New snow day policy gets its first test

Federal employees in the Washington area were allowed to take unscheduled leave or work from home on Thursday due to snowy conditions, the Office of Personnel Management announced.

OPM has determined government agencies to be "open with the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework," which means employees allowed to telework may leave early to work from home for the remainder of the day. Otherwise, employees can use annual leave, earned compensatory time off, earned credit hours or leave without pay to cover the time.

The announcement came on the heels of a new OPM operating status policy, released Wednesday. The revised guidelines adjust the requirements for two operating status designations. The status previously known as "open with unscheduled leave" has changed to "the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework," which means employees with telework agreements can choose to work outside the office rather than use personal leave.

The designation "closed" will be renamed "closed to the public." Emergency employees will be required to report to work, and those scheduled to telework will be expected to do so.