§351. Employee engagement

(a) Steering committee

Not later than 120 days after December 27, 2021, the Secretary shall establish an employee engagement steering committee, including representatives from operational components, headquarters, and field personnel, including supervisory and nonsupervisory personnel, and employee labor organizations that represent Department employees, and chaired by the Under Secretary for Management, to carry out the following activities:

(1) Identify factors that have a negative impact on employee engagement, morale, and communications within the Department, such as perceptions about limitations on career progression, mobility, or development opportunities, collected through employee feedback platforms, including through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate.

(2) Identify, develop, and distribute initiatives and best practices to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within the Department, including through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate.

(3) Monitor efforts of each component to address employee engagement, morale, and communications based on employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate.

(4) Advise the Secretary on efforts to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within specific components and across the Department.

(5) Conduct regular meetings and report, not less than once per quarter, to the Under Secretary for Management, the head of each component, and the Secretary on Departmentwide efforts to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications.

(b) Action plan; reporting

The Secretary, acting through the Chief Human Capital Officer, shall-

(1) not later than 120 days after the date of the establishment of the employee engagement steering committee under subsection (a), issue a Departmentwide employee engagement action plan, reflecting input from the steering committee and employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications in accordance with paragraph (1) of such subsection, to execute strategies to improve employee engagement, morale, and communications within the Department; and

(2) require the head of each component to-

(A) develop and implement a component-specific employee engagement plan to advance the action plan required under paragraph (1) that includes performance measures and objectives, is informed by employee feedback provided through annual employee surveys, questionnaires, and other communications, as appropriate, and sets forth how employees and, where applicable, their labor representatives are to be integrated in developing programs and initiatives;

(B) monitor progress on implementation of such action plan; and

(C) provide to the Chief Human Capital Officer and the steering committee quarterly reports on actions planned and progress made under this paragraph.

(c) Termination

This section shall terminate on the date that is five years after December 27, 2021.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title VII, §711, as added Pub. L. 117–81, div. F, title LXIV, §6401(a), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2397 .)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Submissions to Congress

Pub. L. 117–81, div. F, title LXIV, §6401(c), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2398 , provided that:

"(1) Department-wide employee engagement action plan.-The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the Department-wide employee engagement action plan required under subsection (b)(1) of section 711 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [this section] (as added by subsection (a) of this section) not later than 30 days after the issuance of such plan under such subsection (b)(1).

"(2) Component-specific employee engagement plans.-Each head of a component of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate the component-specific employee engagement plan of each such component required under subsection (b)(2) of section 711 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [this section] not later than 30 days after the issuance of each such plan under such subsection (b)(2)."