II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4347 

To establish a Coronavirus Rapid Response Federal Labor-Management Task 

Force, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2020 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

CARDIN, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a Coronavirus Rapid Response Federal LaborManagement Task Force, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Labor-Man5 agement COVID Partnership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 7103 of title 5, 

3 United States Code. 

4 (2) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 

5 means the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID–19). 

6 (3) CORONAVIRUS CRISIS.—The term 

7 ‘‘coronavirus crisis’’ means the period— 

8 (A) beginning on January 27, 2020, the 

9 first day of the public health emergency de10 clared by the Secretary of Health and Human 

11 Services under section 319 of the Public Health 

12 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 

13 2020, with respect to COVID–19; and 

14 (B) ending on the date of the expiration of 

15 the public health emergency declaration. 

16 (4) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

17 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 

18 section 7103 of title 5, United States Code. 

19 (5) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.—The 

20 term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ means any 

21 protective equipment required to prevent the wearer 

22 from contracting coronavirus, which may include 

23 gloves, masks (including N–95 respirator masks), 

24 gowns, goggles or other eyewear, face shields, or 

25 other garments or equipment required for safety or 


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1 to protect the wearer’s body from injury or infection 

2 based on the risk of exposure. 

3 SEC. 3. CORONAVIRUS RAPID RESPONSE FEDERAL LABOR4 MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP TASK FORCE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex6 ecutive branch the Coronavirus Rapid Response Federal 

7 Labor-Management Partnership Task Force (referred to 

8 in this Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be 

11 composed of the following members: 

12 (A) The Director of the Office of Per13 sonnel Management, or the designee of the Di14 rector. 

15 (B) The Director of the National Institute 

16 for Occupational Safety and Health, or the des17 ignee of the Director. 

18 (C) The Assistant Secretary of Labor for 

19 Occupational Safety and Health, or the des20 ignee of the Assistant Secretary. 

21 (D) The Deputy Director for Management 

22 of the Office of Management and Budget, or 

23 the designee of the Deputy Director. 

24 (E) A deputy secretary (or other officer 

25 with agency-wide authority), or the designee of 


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1 such deputy secretary or officer, appointed by 

2 the President from each of 2 agencies not oth3 erwise represented on the Task Force. 

4 (F) The Chairman of the Federal Labor 

5 Relations Authority. 

6 (G) The Director of the Federal Mediation 

7 and Conciliation Service. 

8 (H) Five members to represent the respec9 tive labor organizations that represent, as ex10 clusive representatives, the first and second 

11 largest numbers of Federal agency employees, 

12 chosen by such respective labor organizations 

13 proportionate to the bargaining units rep14 resented by each such labor organization. 

15 (I) One member to represent the organiza16 tion representing the largest number of Federal 

17 management officials and Federal Government 

18 managers, supervisors, and executives, chosen 

19 by such organization. 

20 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The members of 

21 the Task Force shall be appointed or designated by 

22 not later than 15 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act. 


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1 (3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Each member 

2 of the Task Force shall serve for the term of the 

3 Task Force. 

4 (4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Task 

5 Force— 

6 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Task 

7 Force; and 

8 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

9 the original appointment. 

10 (c) MEETINGS.— 

11 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The Task Force shall 

12 hold the first meeting of the Task Force not later 

13 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 

15 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Task Force shall meet 

16 weekly by any electronic means necessary. 

17 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF TASK FORCE. 

