S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1248

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  LANCMAN,  BRODSKY, JAFFEE, COLTON, FIELDS --
  Multi-Sponsored by -- M.   of A. DINOWITZ, WALKER  --  read  once  and
  referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  administrative code of the city of New York, in
  relation to teleworking programs

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "telework-
ing expansion act".
  S 2. Legislative findings.  The legislature hereby finds and  declares
that  the  health  and  safety of the population living in an 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

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD01060-01-9

A. 1248                             2

employees  driving  to work.   Likewise, a telecommuting program for New
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 accomplish the state's concern that the health,  safe-
ty,  economic  vitality  and  mass  transit  operations of the downstate
region by preserved and protected.
  S 3. The administrative code of the city of New  York  is  amended  by
adding a new section 12-140 to read as follows:
  S 12-140 TELEWORKING PROGRAMS. A. 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 DIMIN-
ISHED EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE. EACH  AGENCY  SHALL  DESIGNATE  A  "TELEWORK
COORDINATOR"  TO  BE  RESPONSIBLE  FOR  OVERSEEING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
TELEWORKING PROGRAMS.
  B. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "TELEWORK" SHALL MEAN TO
PERFORM NORMAL AND REGULAR WORK FUNCTIONS ON A WORKDAY  THAT  ORDINARILY
WOULD  BE  PERFORMED  AT  THE AGENCY'S PRINCIPAL LOCATION AT A DIFFERENT
LOCATION, THEREBY ELIMINATING OR  SUBSTANTIALLY  REDUCING  THE  PHYSICAL
COMMUTE TO AND FROM SUCH AGENCY'S PRINCIPAL LOCATION.
  S  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.