Telework Enhancement Act of 2010

Bill: 111-hr-1722
Sponsor: Rep. Sarbanes, John P. [D-MD-3]
Introduced: 2009-03-25 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Commuting
Congressional oversight
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-25
text: 
Telework Improvements Act of 2009 - Requires each executive agency to establish a policy under which employees may be authorized to telework to the maximum extent possible without diminishing employee performance or agency operations. Specifies circumstances under which teleworking will not be required. Provides that an agency shall not be considered to be in compliance with telework requirements unless employees authorized are permitted to telework for at least 20% of the hours worked in every 2 administrative workweeks.
 
Requires agencies to: (1) provide training to teleworkers; and (2) ensure that no distinction is made between teleworkers and nonteleworkers for performance appraisal, training, and other specified purposes. 
 
Requires OPM to: (1) prescribe telework regulations; (2) provide teleworking assistance and guidance to agencies; (3) maintain a central, publicly available telework website, including regulations regarding telework and a confidential hotline and e-mail address to report abuse; and (4) provide a summary of any such reports to the Comptroller General.
 
Requires each agency to designate a Telework Managing Officer who shall: (1) serve as a resource on teleworking for its supervisors, managers, and employees; and (2) ensure that employees are notified of grievance procedures for telework disputes.
 
Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) establish a system for evaluating each agency's telework policy and employee participation; and (2) report annually to specified congressional committees on agency telework policies, participation, and practices.
 
Sets forth provisions concerning incorporating teleworking into agency continuity of operations planning.

action_date: 2010-07-14
text: 
Telework Improvements Act of 2010 - (Sec. 2) Requires each executive agency to establish a policy under which its employees shall be authorized to telework, excluding employees whose duties require daily direct handling of classified information or on-site activity or who, temporarily, are needed to respond to an emergency. Requires each agency head to ensure that: (1) the policy conforms to regulations promulgated by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and authorizes employees to telework to the maximum extent possible without diminishing agency operations and performance; and (2) information on whether a position is eligible for telework is included in descriptions of available positions and recruiting materials. 
 
Prohibits an employee from teleworking if the employee: (1) has a seriously delinquent tax debt; (2) has been officially disciplined for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography on a federal government computer or while performing official federal government duties; (3) received but was ineligible for a payment under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981; or (4) has been officially disciplined for being absent without permission for more than five days in any calendar year. 
 
Prohibits an agency from permitting employees to telework unless the agency head certifies that implementation of the telework policy will result in savings to the agency.
 
Requires agency heads to ensure that: (1) appropriate training is provided to supervisors, managers, and all employees who are authorized to telework; (2) the training covers information security guidelines issued by the OPM Director; (3) no distinction is made between teleworkers and nonteleworkers for purposes of performance appraisal, training, rewarding, reassigning, promoting, reducing in grade, retaining, or removing employees, work requirements, or other acts involving managerial discretion; (4) the agency shall consult OPM performance management guidelines in determining what constitutes diminished performance; and (5) telework is incorporated in continuity of operations plans and used in response to emergencies by specified departments and agencies.
 
Requires OPM to: (1) prescribe telework regulations; (2) provide teleworking advice and assistance to agencies; and (3) maintain a central, publicly available telework website that includes regulations relating to telework, an e-mail address which may be used to submit comments to the OPM Director, and a copy of reports issued by OPM evaluating telework in agencies.
 
Requires the Director of OMB, in coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to issue guidelines to ensure the adequacy of information and security protections for information and information systems used while teleworking.
 
Requires each agency to designate a Telework Managing Officer who shall be a senior official of the agency with direct access to the agency head and who shall: (1) provide advice on teleworking to the head and Chief Human Capital Officer of such agency; (2) serve as a resource on teleworking for agency supervisors, managers, and employees; (3) serve as the primary point of contact on telework matters for agency employees and for Congress and other agencies; (4) work with senior management of the agency to develop and implement a plan to incorporate telework into the agency's regular business strategies and its continuity of operations strategies; (5) ensure that the agency's telework policy is communicated effectively to employees; (6) ensure that electronic or written notification is provided to each employee of specific telework programs and the agency's telework policy; (7) develop and administer a tracking system for compliance with government-wide telework reporting requirements; (8) provide to the OPM Director and the Comptroller General such information as they may require to prepare reports evaluating the program; (9) establish a system for receiving feedback from agency employees on telework policy; (10) develop and implement a program to identify and remove barriers to telework and maximize telework opportunities in the agency; (11) track and retain information on all denials of permission to telework and report such information annually to the Chief Human Capital Officer or head of such agency and the OPM Director; and (12) ensure that employees are notified of grievance procedures.
 
