S. 298 — Returning SBA to Main Street Act

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including "headquarters employee of the Administration" (i.e., an employee whose permanent duty station is at headquarters or who teleworks full-time at the Washington metropolitan area rate of pay); "headquarters of the Administration" (i.e., the principal managerial and administrative center of the Small Business Administration, per 15 U.S.C. 633(a)); "rural" (i.e., any area not designated urban based on the most recent Census Bureau data); "telework on a full-time basis" (i.e., teleworking 100 percent of work days per pay period); and "Washington metropolitan area rate of pay" (i.e., the rate for the "Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA" pay locality).

This section requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator, not later than one year after enactment, to change the permanent duty station of at least 30% of headquarters employees (as of enactment) to regional offices outside the Washington metropolitan area—promoting geographic diversity including rural areas and adequate regional staffing for in-person customer service—with those employees' pay recalculated based on the new locality pay rate and full-time telework prohibited. It exempts from relocation headquarters employees receiving full-time telework accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (who count toward the 30% threshold); requires notice to eligible employees before a report due to congressional small business committees within 180 days of enactment detailing employee numbers, eligibility determinations, planned relocations, exceptions, and an implementation plan; and mandates notifications to relocated employees 60-90 days after the report, with changes effective 90 days thereafter. Additionally, it terminates full-time telework authorization effective 180 days after the report for any non-exempt headquarters employees remaining in the Washington metropolitan area, and prohibits relocation incentives for any employee whose official worksite changes from residence to headquarters under this section.

This section requires the Administrator to reduce the headquarters office space of the Administration by at least 30 percent, beginning no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act and completing the reduction no later than two years after such date.

This section requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator, in budget justification materials submitted to Congress beginning with the first submission after enactment and for each fiscal year thereafter, to include (1) the number of headquarters employees; (2) the number of employees assigned to a permanent duty station in an SBA field, district, or regional office; (3) the number of full-time teleworking employees; and (4) the number of employees receiving a full-time telework accommodation as a qualified individual under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances remains unaffected.