The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  1435--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC, SIMON, FORREST, SEAWRIGHT, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
   EPSTEIN,  MAMDANI,  GALLAGHER,  COLTON, ZINERMAN, COOK, REYES, BURGOS,
   MITAYNES, JACKSON, CARROLL, HEVESI, DINOWITZ, ARDILA,  RAGA,  FALL  --
   read  once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Cities -- committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York,  in
   relation to enacting the "New York city teleworking expansion act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title.  This act shall be known and may be  cited  as
 the "New York city teleworking expansion act".
   §  2. Legislative findings.  The legislature hereby finds and declares
 that the health and safety of the population living in  and  around  the
 densely populated New York city metropolitan region is a matter of state
 concern, as is the economic vitality and the effectiveness of mass tran-
 sit in that region, all of which are threatened by the amount of traffic
 congestion  inside  of,  and  into,  New  York city, and the overcrowded
 buses, subways and railroads within the region.  Traffic  congestion  is
 particularly  harmful  to the mass transit bus systems run by the Metro-
 politan Transportation Authority,  creating  delays  and  hindering  the
 growth  of essential surface mass transportation systems, and the entire
 mass transit system  suffers  from  severe  overcrowding.  The  negative
 impact of traffic congestion in New York city on the health, economy and
 mass  transit systems of the downstate region, as well as the overcrowd-
 ing of the region's mass transit systems, were established  at  legisla-
 tive  hearings in the spring of 2007, as well as during the hearings and
 reports of the legislatively created New York  City  Traffic  Mitigation
 Commission.  During these hearings, it was established that a very large
 number of New York city employees drive to work both from points  within
 New  York  city  and  without,  that  New  York city lacks a working and
 adequate telecommuting program for its employees, and that an  effective
 telecommuting  program  would  significantly  reduce  the number of such
 employees driving to work.  Likewise, a telecommuting  program  for  New
 

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00503-03-3
 A. 1435--A                          2
 
 York  city  employees would also allow employees who use mass transit to
 work from home, thereby alleviating  the  current  overcrowding  in  the
 region's  mass  transit  systems.  Such a program as established by this
 legislation  would  address the state's concern that the health, safety,
 economic vitality and mass transit operations of the downstate region be
 preserved and protected.
   § 3. The administrative code of the city of New  York  is  amended  by
 adding a new section 12-141 to read as follows:
   §  12-141  TELEWORKING  PROGRAMS.  A.    AS  USED IN THIS SECTION, THE
 FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   1. "CITY AGENCY" SHALL MEAN A CITY, COUNTY, BOROUGH OR  OTHER  OFFICE,
 POSITION,  ADMINISTRATION,  DEPARTMENT, DIVISION, BUREAU, BOARD, COMMIS-
 SION, AUTHORITY, CORPORATION, PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION,  COMMITTEE  OR
 OTHER  AGENCY  OF GOVERNMENT, THE EXPENSES OF WHICH ARE PAID IN WHOLE OR
 IN PART FROM THE CITY TREASURY, AND SHALL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED  TO
 THE  COUNCIL,  THE  OFFICES  OF EACH ELECTED CITY OFFICIAL, THE BOARD OF
 EDUCATION, COMMUNITY BOARDS, THE HEALTH AND HOSPITALS  CORPORATION,  THE
 NEW YORK CITY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, THE OFFICES OF THE DISTRICT
 ATTORNEYS  OF  THE  COUNTIES OF BRONX, KINGS, NEW YORK, QUEENS AND RICH-
 MOND, AND OF THE SPECIAL NARCOTICS PROSECUTOR, THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING
 AUTHORITY, AND THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
   2. "TELEWORK" SHALL MEAN TO PERFORM NORMAL AND REGULAR WORK  FUNCTIONS
 ON  A WORKDAY THAT ORDINARILY WOULD BE PERFORMED AT THE AGENCY'S PRINCI-
 PAL LOCATION AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION, THEREBY  ELIMINATING  OR  SUBSTAN-
 TIALLY REDUCING THE PHYSICAL COMMUTE TO AND FROM SUCH AGENCY'S PRINCIPAL
 LOCATION.  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  THE  DIFFERENT  LOCATION SHALL NOT
 CONFLICT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF ANY APPLICABLE NEW YORK CITY RESIDENCY
 REQUIREMENTS.
   B. EACH AGENCY SHALL ESTABLISH A POLICY AND PROGRAM TO ALLOW EMPLOYEES
 TO PERFORM ALL OR A PORTION OF THEIR DUTIES THROUGH TELEWORKING  TO  THE
 MAXIMUM  EXTENT  POSSIBLE  WITHOUT DIMINISHED EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE. EACH
 AGENCY SHALL DESIGNATE A "TELEWORK COORDINATOR" TO  BE  RESPONSIBLE  FOR
 OVERSEEING  THE  IMPLEMENTATION  OF TELEWORKING PROGRAMS.   ALL EMPLOYEE
 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SHALL BE REDUCED TO WRITING WITH CLEAR METRICS FOR
 EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY SUCCESS AND FAILURE  VIA  TELEWORKING.    PERIODIC
 EVALUATIONS  SHALL  BE  INCLUDED  IN  THE  TELEWORK  POLICY AND PROGRAM.
 PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT  SUPER-
 SEDE  AN  EXISTING  TELEWORK  POLICY  AND  PROGRAM THAT IS THE RESULT OF
 AGREEMENT BETWEEN AN EMPLOYER AND A  RECOGNIZED  OR  CERTIFIED  EMPLOYEE
 ORGANIZATION,  UNLESS SUCH EXISTING TELEWORK POLICY AND PROGRAM PROVIDES
 LESS PROTECTION THAN PROVIDED FOR UNDER THIS  SECTION.  NOTHING  IN  THE
 SECTION  SHALL  BE  INTERPRETED  AS  DISCOURAGING  THE USE OF COLLECTIVE
 BARGAINING AS THE PRIMARY TOOL FOR  DEVELOPING  A  TELEWORK  POLICY  AND
 PROGRAM.
   C.  ELIGIBILITY  FOR  TELEWORKING  SHALL BE DETERMINED BY A REASONABLE
 ASSESSMENT OF THE TASKS REQUIRED BY EACH TITLE OR TITLE  CATEGORY,  WITH
 RECOGNIZED  OR CERTIFIED EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION INPUT, AND APPLIED FAIRLY
 ACROSS THE EMPLOYEES WITHIN SUCH TITLE OR CATEGORY.
   D. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL SUPERSEDE EXISTING  LAW,  REGULATION,
 OR  PERSONNEL POLICIES APPLICABLE TO EMPLOYEES WITH INJURIES, ILLNESSES,
 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS, OR DISABILITIES OR WITH THE  REASONABLE
 APPLICATION OF EMPLOYEE EARNED LEAVE TIME INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
 SICK, COMPENSATORY, PAID OR UNPAID FAMILY LEAVE, OR VACATION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.