 
 Requires: (1) the OPM Director to annually submit to the Comptroller General and specified congressional committees a report evaluating the extent to which each agency is in compliance with this Act; and (2) the Comptroller General to review the OPM reports and report to such committees.
 
(Sec. 3) Requires the OMB Director to issue policy guidance requiring each executive agency, when purchasing computer systems, to purchase systems that enable and support telework unless the agency head determines that there is a mission-specific reason not to do so.
 
(Sec. 4) Authorizes an agency, under a test program approved by the Administrator of General Services, to pay necessary travel expenses for employees participating in a telework program in lieu of otherwise authorized travel or transportation expenses. Requires: (1) an agency to include in any request for approval of such a test program an analysis of the expected costs and benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating program effectiveness; and (2) any such test program to be designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies for the government. Prohibits more than 10 test programs from being conducted simultaneously. Terminates the authority to conduct test programs seven years after enactment of this Act.
 
(Sec. 5) Requires the OPM Director to: (1) conduct studies on the utilization of telework by public and private sector entities that identify best practices and recommendations for the federal government; (2) review the outcomes associated with an increase in telework, including the effects of telework on energy consumption, the environment, job creation and availability, urban transportation patterns, and the ability to anticipate the dispersal of work during periods of emergency; and (3) make any studies or reviews performed herein available to the public. Authorizes the Director to carry out this paragraph pursuant to a contract entered into by the Director using competitive procedures.

action_date: 2010-09-30
text: 
Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 - (Sec. 2) Requires the head of each executive agency to: (1) establish a policy under which eligible agency employees may be authorized to telework; (2) determine employee eligibility to participate in telework; and (3) notify all employees of their eligibility to telework.
 
Requires the telework policy to: (1) ensure that telework does not diminish employee performance or agency operations; (2) require a written agreement between an agency manager and an employee that outlines the specific work arrangement agreed to; (3) provide that an employee may not be authorized to telework if that employee's performance does not comply with the terms of the agreement; (4) not apply to any agency employee whose official duties require, on a daily basis, direct handling of secure materials determined to be inappropriate for telework or on-site activity that cannot be handled remotely or at an alternate worksite; and (5) be incorporated as part of the agency's continuity of operations plans.
 
Prohibits participation in telework by an employee who has been officially disciplined for being absent without permission for more than five days in any calendar year or for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography on a government computer or while performing official government duties.
 
Directs each agency head to ensure that: (1) an interactive telework training program is provided to eligible employees and their managers; (2) an employee has successfully completed that program before entering into a written telework agreement; (3) teleworkers and nonteleworkers are treated the same for purposes of performance appraisals, training, rewarding, reassigning, promotions, reducing in grade, retaining, and removing employees, work requirements, or other acts involving managerial discretion; and (4) the agency shall consult the performance management guidelines of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) when determining what constitutes diminished employee performance.
 
Requires each agency, in developing telework policies, to consult with OPM, which shall: (1) provide policy guidance; (2) assist each agency in establishing appropriate qualitative and quantitative measures and teleworking goals; and (3) consult with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on telework policy in areas including continuation of operations, telework centers, technology, equipment, dependent care, and records management.
 
 Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to issue guidelines to ensure the adequacy of information and security protections for information and information systems used while teleworking. 
 
Requires each agency to incorporate telework into its continuity of operations plan.
 
Directs: (1) OPM to maintain a central telework website that includes telework links, announcements, and guidance developed by OPM or submitted by FEMA and GSA; and (2) the Director of OMB to issue policy guidance requiring each agency, when purchasing computer systems, to purchase systems that enable and support telework, unless the agency head determines that there is a mission-specific reason not to do so.
 
Directs each agency to designate a Telework Managing Officer, who shall: (1) be devoted to policy development and implementation related to agency telework programs; (2) serve as an advisor for agency leadership, a resource for managers and employees, and a primary agency point of contact for OPM on telework matters; and (3) be a senior agency official who has direct access to the agency head.
 
