S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   5650
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- 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 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
 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.
              

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 S. 5650                             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 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 12-140 to read as follows:
   § 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.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.