18 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS.— 

19 (1) STUDY.—The Task Force shall conduct a 

20 thorough study relating to the Federal Government’s 

21 response and preparedness for the coronavirus crisis 

22 with respect to agency employees, by— 

23 (A) addressing— 

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1 spect to communication with, and utiliza2 tion and treatment of, agency employees; 

3 (ii) the necessary future steps for the 

4 Federal Government with respect to com5 munication regarding the coronavirus crisis 

6 with, and utilization and treatment of, 

7 agency employees; 

8 (iii) how the Federal Government 

9 should communicate with, and utilize or 

10 treat, agency employees regarding any fu11 ture response to any additional outbreak of 

12 the coronavirus, other widespread disease 

13 or disaster, or national security emergency; 

14 and 

15 (iv) each topic described in paragraph 

16 (2); 

17 (B) assessing the actions taken by each 

18 agency preparing the agency’s employees for 

19 the coronavirus crisis, including— 

20 (i) all communication (including writ21 ten, audio, and video communications, tele22 communications, and communications 

23 through social media or website updates) 

24 regarding the preparations with workforce 

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1 resenting those members during the period 

2 beginning January 1, 2020, and ending on 

3 the date by which the first report under 

4 subsection (b)(1)(A) is due; 

5 (ii) any changes made in the agency’s 

6 threat assessment; and 

7 (iii) an inventory and assessment of 

8 the physical assets available, and the phys9 ical assets needed, for the agency to prop10 erly respond to the coronavirus crisis; 

11 (C) establishing a recommended plan to 

12 implement changes needed, as determined by 

13 the Task Force, regarding each agency’s threat 

14 assessment process and inventory and assess15 ment of physical assets available or needed for 

16 the coronavirus crisis; and 

17 (D) making recommendations for improve18 ments that could provide for greater safety and 

19 productivity of agency employees— 

20 (i) during ongoing operations during 

21 the coronavirus crisis; and 

22 (ii) in preparation for future crises. 

23 (2) TOPICS.—The Task Force shall study and 

24 make recommendations regarding each of the fol25 lowing topics: 


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1 (A) ROLE OF LABOR ORGANIZATION PAR2 TICIPATION.—Methods to ensure that agency 

3 employee labor organizations are participating 

4 in discussions and decision-making processes in5 volving coronavirus response at the agencies. 

6 (B) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

7 DISTRIBUTION AND WORKFORCE NEEDS.—With 

8 respect to personal protective equipment— 

9 (i) the adequate level of personal pro10 tective equipment needed by the agencies, 

11 which should, at a minimum, provide for 

12 the broad use of masks, gloves, and 

13 eyewear; and 

14 (ii) the methods of procurement, allo15 cation, and distribution of such equipment. 

16 (C) CLEANING AND DISINFECTING.—Guid17 ance regarding the best practices for cleaning 

18 and disinfecting workplaces and equipment. 

19 (D) TELEWORK.—The optimal telework 

20 policies for each agency, including— 

21 (i) reviewing the agency employees 

22 who were classified as telework personnel 

23 during the initial response to the 

24 coronavirus crisis and the timing and 


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1 methods by which such decisions were com2 municated to the agency employees; 

3 (ii) recommending best practices for 

4 such determinations and communication in 

5 the future; 

6 (iii) determining how much of the 

7 Federal workforce can telework, and iden8 tifying the reasons, if any, that an indi9 vidual who is considered non-essential per10 sonnel of an agency cannot telework; 

11 (iv) determining— 

12 (I) what equipment and training 

13 had been necessary, prior to the 

14 coronavirus crisis, to allow agency em15 ployees to be telework-ready; 

16 (II) how much of that equipment 

17 and training was in place at the be18 ginning of the coronavirus crisis; 

19 (III) the equipment and training 

20 that has been provided regarding tele21 working since the beginning of the 

22 coronavirus crisis; 

23 (IV) the additional work of agen24 cies that can be conducted in a 


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1 telework mode, if additional equip2 ment and training are provided; and 

3 (V) the future steps to take to 

4 ensure all agency employees whose 

5 jobs can be conducted through 

6 telework are telework-ready; and 

7 (v) determining guidelines for 

8 telework orders, for the entire executive 

9 branch or based on location or agency, that 

10 take into consideration health and safety of 

11 agency employees, the families and cowork12 ers of agency employees, and the general 

13 public. 

