Bill Text: NY S06476 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Directs state agencies to submit reports detailing their telework policies; permits input from employees anonymously; directs the department of civil service to compile reports and submit a single report to the legislature.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-03-11 - referred to labor [S06476 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S06476-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6476--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 21, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Internet and Technology --
          reported favorably from said committee, ordered to  first  and  second
          report,  ordered  to  a  third reading, amended and ordered reprinted,
          retaining its place in the order of third reading  --  recommitted  to
          the  Committee  on  Internet  and Technology in accordance with Senate
          Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT directing a state agency telework report

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "State agency telework report act".
     3    §  2.  Legislative intent. The legislature takes notice of the growing
     4  practice of the use of telework as a future form of work away  from  the
     5  principal place of employment. Telecommuting is being used more and more
     6  by  businesses as a way to save money for employers by reducing contrib-
     7  utions to workers' compensation premiums, allowing more  freedom  for  a
     8  balance  between  work  and  family  life  for  employees,  reducing air
     9  pollution and traffic congestion, reducing absenteeism, and  accommodat-
    10  ing those who are disabled.
    11    Teleworking  warrants  further  research to enable the state to move a
    12  step closer to using it as a way to save taxpayer's  money,  while  also
    13  benefiting the state and its employees.
    14    §  3. Definitions. As used in this act, the following terms shall have
    15  the following meanings:
    16    (a) "State  agency" means any state department, board,  bureau,  divi-
    17  sion,  commission,  committee,  public  authority, public benefit corpo-
    18  ration, council, office, or other  governmental  entity   performing   a
    19  governmental or proprietary function for the state.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07723-04-4
        S. 6476--B                          2

     1    (b) "Telework" means to perform normal and regular work functions on a
     2  workday  that  ordinarily would be performed at the state agency's offi-
     3  cial principal location or locations, at a different location.
     4    § 4. State agency telework report.  (a) Each state agency shall submit
     5  a  report to the department of civil service by July 1, 2025 which shall
     6  contain the following:
     7    (i) Number of employees that teleworked in 2024;
     8    (ii) Job titles that teleworked in 2024;
     9    (iii) Number of days teleworked by anonymized employee in 2024;
    10    (iv) Number of days teleworked by job title in 2024;
    11    (v) Any benefits of telework remarked by the agency;
    12    (vi) Any disadvantages of telework remarked by the agency; and
    13    (vii) A copy of the agency's official telework policy, if any, includ-
    14  ing how employees and job titles are chosen for telework.
    15    In addition, each state agency shall allow  employees  to  anonymously
    16  submit  their  opinions  of  the  agency's telecommuting policy, or lack
    17  thereof, which the agencies shall include in the telework  state  agency
    18  report  due to the department of civil service and which shall be summa-
    19  rized in the finalized  report  compiled  by  the  department  of  civil
    20  service pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section.
    21    (b)  On  or  before  September 1, 2025 the department of civil service
    22  shall provide a report compiling all the  agency  telework  reports  and
    23  submit  such  compiled  report  to  the  speaker of the assembly and the
    24  temporary president of the senate.
    25    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.