Bill · S. 21· Senate(119-S-21)
REMOTE Act
- Introduced
- 1/7/2025
- Last activity
- 1/7/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Sponsored by
- Joni Ernst
- Cosponsors
- - 2 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "Requiring Effective Management and Oversight of Teleworking Employees Act" requires Executive departments to establish specific policies for monitoring teleworking employees. Departments must implement systems to record login activity and network traffic for those working remotely, as well as for those working at headquarters. This data must be retained for at least three years and included in annual budget justification materials. Additionally, the bill requires agencies to report on how telework affects agency performance and disciplinary actions. Finally, it mandates that managers provide specific written documentation if they revoke an employee's telework privileges.
Yes
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+2
The bill requires agencies to publish data comparing remote versus in-office login rates in budget justification materials.
Does this make the government pay for what it commits to?+1
The bill requires reporting of telework utilization data in budget justification materials to help justify agency budgets.
The opposite· 3 of 4
Does this give the government more power to monitor people inside the country?-5
The bill mandates the recording and retention of digital login activity and network traffic for all federal employees, including remote workers.
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?-4
The bill requires detailed monitoring of employee network traffic and login frequency, which reduces digital privacy for federal workers.
Would union members be better off under this?-3
The bill increases employer oversight and monitoring of remote employees' digital activities.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Transparency in Agency Performance: By requiring the publication of login and network traffic data in budget justification materials, the bill provides a comparison between remote employees and those working from headquarters (Section 2(d)).
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Accountability for Revoking Telework Privileges: When a manager revokes an employee's telework privileges for reasons specific to that employee, they must provide a written explanation including a narrative summary and any disciplinary steps taken (Section 3).
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Detailed Information for Employees: Employees who have their telework privileges revoked will receive written information regarding the specific circumstances of that decision (Section 3).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Increased Monitoring of Employees: The bill requires departments to establish policies for recording the login activity and network traffic generated by every teleworking employee (Section 2(b)(1)(A)).
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Managerial Oversight Burdens: Managers of teleworking employees will be directed to periodically review the network traffic generated by those employees while they are working remotely (Section 2(b)(1)(B)).
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Detailed Documentation Requirements for Managers: Managers who revoke telework privileges must provide extensive written details, including the employee's name, title, years of service, pay rate, and a specific history of their telework days (Section 3).
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Increased Data Retention: Executive departments are required to retain specific login and network traffic data for at least three years (Section 2(b)(2)(B) and Section 2(c)(4)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Increases Domestic Surveillance-5
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Union Workers-3Good For Low Income Households-1
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+2Improves Privacy Rights-4
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Fiscal Responsibility+1
- 1/28/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/13/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/7/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Introduced in Senate
Marsha BlackburnRepublican · Tennessee
James LankfordRepublican · Oklahoma