Subpart P—Weather and Safety Leave

(a) This subpart implements 5 U.S.C. 6329c, which allows an agency to provide a separate type of paid leave when weather or other safety-related conditions prevent employees from safely traveling to or safely performing work at an approved location due to an act of God, terrorist attack, or other applicable condition. Section 6329c(d) directs OPM to prescribe regulations to carry out the statutory provisions on weather and safety leave, including regulations on the appropriate uses and the proper recording of this leave.

(b) This subpart applies to an employee as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2105 who is employed in an agency, but does not apply to an intermittent employee who, by definition, does not have an established regular tour of duty during the administrative workweek.

(c) As provided in 5 U.S.C. 6329c(e), this subpart applies to employees described in subsection (b) of 38 U.S.C. 7421, notwithstanding subsection (a) of that section.

In this subpart:

Act of God means an act of nature, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, landslides, snowstorms, and avalanches.

Agency means an Executive agency as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105, excluding the Government Accountability Office. When the term “agency” is used in the context of an agency making determinations or taking actions, it means the agency heads or management officials who are authorized (including by delegation) to make the given determination or take the given action.

Employee means an individual who is covered by this subpart, as described in § 630.1601(b) and (c).

OPM means the Office of Personnel Management.

Participating in a telework program means an employee is eligible to telework and has an established arrangement with his or her agency under which the employee is approved to participate in the agency telework program, including on a routine or situational basis. Such an employee who teleworks on a situational basis is considered to be continuously participating in a telework program even if there are extended periods during which the employee does not perform telework.

Telework site means a location where an employee is authorized to perform telework, as described in 5 U.S.C. chapter 65, such as an employee's home.

Weather and safety leave means paid leave provided under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 6329c.

Subject to other provisions of this subpart, an agency may grant weather and safety leave to employees only if they are prevented from safely traveling to or safely performing work at a location approved by the agency due to—

(a) An act of God;

(b) A terrorist attack; or

(c) Another condition that prevents an employee or group of employees from safely traveling to or safely performing work at an approved location.

(a) OPM is responsible for prescribing regulations and guidance related to the appropriate use of leave under this subpart and the proper recording of such leave, including OPM guidance on Governmentwide dismissal and closure policies and procedures that provides for use of consistent terminology in describing various operating status scenarios. In issuing any operating status announcements for the Washington, DC, area, OPM must make the specific policies and procedures related to those announcements consistent with the regulations in this subpart and with OPM's Governmentwide guidance.

(b) Employing agencies are responsible for—

(1) Establishing and applying policies and procedures related to use of leave under this subpart that are consistent with OPM regulations and guidance described in paragraph (a) of this section; and

(2) Using terminology required by OPM-issued Governmentwide guidance in any agency-specific operating status announcements they issue (for a specific geographic location or area).

(a) Telework employees. (1) Except as provided under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, employees who are participating in a telework program and are able to safely travel to and work at an approved telework site may not be granted leave under § 630.1603. Employees who are eligible to telework and participating in a telework program under applicable agency policies are typically able to safely perform work at their approved telework site (e.g., home), since they are not required to work at their regular worksite.

(2)(i) If, in the agency's judgment, the conditions in § 630.1603 could not reasonably be anticipated, an agency may provide leave under this subpart to the extent an employee was not able to prepare for telework as described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section and is otherwise unable to perform productive work at the telework site.

(ii) If an employee is prevented from safely working at the approved telework site due to circumstances, arising from one or more of the conditions in § 630.1603, applicable to the telework site, an agency may, at its discretion, provide leave under this subpart to the employee.

(iii) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section, an agency may decide not to provide leave under this subpart when the conditions in § 630.1603 do not prevent the employee from safely traveling to or safely performing work at a regular worksite, even if the affected day is a scheduled telework day.

(3) In making a determination under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, an agency must evaluate whether any of the conditions in § 630.1603 could be reasonably anticipated and whether the employee took reasonable steps (within the employee's control) to prepare to perform telework at the approved telework site. For example, if a significant snowstorm is predicted, the employee may need to prepare by taking home any equipment (e.g., laptop computer) and work needed for teleworking. To the extent that an employee is unable to perform work at a telework site because of failure to make necessary preparations for reasonably anticipated conditions, an agency may not provide weather and safety leave, and the employee would need to use other appropriate paid leave, paid time off, or leave without pay.

(b) Emergency employees. An agency may designate emergency employees who are critical to agency operations and for whom weather and safety leave may not be applicable. To the extent practicable, an agency should inform employees of their designation as emergency employees well in advance in anticipation of the possible occurrence of the conditions set forth in § 630.1603. If the agency wishes to provide for the possibility that an emergency employee could work from an approved telework site in lieu of traveling to the regular worksite in appropriate circumstances, an agency should encourage the employee to enter into a telework agreement providing for that contingency. An agency may designate different emergency employees for the different circumstances expected to arise from these conditions. Emergency employees must report to work at their regular worksite or another approved location as directed by the agency, unless—

(1) The agency determines that travel to or performing work at the worksite is unsafe for emergency employees, in which case the agency may require the employees to work at another location, including a telework site as provided in paragraph (a) of this section, as appropriate; or

(2) The agency determines that circumstances justify granting leave under this subpart to emergency employees.

(a) An agency must use the same minimum charge increments for weather and safety leave as it does for annual and sick leave under § 630.206.

(b) Employees may be granted weather and safety leave only for hours within the tour of duty established for purposes of charging annual and sick leave when absent. For full-time employees, that tour is the 40-hour basic workweek as defined in 5 CFR 610.102, the basic work requirement established for employees on a flexible or compressed work schedule as defined in 5 U.S.C. 6121(3), or an uncommon tour of duty under § 630.210.

(c) Employees may not receive weather and safety leave for hours during which they are on other preapproved leave (paid or unpaid) or paid time off. Agencies should not provide weather and safety leave to an employee who, in the agency's judgment, is cancelling preapproved leave or paid time off, or changing a regular day off in a flexible or compressed work schedule, for the primary purpose of obtaining weather and safety leave.

(a) Record of placement on leave. An agency must maintain an accurate record of the placement of an employee on weather and safety leave.

(b) Reporting. In agency data systems (including timekeeping systems) and in data reports submitted to OPM, an agency must record weather and safety leave under section 6329c and this subpart as a category of leave separate from other types of leave.