Employees hit by Hurricane Katrina won’t lose pay even if they lose work

Agencies have the discretion to authorize special payments for employees affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

Employees who were evacuated from the Gulf Coast are eligible for special evacuation payments, advance payments of pay, and travel subsidies for relocation, among other funds.

The Coast Guard, which has employees based around the Gulf Coast, is utilizing many of the options.

"We'll do anything legally that we can," said Andrew Kendrick, a public affairs officer for the USCG. "We are taking care of our people and making sure that they have all the money they need in order to survive."

Evacuation payments are one option. These can be made in lieu of regular pay when employees are prevented from performing work due to an emergency. Evacuation payments reflect regular pay, and are not expected to be paid back to the government. The agency is required to project the estimated hours of work for each employee receiving evacuation payments, and should factor in night and Sunday premium pay if applicable.

According to OPM, evacuation payments are allowed only for the 180 days, or about six months, following an evacuation order. After that time, agencies are required to either return employees to their regular duties or reassign them to alternate jobs.

In addition, employees receiving evacuation payments in place of regular pay can be required by their agency to perform "any work considered necessary…without regard to the grades or titles of the employees." OPM's guidance says that refusal to carry out requested tasks is grounds for termination of evacuation payments.

Civilian personnel in the Defense Department will be eligible to apply for these emergency funds as needed, according to Johnny McLean, a benefits officer with the department's Civilian Personnel Management Service. McLean said that emergency funds options will be available for every employee under evacuation orders, and will be given out on a case-by-case basis. Employees should contact their pay office to apply.

McLean said these funds need to be meted out case by case because, for example, in the case of advance pay, those payments are simply loans that will need to be paid back, and not every employee is capable of that.

Advance payments, according to OPM's guidelines, are payments made in advance of a regular paycheck in order to cover immediate costs due to an evacuation. The maximum amount of advance pay that agencies can provide is equal to pay for 30 days. While OPM said advanced payments are treated as a debt to the government, they give room for agency officials to waive them if they believe doing so "would be against equity or good conscience or against the public interest."

Another option that OPM lays out for agencies is to offer per diems to employees with evacuation orders.

"Our people can go anywhere, and we're taking care of them," Kendrick said. He added that many Coast Guard employees have charge cards for business travel and can use them to pay expenses, and the agency reimburses the money.

For employees not necessarily under evacuation orders, such as those who were hit by Katrina in Mississippi or Alabama but are prevented from returning to work because of circumstances surrounding the storm, agencies can grant an excused absence, also known as administrative leave.

That is the option the Social Security Administration is using for employees in the 14 regional offices that are currently closed and who cannot yet return to work, according to spokesperson Mark Hinkle.

Excused absences are only the "short-term strategy" and as the situation unfolds SSA will consider other options, he said.

"We're being very flexible," Hinkle said.

Excused absences, according to OPM, mean that employees are excused from duty without loss of any pay and without using leave.

In addition to these options, OPM issued guidance for agencies on the use of telework and on flexibility surrounding paid time off such as sick leave or annual leave.