The Emergency Preparedness Advisory Council consists of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice; Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Environmental Protection Agency; U. S. Marshals Service, Department of Justice; Department of Labor; and the FEB Chair.
These administrators have the expertise and truly understand the impact of an early dismissal or closure, and take into account factors such as ground temperature, traffic patterns and heavy commute times.
FEB EPAC guidance is a recommendation, with the ultimate decision to allow early departure or late arrival reserved for the agency head or the supervisor of each agency. The Federal Executive Board does not close or open agencies. Questions regarding individual agency closures should be directed to specific agency directors.
If your agency director has chosen to close or adjust arrival times, here are their options for employees:
- Telework – Employees can work from home or at telework centers.
- Alternative Work Schedules – Employees can change their AWS day or work longer hours and fewer days.
- Delayed Start Time – Employees can come in later and leave later to avoid peak weather severity and/or to allow more time for commuting.
- Unscheduled Leave – Employees can be granted unscheduled annual leave or leave without pay (LWOP). For most weather-related situations, unscheduled leave (formerly known as liberal leave) will be the default policy
- Adjusted Early Dismissal – Employees may be dismissed early by a set number of hours (usually 2 hours) relative to their normal departure time.
- Excused Absence / Administrative Leave – supervisors may excuse for a period not to exceed 59 minutes[1] on any day for non-routine absence and in accordance with the Agency’s Leave Policy. Additional administrative leave can be granted during severe conditions and in accordance with the agency’s policies on granting administrative leave.
NOTE: Early Dismissal – To the extent possible, Agency heads should consider the use of “adjusted early dismissals.” An adjusted dismissal allows employees to leave work early relative to their normal departure, based on the time they arrived. For example, if a two-hour dismissal is approved, employees would depart two hours earlier than their normally scheduled departure time. This prevents a situation where all employees in the Federal complex are released at the same time.