Requires: (1) the Director of OPM to submit annual reports on the telework programs of each agency (excluding the General Accountability Office [GAO]) to specified congressional committees, the Comptroller General, and OMB; (2) the Comptroller General to submit annual reports a on GAO's telework program to such committees; and (3) the Chief Human Capital Officer of each agency to report annually to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council on agency management efforts to promote telework.
 
(Sec. 3) Authorizes an agency, under a test program approved by the Administrator of General Services, to pay necessary travel expenses for employees participating in a telework program in lieu of otherwise authorized travel or transportation expenses. Requires: (1) an agency to include in any request for approval of such a test program an analysis of the expected costs and benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating program effectiveness; and (2) any such test program to be designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies for the government. Prohibits more than 10 test programs from being conducted simultaneously.
 
Requires the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to conduct such a test program, under which it may pay travel expenses of an employee for travel to and from a PTO worksite or provide an employee with the option to waive such payment if PTO approves the requested arrangement for reasons of employee convenience instead of an agency need.
 
Terminates the authority to conduct such test programs seven years after enactment of this Act.
 
(Sec. 4) Requires the Director of OPM to: (1) research the utilization of telework by public and private sector entities that identify best practices and recommendations for the federal government; (2) review the outcomes associated with an increase in telework, including the effects of telework on energy consumption, job creation and availability, urban transportation patterns, and the ability to anticipate the dispersal of work during periods of emergency; and (3) make findings available to the public.

action_date: 2010-12-09
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on September 30, 2010. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 - (Sec. 2) Requires the head of each executive agency to: (1) establish a policy under which eligible agency employees may be authorized to telework; (2) determine employee eligibility to participate in telework; and (3) notify all employees of their eligibility to telework.

Requires the telework policy to: (1) ensure that telework does not diminish employee performance or agency operations; (2) require a written agreement between an agency manager and an employee that outlines the specific work arrangement agreed to; (3) provide that an employee may not be authorized to telework if that employee's performance does not comply with the terms of the agreement; (4) not apply to any agency employee whose official duties require, on a daily basis, direct handling of secure materials determined to be inappropriate for telework or on-site activity that cannot be handled remotely or at an alternate worksite; and (5) be incorporated as part of the agency's continuity of operations plans.

Prohibits participation in telework by an employee who has been officially disciplined for being absent without permission for more than five days in any calendar year or for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography on a government computer or while performing official government duties.

Directs each agency head to ensure that: (1) an interactive telework training program is provided to eligible employees and their managers; (2) an employee has successfully completed that program before entering into a written telework agreement; (3) teleworkers and nonteleworkers are treated the same for purposes of performance appraisals, training, rewarding, reassigning, promotions, reducing in grade, retaining, and removing employees, work requirements, or other acts involving managerial discretion; and (4) the agency shall consult the performance management guidelines of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) when determining what constitutes diminished employee performance.

Requires each agency, in developing telework policies, to consult with OPM, which shall: (1) provide policy guidance; (2) assist each agency in establishing appropriate qualitative and quantitative measures and teleworking goals; and (3) consult with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on telework policy in areas including continuation of operations, telework centers, technology, equipment, dependent care, and records management.

 Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to issue guidelines to ensure the adequacy of information and security protections for information and information systems used while teleworking. 

Requires each agency to incorporate telework into its continuity of operations plan.

Directs: (1) OPM to maintain a central telework website that includes telework links, announcements, and guidance developed by OPM or submitted by FEMA and GSA; and (2) the Director of OMB to issue policy guidance requiring each agency, when purchasing computer systems, to purchase systems that enable and support telework, unless the agency head determines that there is a mission-specific reason not to do so.

Directs each agency to designate a Telework Managing Officer, who shall: (1) be devoted to policy development and implementation related to agency telework programs; (2) serve as an advisor for agency leadership, a resource for managers and employees, and a primary agency point of contact for OPM on telework matters; and (3) be a senior agency official who has direct access to the agency head.

Requires: (1) the Director of OPM to submit annual reports on the telework programs of each agency (excluding the General Accountability Office [GAO]) to specified congressional committees, the Comptroller General, and OMB; (2) the Comptroller General to submit annual reports a on GAO's telework program to such committees; and (3) the Chief Human Capital Officer of each agency to report annually to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council on agency management efforts to promote telework.

