Attachment 1 to OPM
Director's Memorandum
WASHINGTON, DC, AREA EMERGENCY DISMISSAL OR
CLOSURE PROCEDURES
Introduction
OPM's
Responsibilities Agency
Responsibilities Emergencies
Before the Workday Begins Emergencies
During Normal Work Hours
Introduction
The following guidelines apply to snow emergencies, severe icing conditions,
floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, air pollution, power failures, interruption of
public transportation, and other situations that prevent significant numbers of
employees in the Washington, DC, area from reporting for work on time, or which
require agencies to close all or part of their activities.
These procedures apply to all executive agencies (except the U.S. Postal
Service) inside the Washington Capital Beltway. Facilities outside the Beltway
may prefer to develop their own plans, since they are subject to different
emergency and traffic conditions than those inside the Beltway. In unusual
situations, however, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may issue
guidelines affecting facilities outside the Beltway, as well.
It is essential that Federal agencies in the metropolitan area comply
with this area-wide plan and the announced decisions on dismissal or closure.
Agencies should avoid independent action, because any change in the work hours
of Federal workers in the Washington, DC, area requires careful coordination
with municipal and regional officials to minimize disruption of the highway and
transit systems.
Agencies that find it necessary to
exclude certain offices or activities from this plan should notify OPM of such
exemptions and update such notices when necessary. Application of this guidance
must be consistent with the provisions of applicable collective bargaining
agreements or other controlling policies, authorities, and instructions.
OPM's Responsibilities
1. In the Washington, DC, area, the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) is the Federal Government's point of contact with
municipal governments and regional organizations, such as the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (METRO). OPM officials will consult with
appropriate municipal and regional officials before making a decision on
closure, dismissal, or special leave treatment, and will brief the Director of
OPM on highway, transit, and emergency conditions.
2.
The Director of OPM will then make a decision on whether to curtail Federal
operations. This decision is based on the need to keep Federal operations
functioning as normally as possible, and on concern for the safety of Federal
employees.
3. We will notify the Personnel Director of
each agency of any decision to close Federal agencies; any announced
"unscheduled leave" or "adjusted home departure" policy; or
any decision to dismiss Federal employees before the close of the normal workday
using the "adjusted work dismissal" policy. Information will be
available on our website at http://www.opm.gov (click on
the penguin). We request that all agencies making a different decision notify
our Office of Communications at (202) 606-1800, FAX (202) 606-2264, or email oc@news.gov.
Agency
Responsibilities
1. At least annually,
agencies should provide written procedures for emergency dismissal or closure to
employees working in the Washington, DC, area. The notice should tell employees
how they will be notified, and include the text of the media announcements to be
used and a detailed explanation of their meaning. The notice also should explain
that if an "unscheduled leave" policy is announced, employees may
request to use annual leave, leave without pay, and/or previously earned
compensatory time off.
2. At least annually, agencies
should identify "emergency" personnel and notify them in writing that
they are designated as "emergency employees." The term "emergency
employee" is used to designate those employees who must report for work in
emergency situations. The notice should include the requirement that emergency
employees report for, or remain at work in emergency situations, and an
explanation that dismissal or closure announcements do not apply to them unless
they are instructed otherwise. If an agency determines that a situation requires
nonemergency employees to report for, or remain at work during an emergency, the
agency should establish a procedure for notifying them individually.
3. Agencies are responsible for determining closure, dismissal,
and leave policies for employees on shift work and alternative work schedules
(i.e., flexible or compressed work schedules) and for informing employees of
these policies.
4. Occasionally in emergency
situations, individual employees may face special family situations (e.g., when
employees are expected to report for work on time, but the schools open late or
are closed). The Office of Personnel Management will not provide the media with
an announcement to cover these situations. Agencies should notify employees of
procedures to be followed when this occurs, and should be as flexible and
understanding as possible in approving leave in these situations.
Emergencies Before the Workday
Begins
The Office of Personnel Management
will provide one of the following five announcements to the media when an
emergency occurs before the workday begins:
Emergency
Announcement |
What Announcement
Means |
Additional
Guidance |
1. "The Federal Government is
OPEN; employees are expected to report for work on
time." |
Federal agencies will open on
time, and employees are expected to report for work as
scheduled. |
Agencies may grant a reasonable
amount of excused absence to employees who are unavoidably delayed in
arriving for work. Factors such as distance, availability of
transportation, and the success of other employees in similar situations
should be considered in determining the amount of excused absence to
grant. Employees are responsible for notifying their supervisors of their
situation. |
2. "Federal agencies are
operating under an UNSCHEDULED LEAVE policy; employees
may take leave without prior approval." |
Federal agencies will open on
time, but employees not designated as "emergency employees" may
take annual leave or leave without pay (LWOP) without the prior approval
of their supervisors. Employees designated as "emergency
employees" are expected to report for work on time. |
Employees should inform their
supervisors if they plan to take annual leave or LWOP. |
3. "Federal agencies are
operating under an ADJUSTED HOME DEPARTURE policy.