14 (E) LEAVE AND SAFETY PROTOCOL GUID15 ANCE AND OTHER INFORMATION.—Guidance 

16 for agency employees regarding the use of leave 

17 during a national health pandemic and proper 

18 safety protocols in the workplace, and any other 

19 information that needs to be shared with agen20 cy employees in a timely manner during a crisis 

21 or as a crisis develops. 

22 (F) AFTER-ACTION DETERMINATIONS.— 

23 Improvements to the Federal Government’s re24 sponse to the coronavirus crisis in the future, or 

25 to another health pandemic, including— 


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1 (i) the actions that need to be taken, 

2 and the funds that need to be budgeted 

3 and appropriated, to improve coronavirus 

4 response in the future, including necessary 

5 technology (such as telecommunications 

6 equipment and computers), personal pro7 tective equipment, training, and instruc8 tion; 

9 (ii) recommended guidelines regarding 

10 who decides protocols and what informa11 tion should be relied upon to determine 

12 who needs personal protective equipment 

13 and other safety measures; and 

14 (iii) the resources, communications, 

15 physical tools, and decision-making proto16 cols needed in the future to best respond 

17 to the coronavirus crisis or another health 

18 pandemic. 

19 (b) REPORTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall pre21 pare and submit, in accordance with paragraph 

22 (2)— 

23 (A) by 60 days after the date of enactment 

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1 paragraphs (A)(i) and (B) of subsection (a)(1) 

2 as of such date; 

3 (B) by 90 days after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, a report that includes a complete 

5 assessment of the response of the agencies to 

6 the coronavirus crisis, as of the date of the as7 sessment; and 

8 (C) by 180 days after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, a report that provides— 

10 (i) a plan for agencies to address fu11 ture crises; and 

12 (ii) recommendations of the Task 

13 Force regarding the topics and areas ad14 dressed in the study under subsection (a). 

15 (2) SUBMISSION.—The Task Force shall pre16 pare and submit the reports described in paragraph 

17 (1) to the chairperson and ranking member of each 

18 of the following committees: 

19 (A) The Committee on Oversight and Re20 form, the Committee on Homeland Security, 

21 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 House of Representatives. 

23 (B) The Committee on Homeland Security 

24 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 


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1 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and 

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 5. POWERS OF TASK FORCE. 

4 (a) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may hold such 

5 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

6 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Task Force 

7 considers advisable to carry out this Act. 

8 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force may secure 

10 directly from an agency such information as the 

11 Task Force considers necessary to carry out this 

12 Act. 

13 (2) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On request of 

14 the Task Force, the head of an agency shall furnish 

15 the information to the Task Force. 

16 (3) REQUIRED INTERVIEWS.—In order to carry 

17 out its duties under this Act, the Task Force shall 

18 take testimony and conduct interviews to determine 

19 how agencies responded and prepared their employ20 ees for the coronavirus response, including— 

21 (A) collecting data and conducting after22 action interviews with the head of each agency, 

23 the highest-level human capital and health and 

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1 cable, the labor organization representatives for 

2 each agency; and 

3 (B) any other verbal, written, or in-person 

4 testimony, as determined appropriate by the 

5 Task Force, from any officer or employee of 

6 each agency who had a responsibility to respond 

7 to the coronavirus crisis. 

8 (4) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TRANSCRIPTS.—The 

9 Task Force shall make public a transcript of each 

10 interview conducted, except in cases where national 

11 security concerns prevents such disclosure. The Task 

12 Force shall document any instances where interviews 

13 are not made public. 

14 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Task Force may use the 

15 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

16 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the 

17 Federal Government. 

18 SEC. 6. TASK FORCE PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

19 (a) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Task 

20 Force shall not receive compensation for their services on 

21 the Task Force, but shall be allowed travel expenses, in22 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized 

23 for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

24 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their 


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1 homes or regular places of business in the performance 

2 of services for the Task Force. 

