Federal employees complain to OPM over snow delay, telework woes

The Office of Personnel Management was almost spared from making any tough calls this winter over whether to close federal offices in the Washington, D.C. area ...

The Office of Personnel Managment was almost spared from making any tough calls this winter over whether to close federal offices in the Washington, D.C. area, delay commutes for the federal workforce or have them tough it out with no delay.

On Tuesday, however, one week away from the official start of spring, the agency issued a three-hour delay for feds in the metro D.C. area, the one-and-only operating status alert of the season.

Feds within the Beltway took their winter-weather gripes online, and complained to @USOPM on Twitter about how they felt cheated out of a snow day, considering the hazardous conditions.

“@USOPM really blew it today. Nice work guys,” said Twitter user Charles France.

Tuesday’s operating status alert is the first to be made under President Donald Trump, although the president has yet to nominate his own OPM director. Rather, the decision came down to Acting OPM Director Kathleen McGettigan, who previously served as OPM’s chief management officer.

While OPM permitted unscheduled telework and leave for federal employees, some Twitter users expressed their frustration with agency-specific work-from-home policies that prevent them from staying off the roads.

“Contrary to what they tell you, some agencies still don’t permit telework,” said Twitter user @AMAddamz23.

Two Texas congressmen, however, aren’t complaining about their commuting woes. Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) both had their flights to D.C. canceled on account of the snowstorm. So they came up with a Plan B: rent a car in San Antonio and make the 24-hour-plus drive back to the nation’s capital. Hurd and O’Rourke have alternated between driving and live-streaming the trip:

Cross country bipartisan townhall

Posted by Congressman Beto O'Rourke on Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Related Stories