OPM: Federal government closed Tuesday

The Office of Personnel Management has closed the federal government in the D.C. region for Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010.

Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time. Nonemergency employees (including employees on pre-approved leave) will be granted excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. This does not apply to employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers' compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status.

Telework employees may be expected to work from their telework sites, as specified in their telework agreements.

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

Director John Berry told Federal News Radio Monday he relies on information from the Washington region's Council of Governments (COG) and updates from the National Weather Service in deciding when to shut down the federal government due to snowfall.

Berry says that he also relies on the advice of local transit agencies, such as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which runs Metrorail and Metrobus.

Another factor, Berry says, is whether schools are closed. So, even if the decision is made to open the federal government, "I'll always be careful when schools are closed to allow unscheduled leave," he explains.

Ultimately, Berry says, every such decision must weigh conflicting interests. He explains that he always asks himself this question: "Are we doing our best to protect safety of our employees and are we trying to keep the government open to the greatest extent that we can?"

The Washington region, which saw a crippling snowstorm over the weekend, is expecting another major snowfall Tuesday into Wednesday. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, effective 12 p.m. Tuesday through 7 p.m. Wednesday. Projected snowfalls now range from 10 to 20 inches.

Former OPM Director Linda Springer also joined Federal News Radio this afternoon to discuss the responsibility of making the snow-closing call. Click hear to listen to that interview.