Sec. 1113. Flexibilities for Federal employees who are armed forces spouses
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/bill/118/hr/8070/eh/section-1113·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 30 calendar days after receiving a request from a covered individual, the head of the agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government employing such covered individual shall— to the extent practicable, authorize such covered individual to work remotely if the head determines that the duties of such covered individual can be completed remotely; reassign the covered individual to a position, for which the individual is qualified and of equal status and base pay, in the agency or instrumentality in the commuting area of the new permanent duty location of the spouse of such covered individual; authorize the covered individual to perform the duties of a different position of equal status and base pay in the agency or instrumentality for which the individual is qualified from an approved alternative worksite; or in the case of a covered individual who is not authorized or able to be reassigned under paragraphs (1), (2), or (3), upon the request of the covered individual, grant that individual leave without pay for up to six months.
The Director of the Office of Personnel Management may grant an agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government a waiver of subsection
(a)if the Director certifies that the agency or instrumentality has developed and will faithfully implement, immediately upon receipt of the waiver, a substantially similar procedure that— aims to increase the retention of covered individuals; provides covered individuals an evaluation, upon the request of any such individual, on whether retention can be achieved, at a minimum, through remote work or reassignment, or both; provides the covered individual, within 30 days of the request of such individual, a date certain by which the agency will make a determination unless the date extended by mutual agreement of the agency and individual; provides the application of subsection (a)(4) as an option the covered individual may choose; and implements reporting requirements in subsection (d). A position held by a covered individual who is granted leave without pay under this section shall not be considered encumbered and may be backfilled by a permanent employee. Not later than September 30 of the second full fiscal year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter for the following four years, the head of each agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government shall submit to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management— a list of each request received by such head under subsection
(a)during the immediately preceding fiscal year; and which action was taken by the head under such subsection with respect to such a request. Not later than the first April 15 following the date on which the head of an agency or instrumentality submits the first report under paragraph (1), and biennially thereafter for the following four years, the Director shall provide a report to Congress detailing the information received under paragraph (1), sorted by agency or instrumentality. An individual covered by subsection (a)(4) shall be covered by this subsection until the individual re-enters the Federal service. The duration of the relocation orders of the spouse of an individual covered by subsection (a)(4) shall not count against the three-year limit for reinstatement of non-career tenure individuals under section 315.401 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that the Director may, beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, approve waivers pursuant to section 2(b) if an agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government has in place on such date of enactment policies and procedures that would qualify for waiver under such section. In this section, the term covered individual means an individual— who is the spouse of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty (as defined in section 3330d of title 5, United States Code); who is an employee of an agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government; whose duties as such an employee do not include— developing, refining, or implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; leading working groups or advisory councils developing measurements of diversity, equity, and inclusion performance or outcomes; or creating or implementing education, training courses, or workshops on diversity, equity, and inclusion for military or civilian employees of the Federal Government; and who relocates with the spouse of such individual because such spouse, as such a member, receives a permanent change of station or similar requirement to relocate.