(Sec. 3) Authorizes an agency, under a test program approved by the Administrator of General Services, to pay necessary travel expenses for employees participating in a telework program in lieu of otherwise authorized travel or transportation expenses. Requires: (1) an agency to include in any request for approval of such a test program an analysis of the expected costs and benefits and a set of criteria for evaluating program effectiveness; and (2) any such test program to be designed to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies for the government. Prohibits more than 10 test programs from being conducted simultaneously.

Requires the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to conduct such a test program, under which it may pay travel expenses of an employee for travel to and from a PTO worksite or provide an employee with the option to waive such payment if PTO approves the requested arrangement for reasons of employee convenience instead of an agency need.

Terminates the authority to conduct such test programs seven years after enactment of this Act.

(Sec. 4) Requires the Director of OPM to: (1) research the utilization of telework by public and private sector entities that identify best practices and recommendations for the federal government; (2) review the outcomes associated with an increase in telework, including the effects of telework on energy consumption, job creation and availability, urban transportation patterns, and the ability to anticipate the dispersal of work during periods of emergency; and (3) make findings available to the public.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-12-09
text: Became Public Law No: 111-292.
action_date: 2010-12-09
text: Became Public Law No: 111-292.
action_date: 2010-12-09
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2010-12-09
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2010-11-29
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2010-11-29
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: Cleared for White House.
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 254 - 152 (Roll no. 578). (consideration: CR H7563-7568, H7575; text as House agreed to Senate amendment: CR H7560-7563)
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 254 - 152 (Roll no. 578).(consideration: CR H7563-7568, H7575; text as House agreed to Senate amendment: CR H7560-7563)
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. (consideration: CR H7575)
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - Pursuant to H.Res. 1721, further proceedings on the motion to agree to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1722 has been postponed.
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1721, the House proceeded with one hour of debate on the Lynch motion to agree to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1722.
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: Mr. Lynch moved that the House agree to the Senate amendment (consideration: CR H7560-7569, H7575)
action_date: 2010-11-18
text: Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1721, Mr. Lynch took from the Speaker's table H.R. 1722 with the Senate amendment thereto, and was recognized for a motion.
action_date: 2010-09-30
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S7770)
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2010-07-15
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 290 - 131 (Roll no. 441).
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 290 - 131 (Roll no. 441).
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: On motion to recommit with instructions Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 303 - 119 (Roll no. 440).
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection. (consideration: CR H5588)
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Floor summary: DEBATE - The House proceeded with ten minutes of debate on the motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to report the same back to the House with an amendment to add certain limitations to certain employees authorized to telework.
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Mr. Issa moved to recommit with instructions to Oversight and Government. (consideration: CR H5586-5589; text: CR H5586-5587)
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. (consideration: CR H5586)
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 1722.
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1722 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform now printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules, shall be considered as adopted. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI.
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1509. (consideration: CR H5577-5590; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H5577-5579)
action_date: 2010-07-14
text: Rule H. Res. 1509 passed House.
action_date: 2010-07-13
text: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 1509 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1722 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform now printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules, shall be considered as adopted. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI.
action_date: 2010-05-06
text: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 268 - 147 (Roll no. 251).
action_date: 2010-05-06
text: Failed of passage/not agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 268 - 147 (Roll no. 251).
action_date: 2010-05-06
text: Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3216)
action_date: 2010-05-05
text: At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
action_date: 2010-05-05
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1722.
action_date: 2010-05-05
text: Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3158-3163; text of measure as introduced: CR H3158-3160)
action_date: 2010-05-05
text: Mr. Lynch moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
action_date: 2010-05-04
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 269.
action_date: 2010-05-04
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Oversight and Government. H. Rept. 111-474.
action_date: 2010-05-04
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Oversight and Government. H. Rept. 111-474.
action_date: 2010-04-14
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2010-04-14
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
action_date: 2010-03-24
text: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2009-05-04
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia.
action_date: 2009-03-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
action_date: 2009-03-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E764-765)
action_date: 2009-03-25
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-03-25
text: Introduced in House

Enacted as: number: 111-292