S. 21: REMOTE Act

Requiring Effective Management and Oversight of Teleworking Employees Act or the REMOTE Act

This bill directs executive agencies to track employees' computer network activity, compare the activity of teleworking and on-site employees, and report on any deficiencies in the performance of teleworking employees.

First, the bill requires each agency to establish policies to track for every employee (1) the average number of daily logins, (2) the average daily duration of the network connection, and (3) the network traffic generated while the employee works. This information must be collected from employees working primarily on-site within 180 days after the bill's enactment and from teleworking employees within one year after the bill's enactment. The bill also directs each agency to publish this data in the agency’s fiscal year budget justification materials, including a comparison of the average login rates of on-site and teleworking employees.

Next, the bill directs any manager who revokes a teleworking employee's authorization to telework (due to a reason specific to that employee) to document for the employee and the agency's Human Capital Office (1) the total number of days that the employee teleworked in the six work periods immediately preceding the revocation, (2) a narrative summary of the circumstances giving rise to the revocation, and (3) any steps the manager took to discipline the employee before revoking the employee's telework authorization. 

Finally, agencies must report to the Chief Human Capital Officers Council about any adverse effects of telework policies on the performance of the executive agency.