
``(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;
``(ii) strategies for engaging with
executive agency employees while those
employees participate in the telework program
of the executive agency; and
``(iii) remote work and telework training
for executive agency managers and employees;
and
``(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;
``(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''.
(f) OPM Reports.--Section 6506 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by striking
``Government Reform'' and inserting ``Accountability'';
and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause
(iii) and inserting the following:
``(iii) the number and percent of eligible
employees in the agency who are remotely
working or teleworking--
``(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;
``(II) 3 or more days per pay
period;
``(III) 1 or 2 days per pay period;
and
``(IV) on a situational, episodic,
or short-term basis;''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (F)--
(I) in clause (v), by inserting
``and cost savings'' after
``productivity''; and
(II) in clause (vi), by inserting
``well-being and'' after ``employee'';
and
(2) in subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii), by striking ``Government
Reform'' and inserting ``Accountability''.
(g) Reports.--
(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.
(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--
(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;
(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
(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.
(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--
(A) the potential value that would result from
increasing remote work and other telework opportunities
for employees of particular departments within the
executive agency;
(B) which job classifications within the executive
agency could benefit from being performed exclusively
through remote work;
(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;
(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;
(E) expected productivity outcomes from the
increased use of remote work and telework; and
(F) cybersecurity and information technology
infrastructure changes necessitated by the increased
use of remote work and telework.
(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--
(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
(2) to eliminate the material in the second sentence of
that provision.
SEC. 3. NONCOMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT TO REMOTE WORK POSITIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Competitive service.--The term ``competitive service''
has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5,
United States Code.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management.
(3) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has
the meaning given the term in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(7) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given
the term in section 2108 of title 5, United States Code.
(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:
(1) An individual who--
(A) is certified by the Director as having been a
high-performing employee in a former position in the
competitive service; and
(B) has been separated from the former position
described in subparagraph (A) for less than 6 years.
(2) A veteran.
(3) An individual who is married to a member of the Armed
Forces or to a law enforcement officer.
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