Feds affected by widespread blackout excused from work

The Office of Personnel Management directed agencies on Friday to excuse from work federal employees affected by Thursday's massive power outage, which disabled the Northeast, parts of the Midwest and two provinces in Canada.

In a memo to agency heads, OPM Director Kay Coles James said federal employees who could not get to work because of a personal emergency related to the electricity crisis or who were helping law enforcement personnel handle the situation should be excused from work "without charge to leave or loss of pay." James also granted leave to employees "prevented from reporting to work in situations where local authorities have directed citizens to avoid designated areas."

The policy does not apply to federal employees who are in the National Guard or Reserves who are called up to assist. Those employees are entitled to military leave under Title 5, Section 6323 (b) of the U.S. Code.

The blackout affected most of New York state, including New York City and parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As of Friday afternoon, power had returned to some, but not all, of the affected regions, and officials did not yet know what caused the blackout.

"Clearly this situation may prevent significant numbers of federal employees in the affected areas from reporting for work and may require federal agencies to close all or part of their activities," James wrote in the memo.

The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, located at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, was closed on Friday. The building houses several federal agencies, including the FBI and the Small Business Administration. The Social Security Administration also closed its regional office and service centers in New York City on Friday. A recorded message at the New York Federal Executive Board, located in the Javits building, said the offices hope to reopen on Monday.

In Newark, N.J., federal agencies were open for business, while federal offices in Detroit and Cleveland were closed, according to an OPM spokesman.

James also reminded agency heads of the rules regarding premium pay for employees performing emergency overtime work during the power crisis. Premium pay includes overtime, Sunday pay, holiday pay, night differentials, hazardous duty pay and standby duty pay. Employees receiving such pay in connection with the emergency are subject to an annual pay limitation rather than the biweekly pay limitation.

"Employees paid under an annual limitation receive premium pay only to the extent that the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay for the calendar year does not exceed the greater of the annual rate for (1) GS-15, step 10 (including any applicable special salary rate or locality rate of pay) or (2) Level V of the Executive Schedule," the memo stated.

James also encouraged teleworking during the power outage and urged federal employees who were unable to report to work to volunteer in their communities during the emergency.