Federal Offices in Washington on Two-Hour Delay Wednesday Due to Weather

Federal offices in the Washington, D.C. area are open on Wednesday and operating on a two-hour delay, the Office of Personnel Management announced late Tuesday night. 

Employees can take either unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework, if they choose. “Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than two hours later than they would be expected to arrive,” the OPM announcement said.

The federal government in Washington was closed on Tuesday because of the region’s first major snowfall of 2014. The immediate Washington area was expected to receive anywhere between four and seven inches of snow on Tuesday, with some of the northern Maryland suburbs receiving up to 10 inches of accumulation. The snow was tapering off late Tuesday night, but temperatures are expected to plummet on Wednesday, which could make for icy road conditions.  

Here is OPM’s full announcement:

“Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are OPEN under 2 HOURS DELAYED ARRIVAL and employees have the OPTION FOR UNSCHEDULED LEAVE OR UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK.  Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than 2 hours later than they would be expected to arrive. ”

Non-Emergency Employees who report to the office will be granted excused absence (administrative leave) for up to 2 hours past their expected arrival time. In accordance with their agency’s policies and procedures, subject to any applicable collective bargaining requirements, non-emergency employees may notify their supervisor of their intent to use:

(1) earned annual leave, compensatory time off, credit hours, or sick leave, as appropriate;

(2) leave without pay; 

(3) their alternative work schedule (AWS) day off or rearrange their work hours under flexible work schedules; or

(4) unscheduled telework (if telework-ready).  (Employees who request unscheduled leave should be charged leave for the entire workday.)

Telework-Ready Employees who are regularly scheduled to perform telework or who notify their supervisor of their intention to perform unscheduled telework must be prepared to telework for the entire workday, or take unscheduled leave, or a combination of both, for the entire workday in accordance with their agency’s policies and procedures, subject to any applicable collective bargaining requirements.

Pre-approved Leave.  Employees on pre-approved leave for the entire workday or employees who requested unscheduled leave for the entire workday should be charged leave for the entire day. 

Emergency Employees are expected to report to their worksite on time unless otherwise directed by their agencies.