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One thing I've learned from working in the Federal Government for 3 years is that every single agency seems to have a different culture and different method for doing business.
Where I work in DoD, the OPM guidelines rule. We had folks monitoring www.opm.gov, which gives guidance to all federal workers. At 11:30, one of my cube mates told me that OPM's site had authorized the 2 hour dismissal. Within those guidelines on their site, are detailed instructions of different scenarios of arrival, departure, what to do about employees who were already on leave, telework, etc. We do not require supervisor approval once OPM puts out official guidance. Within 30 minutes of OPM putting out guidance, our HR-type people put out an organization-wide e-mail letting everyone know (because not everyone can spend every minute scanning OPM's website) of the guidance and providing a link to the OPM site. At that point, you just need to let your supervisor know what time you're leaving.
My mother works for Deparatment of Commerce and they operate the same way and always have so I'm not sure about people needing permission to leave after OPM puts out the ruling.
I agree. I work in an agency under the Department of Commerce and we follow OPM too. It definitely varies from place to place.
Here in Woodbridge/Lake Ridge, we did not by far get hammered by the snow compared to a lot of places. I would estimate we got 5-6 inches. But VDOT is nowhere near plowing side streets here, and according to PRTC's website, haven't touched the commuter lots. So how the heck are employees who don't live within walking distance of a Metro station supposed to get to work, well, ever today?
Are things different/better in Arlington, Fairfax, Alexandria? Are roads passable and have cars that were stuck on roads and in ditches cleared out? Is there any legitimacy to OPM's decision to have a 2 hour delayed opening?
I'm not naive enough to expect OPM to close the government completely for this. I frankly expected straight Unscheduled Leave/Unscheduled Telework, which would at least acknowledge that travel for the vast majority of employees who rely on commuter options other than Metro alone that travel to the office is unsafe/not a good option. Because let's face it, despite the option for unscheduled leave/unscheduled telework, there are enough managers and supervisors in agencies who have the attitude, "If I could make it to work, so should have everyone else," even if they live a block from an underground Metro station that operates even when there are 20 inches of snow on the ground. They don't like telework, and thinks everyone just wastes time at home.
I'm fortunate that my bosses and the whole agency encouraged everyone to prepare for telework today before we left yesterday. However, not everyone has an agency that is as accepting of telework as mine.
Let's face it, OPM made a political decision. John Berry cared more about the potential negative headlines and blowback against the administration than the safety of federal employees, and not for the first time (ie, the Friday that the government opened last February after Snowpacolypse II and Snoverkill, not because roads were safe and operable but because he didn't want the stigma of have the government closed for a full week).
Rant over. Time to get ready to log in to my work system.
I agree that this decision was politically charged. I don't think it is the roads that should have been the main factor, but the power outages. It is just not fair to people who have lost power to be forced to use leave. It was a large number of outages, which many are still out, that was enough to take this day off. It seems like we are becoming the butt-end of a lot of political jokes. It's a thankless job, you get blamed for everything when the country is doing bad, and get no credit when things are done well. At the end of the day, most of us are average Americans who still have the same struggles as everyone else. People forget that so much.
What I'm saying is that because federal policies (e.g., expanding the federal government and encouraging more people to move here) are partially responsible for the increased difficulty of the commute, it's only fair that the federal government make its policies flexible in recognition that it's a lot harder to get into DC in a snowstorm than it was 50 years ago.
Back then, there were tens of millions fewer people in the region. And 90% of them lived inside the Beltway. In addition, I think the average commuter was a more skilled driver because most people learned to drive on a stick-shift, which requires you to focus and even makes you a better driver on an automatic (by listening to the engine and not riding the brakes). Unlike now, it wasn't a problem when the schools closed, because there were all those stay-at-home moms who could watch the kids. Back then, all a snowstorm meant was that Pa had to drive slower on his commute to the free parking spot.
Since then, the feds have added more jobs and more departments in DC. And local cities/counties have bent over backwards to allow more residences in the form of condos and apartments (with grants from the feds to encourage it). We all know that commuting in GOOD weather here is barely manageable. Bad weather is the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Many people have lost power who would not have the luxury of their employer (at tax-payer's expense) say - hey, you lost power....take the day off. Where does this sense of self-entitlement come from that the government has to give their employees a free day where they don't have to take leave... I've never understood that.
Look, just like the rest of you, I don't want to use my leave for anything other than enjoyment. I spent most of my working years taking vacation for snow days, vacation for sick kids, and too many LWOP days to even count.
IMO, it seems sort of whiny to demand that the government pay us Feds for snow days, when the majority of the country, who work for private industry, have always had to take personal time if they don't come to work--even out of their control.
