The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published new guidance on Mar. 28 outlining the teleworking options agencies can provide to federal employees who have caregiving roles during the coronavirus situation.
OPM explained in its Feb. 7, 2020 guidance that the use of weather and safety leave is generally not appropriate for such employees, since they are not prevented from safely working at home.
Highlights of the guidance are below:
OPM and OMB have received numerous questions regarding the circumstances faced by telework-eligible employees who have caregiving responsibilities due to closure of schools and/or unavailability of care providers as a result of locally-directed precautions for COVID-19. What options do agencies have for dealing with employees in these circumstances?
Flexible Work Schedules
As one way to help employees address the dual demands of work and caregiving at this time, agencies are encouraged to establish flexible work schedules (FWS) that provide expanded zones of time during which employees may perform telework to facilitate the performance of work despite caregiving responsibilities.
An FWS allows an employee to complete his or her 80-hour biweekly basic work requirement by determining his or her own work schedule within the limits set by the agency. An FWS consists of workdays with core hours and flexible hours. Core hours are the designated period of the day when employees must be present for work (including telework).
Flexible hours are the part of the workday when employees may (within limits or “bands”) choose their time of arrival and departure and break periods (i.e., work starting and stopping times). Under a maxiflex FWS, an employee may work less than 10 workdays biweekly because of the absence of core hours on one (or more) of the normal workdays. At the same time, under a maxiflex FWS, an employee could choose to have shorter workdays and work more than the normal 10 workdays biweekly (e.g., work on Saturday). An FWS can help an employee to balance work and caregiving responsibilities.
Excused Absences/Administrative Leave
While agencies have a broad management authority to grant excused absences with pay (sometimes called “administrative leave”) under 5 U.S.C. 301-302, the Administration advises that this authority should not be used to grant paid time off for extended periods to address the caregiver issue.
The longstanding principle espoused by the Comptroller General is that agencies should grant excused absences sparingly, and only for brief periods.
Evacuation Pay Authority
An agency may apply the evacuation pay regulations in a pandemic situation when it issues an oral or written (including electronically transmitted) evacuation order requiring that specific categories of employees not report to their regular worksite in the United States—with their home or other alternative work location as a designated “safe haven.” (See 5 CFR 550.409.)
Pursuant to OPM’s evacuation pay regulations, an agency that has issued an evacuation order has the authority to determine what and how much work evacuated employees are expected to perform—“Evacuated employees at safe havens may be assigned to perform work considered necessary or required to be performed during the period of the evacuation” (5 CFR 550.406(a)).
This work assignment authority allows an agency to grant an excused absence for non-work periods. An agency’s use of this authority during an evacuation is not limited by OPM’s rules that govern weather and safety leave. Additionally, it does not rely on an agency’s broad authority to grant an excused absence under 5 U.S.C. 301-302.
Employees should contact the human resources office at their employing agency if they have further questions on specific authorities and flexibilities.
To get OPM’s latest guidance fact sheets on all COVID 19-related issues, go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/covid-19/