Employees are requested to leave home ## hours later than their normal
departure time." |
Federal agencies will open on
time, but nonemergency employees should adjust their normal home departure
time consistent with the announcement, and nonemergency employees who
arrive late will be excused without loss of pay or charge to leave.
Employees designated as "emergency employees" are expected to
report for work on time. |
Agencies may use the guidance in
OPM's "Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules, December 1996"
(section 12, "Flexible Work Schedules," paragraph 1) to
determine the "normal arrival and departure times" of employees
on flexible schedules. The handbook is available on OPM's website at
http://www.opm.gov/oca/aws. |
4. "Federal agencies are
operating under an ADJUSTED HOME DEPARTURE/
UNSCHEDULED LEAVE policy. Employees are requested to
leave home ## hours later than their normal departure time, and employees
may take leave without prior approval." |
Federal agencies will open on
time, but nonemergency employees should adjust their normal home departure
time consistent with the announcement, nonemergency employees who arrive
late will be excused without loss of pay or charge to leave, and employees
not designated as "emergency employees" may take annual leave or
LWOP without the prior approval of their supervisors. Emergency employees
are expected to report for work on time. |
Employees must inform their
supervisors if they plan to take annual leave or LWOP. |
5. "Federal agencies are
CLOSED." |
Employees not designated as
"emergency employees" are excused from duty without loss of pay
or charge to leave. Employees designated as "emergency
employees" are expected to report for work on time. |
Workdays on which a Federal
activity is closed are nonworkdays for leave purposes. Employees who are
on approved leave before the closure must be granted excused absence. This
does not apply to employees on LWOP, military leave, suspension, or in a
nonpay status. Employees on alternate work schedules (AWS) are not
entitled to another AWS day off "in lieu of" the workday on
which the agency is closed. |
Emergencies During Normal Work
Hours
When OPM authorizes an "adjusted
work dismissal," employees should be dismissed relative to their normal
departure times from work. For example, if a 3-hour early dismissal is announced
as a result of a snowstorm or hurricane, workers who normally leave their
offices at 5:00 p.m. would be authorized to leave at 2:00 p.m. Supervisors
should exempt individual employees from authorized dismissal times under this
policy only to avoid hardships (e.g., when younger children are released early
from school and no alternative forms of child care are available to the
employee). When a supervisor exempts an individual employee from authorized
dismissal times, the agency should not charge leave.
How is leave handled when an "adjusted work dismissal" is
authorized?
Employee
Action |
Leave
Policy |
Employee is on duty. |
Agency should grant excused absence for the
remainder of the workday following the employee's authorized time of
dismissal even if the employee is scheduled to take leave later in the
day. |
Employee leaves before the time set for his or
her authorized dismissal (with supervisory approval). |
In a situation not involving a hardship, the
agency may charge leave for the period remaining before the employee's
authorized departure time. |
Employee leaves before official word of
"adjusted work dismissal" is received. |
The agency should charge leave or absence
without leave, as appropriate, for the remainder of the
workday. |
Employee is scheduled to return from leave
after the announcement of an "adjusted work dismissal" policy
but before his or her authorized departure time. |
The agency should charge leave for the period
during which the employee is on approved leave and should grant excused
absence for the remainder of the workday following the employee's
authorized time of dismissal even if the employee is scheduled to take
leave later in the day. |
Employee is absent on previously approved
leave (annual, sick, or leave without pay (LWOP)) for the entire
workday. |
The agency should continue to charge the
employee leave for the entire workday. |
Employee fails to report for work before his
or her authorized dismissal time. |
The agency should charge annual leave, sick
leave, or LWOP, as appropriate, for the entire workday. Exceptions to this
policy should be made only in unusual circumstances. |
Employee is scheduled to report for work after
an "adjusted work dismissal" policy is officially
announced. |
The agency may grant excused absence to the
employee even if the employee is scheduled to take leave later in the
day. |
Last Modified: 2:38:05 PM on Wednesday, August 20, 2003
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