United States General Services Administration

Interagency Telework Issues Working Group Subcommittee DRAFT Reports

United States Office of Personnel Management

Revised June 18

Existing Arrangements

OPM's Telecommuting Policies and Procedures, as outlined on the OPM website, prescribes the following guidance on emergency dismissal or closure:

Group Dismissal. A telecommuting employee may sometimes be affected by an emergency and may be excused from work. For example, on a "snow closing day", the agency may excuse a telecommuting employee if he or she cannot perform work because the regular office is closed and/or the alternative worksite is affected by the emergency. The agency should grant the telecommuting employee excused absence as appropriate. When an emergency affects only the alternative worksite for a major portion of the workday, the agency can require the telecommuting employee to report to the regular office, approve annual leave or leave-without-pay, or authorize an excused absence.

However, elsewhere on OPM's website, more recent guidance on emergency dismissal or closure procedures states:

Federal agencies are "CLOSED": Employees not designated as "emergency employees" (including telecommuting employees at an alternative work site) are excused from duty without loss of pay or charge to leave. "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 alternative work schedules (AWS) are not entitled to another AWS day off "in lieu of" the workday on which the agency is closed.

In addition, this new weather guidance states other information, which ultimately has an impact on recommendations for change:

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 alternative work schedules (AWS) are not entitled to another AWS day off "in lieu of" the workday on which the agency is closed.

Areas of Concern

The policy for telework and agency closures for weather and other emergencies is currently unclear, as is whether this constitutes policy or simply guidance. Is the teleworker expected to be on duty status while the agency is closed? What does this mean for teleworkers who have dependents who are affected by a closure at a school or daycare? (Note: An employee who is on scheduled leave on the day of the closure is carried on excused absence rather than charged leave) Or is the teleworker excused from duty, even if the emergency does not affect their ability to work? What implications does this have for promoting telework in the federal government?

There seems to be no policy addressing the situation where the teleworker is unable to work due to technical or weather problems - are they expected to come to work or take leave?

Since telework situations will vary widely, how can flexibility be built into policy, to avoid hard and fast rules that will not necessarily work for individual circumstances?

If teleworkers are NOT excused from duty during emergency closure, but individuals already on leave are not charged for this leave due to the closure, this poses an essential inequity. There is already an inequity between the leave and AWS policies in this respect, since the AWS policy does not allow an alternate day to be substituted if the government closes on that day.

Possible New Approaches

The existing OPM guidance, as outlined in the two areas of their website, is contradictory. If the emergency dismissal or closure procedures (which are newer) take precedence over the telework guidance, this would inhibit the promotion of telework, especially on the management and agency level.

The ability of a teleworker to continue to work during an emergency closure, for example due to earthquake, fire, or blizzard, is one of the "selling points" for an agency to adopt telework. The basic functions of the workgroup and/or agency will not have to come to a stop, even if the main office is out of commission for any period of time. Individuals who are already in telework situations can continue to function, and others who may not normally be teleworkers could, if the emergency situation lasts for more than a day or two, telework as possible/necessary for the duration.

Several questions were submitted to and answered by OPM regarding the emergency dismissal policies:

1) Does the recent advice on OPM's website reflect formal Government-wide policy on this issue?

A: The guidance is applicable only to Federal agencies and employees in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, but we recommend that other major metropolitan areas adopt similar policies.

2) Are agencies required to adopt the new guidance, or can they set their own policy? If they set their own policy, are there legal and/or regulatory issues they must keep in mind?

A: OPM intends the guidance to apply to employees in all executive agencies located inside the Washington Capital Beltway. Although the guidance is not regulatory or statutory in nature, OPM requests that all agencies making a different decision notify our Office of Communications at (202) 606-1800, FAX (202) 606-2264, or email news@opm.gov .

3) Does the new guidance hold true if an agency closes but the federal government as a whole does not? Or is each agency intended to set its own policy as relates to its own closure?

