The Office of Personnel Management  explained its 2015 Washington metro area operating status dismissal and closure procedures and announced a leave and telework policy change, during a briefing here today.

The livestream, public chat also featured National Weather Service and Washington Metro Area Transit Authority representatives, who offered insight as to how they assist OPM in making a closure determination based on weather and the commuting variables.

Telework Policy Update

Brenda Roberts, OPM Pay and Leave deputy associate director, reported a policy update to an outdated leave practice associated with not charging pre-approved paid leave on a day when federal offices are closed. Employees, she said, previously automatically received an excused absence if they were on pre-approved paid leave when federal offices were closed.

“This was prior to the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 when agencies were required to incorporate telework into their continuity of operation plans; at the same time, OPM was encouraging telework in operating procedures,” Roberts said.

OPM, she added, has since strongly encouraged agencies to permit telework as appropriate by building the infrastructure, allowing employees to practice, developing written telework agreements, and communicating their expectations with the ultimate goal of having telework-ready employees on closure days.

“Since many employees are now required to telework on closure days, OPM believes that the pre-approved leave policy has become outdated now and does not reflect the new realities of the 21st century,” Roberts said. “As a result, OPM procedures will no longer advise agencies to cancel pre-approved paid leave and automatically grant the employees excused absences on days when the federal government is closed.”

Building-by-Building Decisions

According to Dean Hunter, OPM Facilities, Security, and Contracting director, agencies have the authority to make closure and dismissal decisions on an individual, building-by-building basis, which he said becomes critical in cases of fire, flood or similar incidents.

But for serious weather advisories or other events with a major impact on federal agencies’ ability to function, OPM engages and weighs several factors to ensure a coordinated approach in addressing the national capital region as a whole, Hunter said.

“Chief and foremost for us … is the safety and security of the federal workforce and the communities in which they reside, but with that is the need for us to have continuity of government operations,” he said

Quick, Coordinated Notifications

The timeframe for decision, Hunter explained, begins at 3 a.m., in order to ensure a timely, appropriate action.

“At OPM, we do have a 24-hour situation room and their job is to monitor anything that affects the status of the federal government,” Hunter said, noting factors ranging from weather to law-enforcement events.

“In making this decision it really is an all-hazards approach,” he said.

OPM receives continual feedback from the National Weather Service and the conference call trigger, Hunter explained, is anticipation of one inch of snow or any accumulation of ice scheduled to occur during morning or evening rush hours.

“There are typically in the neighborhood of 200 participants on this call and it’s an opportunity for us at OPM to work closely with our partners to get the best situational awareness,” Hunter said.

How, when and where a storm begins, as well as its duration and anticipated road preparatory times are all factors in the decision-making process.

Within minutes, Hunter said, OPM gathers information from WMATA, the Department of Transportation, Virginia Railway Express, Amtrak, local bus schedules and power companies to assess the feedback before conducting a 3:30 a.m. internal call to review historical decisions, make a current decision, and then begin quick, mass notifications.

OPM Statuses:

-- Open, normal operating capacity;

-- Open, option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework;

-- Early departure, staggered or fixed final departure time;

-- Immediate departure;

-- Delayed arrival, staggered or fixed time; and

-- Closed, completely or shelter in place.

Status notifications are extensive, to include online, phone and email updates, the White House, Congress, chief human capital officers and the national capital region’s  warning alert system. A recent federal employee viewpoint survey indicated that 61 percent of all workers have the capability to telework as least some of the time in the national capital region, Hunter said.

Last year during the winter season, he said, there were five closures and four unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework events and three delayed arrivals.

“There were 12 decisions we made and there were upwards of 20 particular weather events that occurred in the city,” Hunter said.

Weather Cycles

Some weather cycles are long-range and seasonal in nature while some are of shorter duration, which makes predictability more difficult, said Chris Strong, National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist.

“Sometimes we can have a clear idea of a nature stacking the deck to be a warm winter; other times, there’s really not a clear signal [and] so far December has been close to or even a little bit above normal,” Strong said.

A mere 40-mile rain-snowline shift from the Northwest suburbs to the Southeast suburbs can affect 7 million people, Strong noted.

WMATA representatives highly recommend commuters set up metro alerts, monitor schedule and bus stop changes and leave at the prescribed time to avoid transportation delays.

For more information, use Twitter hash tag #opmalert or call 202-606-1900 for recorded operating status updates.

(Follow Amaani Lyle on Twitter: @LyleDODNews)