[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3530 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3530
To retain Federal employees who are spouses of a member of the Armed
Forces or the Foreign Service when relocating due to an involuntary
transfer, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 14, 2023
Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Moran, Ms. Duckworth, and Ms. Rosen)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To retain Federal employees who are spouses of a member of the Armed
Forces or the Foreign Service when relocating due to an involuntary
transfer, 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 ``Resilient Employment and
Authorization Determination to Increase the National Employment of
Serving Spouses Act'' or the ``READINESS Act''.
SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITIES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO ARE ARMED FORCES OR
FOREIGN SERVICE SPOUSES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency''--
(A) means each agency, office, or other
establishment in the executive, legislative, or
judicial branch of the Federal Government; and
(B) includes--
(i) each nonappropriated fund
instrumentality of the United States, including
each instrumentality described in section
2105(c) of title 5, United States Code; and
(ii) the United States Postal Service.
(2) Armed forces.--The term ``Armed Forces'' has the
meaning given the term ``armed forces'' in section 2101 of
title 5, United States Code.
(3) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual''
means an individual who--
(A) is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces
or the Foreign Service;
(B) is an employee; and
(C) relocates because the spouse of the individual,
as described in subparagraph (A), is subject to a
permanent change of station.
(4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management.
(5) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means an employee of
an agency.
(6) Permanent change of station.--The term ``permanent
change of station'' means, with respect to a member of the
Armed Forces or the Foreign Service--
(A) a permanent change of duty station; or
(B) a change in homeport of a vessel, ship-based
squadron or staff, or mobile unit.
(7) Permanent employee.--The term ``permanent employee''
does not include an employee who is serving under a temporary
appointment or a term appointment.
(b) Requirement.--Not later than 30 days after receiving a request
from a covered individual, the head of the agency employing the covered
individual shall--
(1) authorize the covered individual to work remotely full-
time if that agency head determines that the duties of the
covered individual do not require the regular physical presence
of the covered individual in the workplace;
(2) transfer the covered individual, if qualified, to a
position of equal grade in the agency and in the commuting area
of the new duty station or homeport of the spouse of the
covered individual;
(3) transfer the covered individual, if qualified, to a
remote position of equal grade in the agency; or
(4) in the case of a covered individual who is not
authorized to work remotely under paragraph (1), or to be
transferred under paragraph (2) or (3), place the covered
individual into a nonpay and nonduty status for the greater
of--
(A) the duration of the service of the spouse of
the covered individual at the new duty station or
homeport of that spouse, as described in paragraph (2);
or
(B) the period of 36 consecutive months following
the permanent change of station of the spouse of the
covered individual.
(c) Non-Encumbered Nonpay and Nonduty Status.--A position held by a
covered individual placed into nonpay and nonduty status under this
section--
(1) shall not be considered to be encumbered; and
(2) may be backfilled by a permanent employee.
(d) Reports.--
(1) Agency reports to opm.--For each of the first 5 full
fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of this Act,
the head of each agency shall, not later than 180 days after
the last day of that fiscal year, submit to the Director--
(A) a list of each request received by that agency
head under subsection (b) during the applicable fiscal
year; and
(B) the action taken by the agency head under
subsection (b) with respect to each request described
in subparagraph (A).
(2) Report to congress.--With respect to the information
received by the Director under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year,
the Director shall, not later than 195 days after the last day
of that fiscal year, submit to Congress a report containing all
of that information for that fiscal year, which shall be sorted
by agency.
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