A: If an individual agency decides to close, that agency must determine its own policy on excusing employees from work. Each department or agency has discretion to excuse employees from their duties without loss of pay or charge to leave. OPM advises that the granting of excused absence should be limited to those situations in which the employee's absence, in the department's or agency's determination, is not specifically prohibited by law and satisfies one or more of the following criteria: (1) the absence is directly related to the department or agency's mission; (2) the absence is officially sponsored or sanctioned by the head of the department or agency; (3) the absence will clearly enhance the professional development or skills of the employee in his or her current position; or (4) the absence is brief and is determined to be in the interest of the agency.

4) If teleworkers were able to continue working when federal agencies were closed, what are the compensation issues? Would this simply be the "price" of being able to telework (agreed-upon in advance), or would some kind of compensatory time and/or pay be necessary?

A: There are no unique compensation issues if employees are not excused from their normal work requirements. Teleworkers who are not excused from work during their regular work hours and workdays are paid their regular pay for working during that time. Employees (including teleworkers) who work their regular work hours are not entitled to additional compensation, compensatory time off, or credit hours because their main office is closed.

Similarly, employees (including teleworkers) who have an AWS day off (nonworkday) on a day an agency closes are not entitled to a "replacement day off" nor to any additional compensation.

5) If an individual is teleworking from home and the home site is "closed" (power out, person needs connectivity to function) and they can't come in to the main office (blizzard) but the federal government is not shut down, must the teleworker take leave?

A: In the situation described, the individual agency has the authority to establish its own policy. Several options may be considered. Since circumstances may differ in each instance, the agency may wish to consider each such incident on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the particular circumstances, the agency may require the teleworker to report for work at the main office, grant the teleworker excused absence, or offer the teleworker the option to take leave or use compensatory time off or credit hours. Each agency has the discretion to determine whether or not to grant excused absence to an employee or group of employees. Also, see our response to question 3, above.

OPTIONS

1) Ask OPM to revert from the new emergency dismissal guidance to the guidance given on the telework website, which allowed teleworkers to continue to work if possible during an emergency closure. Leave all other policies and procedures intact. In that guidance include the information given in the answer to question 4 above, regarding compensation issues.

Benefits:

1. Enables the individual/workgroup/agency (whichever are applicable) to maintain some level of function during an emergency shutdown
2. Empowers managers and employees to make decisions based on the individual circumstances

Drawbacks:

1. Does not address the inequity in the policy between those on AWS or telework days, who are given no compensation/time off, and individuals who are on leave who are not charged that leave
2. Leaving the decision of whether or not a teleworker must continue to work during a shutdown to managers/employees may result in complaints about inequity and unfair treatment.
3. Emergency weather closures often mean that schools are also shut down in the region. For teleworkers with children, a requirement to work during shutdown may mean that they have to take leave time, posing another potential inequity.

2) Promulgate the new OPM guidance that dismisses teleworkers for emergency shutdown, making sure that this guidance is provided uniformly (i.e., on the telework website and in telework documents in addition to the emergency closure information)

Benefits:

1. Avoids all appearance of inequity in compensation for emergency closure (except for individuals on their AWS day)
2. Removes responsibility from managers who may not wish to deal with the potential "fallout" of the judgment call they have to make as to whether their telecommuter(s) must continue to work
3. Benefits individuals with school-aged children or other dependents, who may also be at home due to a school closure and will not be required to take leave rather than teleworking during the emergency.

Drawbacks:

1. Cuts off the benefit of the workgroup/agency being able to continue some functions during emergency shutdown, which may impact the business case for telework and slow its implementation in federal agencies
2. Hampers those who do wish to use telework as a managerial tool to cope with shutdowns

3) Make several changes to the guidance; which may also necessitate changes to relevant policies and/or regulations:

1. Establish policy that teleworkers who are able to continue teleworking during emergency shutdown should do so (as in recommendation 1 above). Managers would have to decide on a case-by-case basis whether individuals with school-aged children would be able to continue working if the children are released from school. In cases where the teleworker could not reasonably continue working they should be excused.
2. Change the policy regarding leave so that it is uniform with the new policy on telework and the already-established policy on AWS - i.e., those who are already on leave are charged that leave, even if there is a shutdown. Only if you change this policy can you reasonably expect 1) those on AWS to not expect a compensatory day, and 2) those on telework to continue working despite the shutdown.

