As we do each year as the Winter season approaches, I encourage you to remind your employees to follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) Washington, DC, Area Dismissal or Closure Procedures in the event of Government operation disruptions. These disruptions may prevent significant numbers of employees in the Washington, DC, area from reporting for work on time or may require agencies to close all or part of their activities (e.g., emergency situations, adverse weather conditions, disruption of power and/or water, or interruption of public transportation or closing of major transportation routes). Federal Executive Boards and Federal Executive Associations have coordinated similar dismissal or closure procedures in other major metropolitan areas. The Washington, DC, Area Dismissal or Closure Procedures are available at www.opm.gov/oca/COMPMEMO/dismissal.pdf.

Status of Government Operations

OPM will make announcements to the media as to whether Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are open or closed, or operating under an unscheduled leave policy, a delayed arrival policy, or an early dismissal policy.

Communicating Announcements

Announcements on the status of Government operations will be available at www.opm.gov/Operating_Status_Schedules/. Recorded messages on operating status also will be provided by OPM's Office of Communications and Public Liaison on (202) 606-1900.

Designation of Employees Who Must Report for Work

Agencies should designate and notify those emergency employees, including mission-critical emergency employees, who will be required to report for or remain at work in dismissal or closure situations. The designation of emergency employees may vary according to the particular nature of the exigency. Agencies must identify the emergency situations in which emergency employees and mission-critical emergency employees will be expected to report for or remain at work.

Agencies also should notify their telework employees whether they will be required to work at their telework sites during a disruption of Government operations. Any requirement that a telework employee continue to work if the agency closes (or dismisses employees early) on his or her telework day or on any of his or her regularly scheduled workdays should be included in the employee's telework agreement.

For More Information

For more information, agency Chief Human Capital Officers and/or Human Resources (HR) Directors may contact their assigned OPM Human Capital Officers. For additional information on Federal pay and leave programs and policies, including work scheduling policies, please visit www.opm.gov/oca/index.asp. Employees should contact their agency human resources offices for assistance.

cc: Chief Human Capital Officers

Human Resources Directors