I was a contractor for most of my life for many different companies and NEVER got a paid day of leave for weather. It's just not the way it's done. Certainly there are a few that do pay but they are not the majority. If a company can open their doors, then you come in. If the government can open its doors and function, then you should come in if you can and take leave if you cannot. It doesn't help the federal worker's image to the rest of America if we whine about not getting paid for a snow day. If enough people in the government can show up to the buildings and do work, then it is OPEN. If barely anyone can make it in and they have to close, then yes, you should be paid because maybe you could have come in and gotten some work done and that act of closure affected that.
As for leave, a new employee gets 13 days of vacation and 13 days of sick leave. If you are a new employee, it is prudent for you not to pi$$ away your leave on random days. You should always save some for these types of events. If you don't, I don't feel bad for you. I, of course, do feel bad for people who have long-term illness. Different story. Most federal supervisors are also very generous when it comes to choosing between your sick and annual leave.
Many people have lost power who would not have the luxury of their employer (at tax-payer's expense) say - hey, you lost power....take the day off. Where does this sense of self-entitlement come from that the government has to give their employees a free day where they don't have to take leave... I've never understood that.
Me neither and please know that we don't all feel that way.
My only caveat to this is that the Federal Government is one of the largest employers in this area, if not the largest, and there are times when it is beneficial to the rest of the area to get their employees off the roads. I think they made a few wise calls during last year's horrible winter. Indeed, some of those closures allowed road crews to do much more work, which benefitted everyone.
IMO, it seems sort of whiny to demand that the government pay us Feds for snow days, when the majority of the country, who work for private industry, have always had to take personal time if they don't come to work--even out of their control.
That's not true in my experience. Most places I've worked--and that includes other regions of the country--if it's too snowy to get in to work, you get the day off. Same principle as sick leave: Getting sick is beyond your control, so you get some accommodation when it happens. People in other regions--and I'm *from* one of those other regions, with family still there--may envy people here for a lot of reasons, but that shouldn't determine federal operating policy.
But accepting your point for the sake of argument: if you compare us to people in most of the world, we should be working 16-hour days for $4/day and no healthcare!
Or you could compare us to the Italians or the French and conclude that we should be working 30 hours a week with 5 weeks off per year and free healthcare.
Closing on a snow day, in my view, benefits everyone in the region--even those who don't work for the feds. (And I do not.)
Last edited by Carlingtonian; 01-27-2011 at 11:42 AM..
Me neither and please know that we don't all feel that way.
My only caveat to this is that the Federal Government is one of the largest employers in this area, if not the largest, and there are times when it is beneficial to the rest of the area to get their employees off the roads. I think they made a few wise calls during last year's horrible winter. Indeed, some of those closures allowed road crews to do much more work, which benefitted everyone.
I agree in that we need less people on the roads in cases like this - definitely. And I think that that worked today. Most employees will take advantage of the unscheduled leave. What I don't like is when the employees feel it is their right to have the day off because of their personal situations. EVERYONE has a situation and a possible 'big' inconvience, not just federal employees.
That's not true in my experience. Most places I've worked--and that includes other regions of the country--if it's too snowy to get in to work, you get the day off. Same principle as sick leave: Getting sick is beyond your control, so you get some accommodation when it happens. People in other regions--and I'm *from* one of those other regions, with family still there--may envy people here for a lot of reasons, but that shouldn't determine federal operating policy.
But accepting your point for the sake of argument: if you compare us to people in most of the world, we should be working 16-hour days for $4/day and no healthcare!
Or you could compare us to the Italians or the French and conclude that we should be working 30 hours a week with 5 weeks off per year.
Closing on a snow day, in my view, benefits everyone in the region--even those who don't work for the feds. (And I do not.)
My view is, is that we should be a similar to the area that we work in as possible. We should not get any more stuff or better treatment than private companies. We all have our own experiences and I can only relate mine to the field I'm in. In the area of DoD that I work, our contractors do not get free days for weather. Haven't seen that happen in my 20 years in the business. I think we should look at the climate of work in this country and be like that. I do agree that there are companies that are generous and give days off to their employees but I have no personal experience with that myself, or with my extended family, or circle of friends who are all in varying degrees of the private sector. Heck, my husband is a private union electrician with a Top Secret clearance who works in the Executive Office Building. He lost two days pay last week because they would not allow workers in the building when the Chinese President was in town. Fair? I think not.
What it really comes down to is whether or not it was bad enough for a total shutdown of the Federal Government. It is obvious by how many people *did* show up for work today and/or teleworked that it would have been unjustified to do so. I do not argue that there are times it should close, but today wasn't one of them. They can't just shut down because certain areas had it bad.
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