Benefits:

1. Makes all of the policy uniform in its expectations, therefore easier to understand and interpret.
2. Enables individuals/workgroups/agencies to continue some level of function despite an emergency shutdown - therefore creating more of an incentive for managers to allow telework as a flexibility.

Drawbacks:

1. Requires change to regulatory language and policy, rather than simple guidance changes.
2. The change regarding leave may create negative feedback.
3. Required managers to decide which teleworkers may NOT need to continue working (i.e., those with school-aged children or other dependents affected by the emergency may be excused).

6. Recommendations

Based on the above analysis, if telework is to fully benefit the Federal Government some policy changes must be implemented. These policies should be promulgated on the OPM/GSA telework website and clearly communicated to all federal agencies. Sample telework agreements, Q&A's, and case studies that clearly communicate this guidance should be included on the website to assist managers and agencies in decision-making.

Dismissal for emergencies is clearly not intended as a benefit; rather, it protects employees and other citizens in the local area during dangerous weather or some other threatening situation. For those whose work is unaffected by the emergency, it is difficult to justify the "benefit" of dismissal.

Recommendation 1: Recommendation 1: Contrary to the current OPM guidance on telecommuting during hazardous weather shutdown, we feel that teleworkers who are able to continue working during emergency shutdown should do so - including those who are under current telework agreements but not on their designated "telework day." This enables the individual/workgroup/agency (whichever are applicable) to maintain some level of function during an emergency shutdown, and empowers managers and employees to make decisions based on the individual circumstances. "Able to continue working" should take into account family situations in which dependents may make working from home impossible.

Guidance given on telework from OPM and all other agencies should make the implications of this clear particularly regarding the compensation issues. Recommendations should be made to agencies that telework agreements spell out the fact that teleworkers are expected to continue work if possible during a shutdown; and that they do not receive additional compensation (pay and/or time off) for this work. Telework agreements should also clearly spell out the arrangement that the manager and employee come to regarding dependents affected by shutdowns as well. Sample agreement templates on the OPM/GSA telework website should include this language.

Recommendation 2: There are inequities in the current policies regarding telework, AWS, and leave. Individuals who are teleworking are to be dismissed during closure regardless of whether or not they remain functional; thereby defining dismissal as a "benefit" that should be extended to all employees. Employees who are on leave are not charged their leave time for an emergency closure as well. However, individuals on their AWS day are not given a compensatory AWS day if there is an emergency closure.

So that the emergency closure policy is applied equally to everyone, during an emergency closure those already on leave are still charged their leave time, and those on AWS are not granted compensatory time off. Rectifying these inequities is important to successful telework guidance; these various policies should be seen in the larger picture of employee time and attendance expectations and should also avoid obvious inequities.

Recommendation 3: Teleworkers who are "shut down" in their home office and are unable to come into work are not charged leave. For instance, if a blizzard has taken out the electricity (and therefore the connectivity) of a teleworker who must be connected in order to perform job functions, and the weather also prevents them from traveling to the work site, then they should be excused in the same way that they would be if the primary work site was shut down. Managers will have to take responsibility for making decisions on a case-by-case basis, but the OPM/GSA telework website and documents should give some good samples/case studies.

Recommendation 4: Teleworkers who cannot continue to work from home due to an emergency, but could come to the primary work site, should do so, as long as the shutdown happens early enough in the day. If a shutdown happens close to the end of the day (and this would depend on the length of the commute) they should be granted administrative leave for the remainder of the day.

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