3 (b) STAFF.—The Task Force may, without regard to 

4 any other provision of law or regulation, appoint and re5 move such personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

6 Task Force to perform the duties of the Task Force. 

7 (c) COMPENSATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 law, rule, regulation, or Executive order, each rep10 resentative of a labor organization shall be author11 ized official time that is sufficient to perform inves12 tigations, participate in the functions of the Task 

13 Force, and be actively involved in the activities of 

14 the Task Force for the pendency of the Task Force. 

15 (2) INFRASTRUCTURE.—During the pendency 

16 of the Task Force, and notwithstanding any other 

17 law, rule, regulation, agreement, or Executive order, 

18 the head of each agency shall, with respect to any 

19 labor organization that is the exclusive representa20 tive of a bargaining unit of not fewer than 500 em21 ployees— 

22 (A) provide such labor organization with a 

23 reasonable amount of office space, at no cost to 

24 the labor organization, in all facilities leased, 

25 controlled, operated, or owned by the agency; 


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1 (B) allow 1 employee of the agency, as des2 ignated by the labor organization, to serve full3 time as the representative of the labor organiza4 tion to the Task Force, with such service being 

5 authorized as official time; 

6 (C) provide at least reasonable access to 

7 email systems of that agency for the purpose of 

8 communicating with members of the unit with 

9 respect to which the labor organization is the 

10 exclusive representative; and 

11 (D) provide the home address and tele12 phone number for each member of the unit rep13 resented by the labor organization. 

14 (d) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of an agency 

16 may be detailed to the Task Force without reim17 bursement to the agency. 

18 (2) EFFECT OF DETAIL.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employee detailed 

20 under paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) is deemed, for the purpose of pre22 serving the allowances, privileges, rights, 

23 seniorities, and other benefits of the em24 ployee, an employee of the agency from 

25 which detailed; and 


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1 (ii) is entitled to pay, allowances, and 

2 benefits from funds available to the agency 

3 described in clause (i). 

4 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT5 TENT SERVICES.—The Task Force may procure tem6 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of 

7 title 5, United States Code, at rates for individuals that 

8 do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of 

9 basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule 

10 under section 5316 of that title. 

11 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF TASK FORCE. 

12 The Task Force shall terminate 90 days after the 

13 date on which the Task Force submits the final report 

14 required under section 4(b)(1)(C). 

15 SEC. 8. AGENCY WORKING GROUPS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 

18 shall establish an agency-specific working group, com19 prised of representatives of human capital, health and 

20 safety, and labor organizations of the agency, to develop 

21 and execute rapid response to future crises that include— 

22 (1) the role of labor organization participation; 

23 (2) preparedness acquisition and distribution of 

24 personal protective equipment; 

25 (3) physical needs of the workforce; 


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1 (4) a plan for maximum telework, if appro2 priate; 

3 (5) leave and safety protocol guidance; and 

4 (6) other information needed to execute rapid 

5 response plans to address future crises. 

6 (b) COMPENSATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

8 law, rule, regulation, or Executive order, each rep9 resentative of a labor organization shall be author10 ized official time sufficient to investigate, partici11 pate, and be actively involved in the working group 

12 for the pendency of the working group. 

13 (2) INFRASTRUCTURE.—During the pendency 

14 of the working group, and notwithstanding any other 

15 law, rule, regulation, agreement, or Executive order, 

16 the head of each agency shall, with respect to any 

17 labor organization that is the exclusive representa18 tive of a bargaining unit of not fewer than 500 em19 ployees— 

20 (A) provide such labor organization with a 

21 reasonable amount of office space, at no cost to 

22 the labor organization, in all facilities leased, 

23 controlled, operated, or owned by the agency; 

24 (B) allow 1 employee of the agency, to be 

25 designated by the labor organization, to serve 


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1 full-time as the representative of the labor orga2 nization to the Task Force, with such service 

3 being authorized as official time; 

4 (C) provide at least reasonable access to 

5 email systems of that agency for the purpose of 

6 communicating with members of the unit with 

7 respect to which the labor organization is the 

8 exclusive representative; and 

9 (D) provide the home address and tele10 phone number for each member of the unit rep11 resented by the labor organization. 

Æ 


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