Senator Joni Ernst introduces S. 21: Requiring Effective Management and Oversight of Teleworking Employees Act

We have received text from S. 21: Requiring Effective Management and Oversight of Teleworking Employees Act. This bill was received on 2025-01-07, and currently has 1 cosponsor.

Here is a short summary of the bill:

This bill, titled the Requiring Effective Management and Oversight of Teleworking Employees Act or the REMOTE Act, aims to enhance the management and oversight of teleworking employees among federal executive departments. Here is a breakdown of the key provisions of the bill:

Definitions

The bill establishes definitions for several terms important to its requirements, including:

• Agency office: Any office space owned or leased by an Executive department where employees or contract employees perform their duties.
• Teleworking employee: An employee or contract employee that works on behalf of an Executive department under a telework agreement.
• Login: The act of connecting to a computer network related to the Executive department.
• Network traffic: The flow of data across and within a computer network.

Data Collection and Reporting

Under the bill, the head of each Executive department is required to:

• Establish policies to record the login activity and network traffic of teleworking employees.
• Review the network traffic generated by teleworking employees periodically.
• Collect and retain specific data about each teleworking employee's login activity, including:
• Average number of logins per day
• Average daily duration of connection to the computer network
• Network traffic generated while working remotely
• Keep this collected data for a minimum of three years.

Employee Identification and Tracking

Beginning 180 days after the enactment of this Act, each Executive department must:

• Require employees and contract employees to use Personal Identity Verification Cards or Common Access Cards to log in.
• Collect similar data regarding login activity and network traffic for those working from the headquarters building as for teleworking employees.

Annual Reporting Requirements

Each Executive department will be required to prepare and publish a report annually, comparing:

• Average login rates of teleworking employees against total approved teleworking employees.
• Average login rates of teleworking employees working remotely to those working from the headquarters office.

This reporting must comply with privacy standards to protect personally identifiable information.

Chief Human Capital Officer Reports

The bill requires that the Chief Human Capital Officer of each executive agency submit an annual report focusing on:

• Efforts to efficiently use telework.
• Adverse effects of telework policies on agency performance.

Additionally, if a manager revokes an employee's telework privileges, they must provide written information regarding the circumstances that led to the revocation, including:

• Employee details such as name, title, and worksite.
• A summary of the teleworking days leading up to the revocation.
• An explanation of the reasons for the revocation.
• Any prior discipline steps taken against the employee.

Implementation Timeline

The bill sets specific timelines for the implementation of various requirements, with different provisions requiring action within periods ranging from 60 days to three years post-enactment.

Relevant Companies

None found

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