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

                                  2995

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              March 9, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KRUGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities

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
employees driving to work.  Likewise, a telecommuting  program  for  New
York  city  employees would also allow employees who use mass transit to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01060-01-9
              

S. 2995                             2

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.