as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/19/2010 03:59pm
A bill for an act
relating to state government; establishing statewide telework requirements;
appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 43A.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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For purposes of this section, "telework" means work
activity in which an employee, whether regularly or occasionally, performs the duties
and responsibilities of the employee's position from home or a worksite other than the
employee's regular physical place of employment.
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(a) An appointing authority in the
executive branch, legislative branch, or judicial branch shall allow employees to perform
telework during at least 20 percent of the employee's normal expected hours of work
in each pay period.
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(b) The telework requirement under this section does not apply to a position:
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(1) which by its nature requires the employee's physical presence at the employee's
regular place of employment or at a particular location;
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(2) for which telework would diminish employee performance or adversely impact
the operations of the agency; and
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(3) for which telework would manifestly not be practicable.
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(c) For an employee whose position includes both (1) duties and responsibilities as
identified under paragraph (b), and (2) duties and responsibilities not identified under
paragraph (b), the normal expected hours of work under paragraph (a) must be calculated
solely based on the total expected hours of work necessary to perform the duties and
responsibilities not identified under paragraph (b).
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(d) Nothing in this section establishes a requirement that an agency equip or
otherwise provide infrastructure to enable an employee to perform telework, including, but
not limited to, information technology procurement or reimbursement for Internet access.
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An appointing authority may establish a telework
policy, which may include specification of positions, duties, and responsibilities to which
telework does not apply under subdivision 2, paragraph (b).
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This section is effective July 1, 2010.
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(a) $200,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2010 from the trunk highway fund to the
commissioner of transportation for a grant to the Board of Regents of the University of
Minnesota for the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs to produce a report on
highway congestion reduction through telework activities. This is a onetime appropriation
and is available in fiscal years 2010 through 2012.
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(b) The commissioner shall submit the report to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over transportation policy and
finance. The commissioner shall submit a preliminary draft by January 15, 2012, and
a final report by June 30, 2012.
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(c) At a minimum, the report must:
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(1) document reductions in the number of commuting trips and vehicle miles
traveled, and other transportation impacts, resulting from telework activity of all state
employees;
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(2) identify barriers to increasing the number of employees who telework; and
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(3) estimate the benefits accruing from increased telework activities, including, but
not limited to, reductions in highway congestion.
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This section is effective the day following final enactment.
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