H.R. 5749: Official Time Reporting Act

This bill, known as the Official Time Reporting Act, proposes changes to the reporting requirements related to "official time" used by federal employees. Official time is defined as time that employees spend on tasks associated with their labor organizations while still on duty. Here are the main components of the bill:

Annual Reporting Requirements

The bill mandates that the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must submit an annual report to Congress regarding the activities associated with official time. This report would need to include:

• The total amount of official time granted to employees.
• The average official time used per employee in collective bargaining units and the total number of employees in those units.
• The average official time rate for each agency.
• Details about the specific types of activities for which official time was used and their effects on agency operations.
• Information about financial aspects, including costs to the Federal Government related to official time.
• A description of designated spaces where official activities occurred.

Agency Head Responsibilities

Agency heads are required to provide necessary data to the OPM by December 31 each year, which will help in compiling the report. If an agency's official time usage increases compared to the previous fiscal year, the agency head must provide an explanation for this increase.

Director of OPM Obligations

The Director of OPM must aggregate and analyze the data for all agencies in the report. Each report after the first must also provide year-over-year comparisons of the official time usage statistics.

Implementation Timeline

The provisions of this bill would come into effect on the first April 1 that is at least six months after the bill becomes law.

Guidance for Agencies

Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Director of OPM is tasked with issuing guidance to agencies on how to submit the required data, which may include standardized formats for reporting this information.

Definitions

The bill clarifies terms related to official time, including:

• Agency bargaining unit: A group of employees represented by a labor organization.
• Official time: Time spent by employees on activities for their labor organization while on duty.
• Official time rate: Total duty hours spent on official time, averaged by the number of employees in the bargaining unit.

Relevant Companies

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