I am pleased to inform you that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued final regulations concerning pay actions for employees affected by a pandemic health crisis. The regulations are available at www.opm.gov/fedregis.

The final regulations adopt the provisions in the interim regulations issued on September 18, 2006 (71 FR 47692) and clarify that an employee who is ordered to evacuate his or her regular worksite and work from home (or an alternative location mutually agreeable to the agency and the employee) during a pandemic health crisis does not need to have a telework agreement in place at the time that the evacuation is issued. Information on evacuation payments during a pandemic health crisis is available at www.opm.gov/oca/pay/HTML/PandEvac.asp.

For further information, you may contact your agency's assigned OPM Human Capital Officer. Employees should contact their agency's human resources offices for assistance.