All work at home or at a satellite office must be performed in accordance with agency policies on tours of duty. This includes, but is not limited to, adherence to guidelines on:
Employees may work at home or at a satellite office only:
Within the limits of their documented work schedule (e.g., flexible work schedule, first-40-hour tour, standard tour, etc.);
On days that have been prescheduled and approved by the supervisor. Employees may not change telework days without prior approval of their supervisor; and
For a maximum of 3 days per week for full-time employees, excluding Saturday and Sunday, or as determined by supervisor. Field employees whose home is their ODS are exempt from the 3 days per week rule.
Exceptions: Telework schedules for employees on first-40-hour tours of duty and employees with pre-approved overtime or night differential pay may include Saturdays and Sundays, but cannot exceed 3 days per week.
If participation is due to a natural disaster, medical condition, or pandemic health crisis or other emergency, the employee may participate up to 5 days per week, excluding Saturdays and Sundays.
Up to 5 days per week for a Reasonable Accommodation as approved by the supervisor.
On a pro-rated basis for part-time employees. Part-time employees must work at the official duty station for at least 1/3 of the scheduled workweek. For example, a part-time employee who works 3 days per week must work in the office at least one of those days.
Scheduling of Telework days may vary from pay period to pay period. In some instances, supervisors may require employees to be available at their duty station on a day previously scheduled for work at home. Employees are responsible for ensuring their availability for meetings and other responsibilities, and as directed by their supervisors because work requirements take precedence over participation in the Telework program.
If a teleworker is required to or chooses to come into the office on a previously scheduled telework day, he/she is not automatically granted another telework day in lieu of the missed telework day.
Employees may be approved to telework and also to work an alternative work schedule.
Leave
An employee must follow established policies and procedures for requesting and using leave while working at a telework worksite. If an employee wishes to use sick or annual leave during scheduled work hours, he/she must obtain approval from the supervisor and document the hours on the time and attendance report.
Holidays
An employee whose scheduled telework day falls on a Federal holiday (or day designated a holiday by Federal Statute or Executive Order) may reschedule the telework day to another day within the same pay period, with prior approval of the supervisor. Under some circumstances, due to changing priorities, deadlines, or work demands, it may not be possible to reschedule the telework day.
Washington, D.C. Metro Area Emergency Dismissal and Closure Procedures
If the OPM announcement says:
Then:
For non-emergency employees, this means that:
Federal offices in the Washington DC area are OPEN for business as usual. Employees are expected to report for work on time.
Employees, including those on telework, are expected to report as scheduled. Note: Official announcements are rarely made when no changes are required in Federal operations.
Absences will be charged to appropriate leave category, as requested by employee and approved by the supervisor (annual leave, LWOP, earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, compensatory time off for travel, or credit hours, etc).
Federal offices are OPEN with the option for UNSCHEDULED LEAVE or UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK
Agencies will open on time. Emergency employees must report for work on time unless directed otherwise by their supervisor. Nonemergency employees may either TELEWORK or take UNSCHEDULE leave.
UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK means employees:
Already scheduled to telework must continue to telework until the end of their scheduled tour, or request unscheduled leave.
Not scheduled to telework may opt to do so as long as the employee has a telework agreement in place. These employees must notify their supervisors of their intent.
UNSCHEDULE LEAVE means employees:
Must notify their supervisors of their intent to use leave,
May substitute an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) day off for the unscheduled leave day;
May use scheduling flexibilities during the remainder of the pay period to make up time taken as unscheduled leave, or
Request sick leave, if appropriate.
Absences will be charged to annual leave, earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, earned compensatory time off for travel, earned credit hours, or leave without pay (LWOP).
Employees must notify their supervisor of their intent to use unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework.
Federal offices are OPEN for business as usual under a XX- HOUR DELAYED ARRIVAL with the option of using UNSCHEDULED LEAVE or UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK
Emergency employees must report for work on time unless directed otherwise by their supervisor. Nonemergency employees may either delay their arrival to work by XX hours, use UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK or take UNSCHEDULE leave.
XX HOUR DELAYED ARRIVAL means employees:
Must arrive at work no more than XX hours later than their normal arrival time.
Arriving later than the XX hours, must request leave to cover the excess time away from the office.
UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK means employees:
Already scheduled to telework must continue to telework until the end of their scheduled tour, or request unscheduled leave.
Not scheduled to telework may opt to do so as long as the employee has a telework agreement in place. These employees must notify their supervisors of their intent.
UNSCHEDULE LEAVE means employees:
Must notify their supervisors of their intent to use leave;
May substitute an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) day off for the unscheduled leave day;
May use scheduling flexibilities during the remainder of the pay period to make up time taken as unscheduled leave, or
May request sick leave, if appropriate.
The delayed arrival is charged to administrative leave, TC 66, on the T&A. For example, with a 2 hour delayed arrival, if your employee normally begins work at 8 am, than s/he must arrive by 10 am. If s/he arrives at 9am, than s/he is entitled to 1 hour excused absence. If s/he arrives at 9:45am, than s/he is entitled to 1 hour 45 minutes of administrative leave.
Employees arriving later than the XX hours permitted must request leave to cover the excess time away from the office. For example, with a 2 hour delayed arrival, if the employee's regularly scheduled tour was to start at 7 am, this meant that s/he was to report by 9 am. If the employee was unable to report until 9:30 am then the T&A must reflect 2 hrs administrative leave (from 7am - 9am) and 1/2 hour of leave. Supervisors may grant administrative leave for the excess time for unusual circumstances or hardships.
Absences will be charged to annual leave, earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, earned compensatory time off for travel, earned credit hours, or leave without pay (LWOP).
Employees must notify their supervisor of their intent to use unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework.
Employees with individual hardships or unique circumstances may be granted a reasonable amount of administrative leave (TC 66).
Employees on pre-approved leave for the entire workday must be charged leave.
Federal offices are OPEN for business as usual under a XX- HOUR STAGGERED EARLY DEPARTURE
Emergency employees must remain at work unless directed otherwise by their supervisor. Non-emergencyemployees may be dismissed from their worksite XX hours early based on their regularly scheduled tour for the day or take UNSCHEDULED leave.
XX hours STAGGERED EARLY DEPARTURE means employees:
May be dismissed from their worksite XX hours early based on their regularly scheduled tour of duty for the day. For example an announced 3-hour early departure means an employee who is regularly scheduled to work until 5:00 p.m., is authorized to leave at 2 p.m.
Will be granted administrative leave (TC 66) for the hours remaining in their work day.
Who depart prior to their staggered early departure time will be charged leave and will not be granted administrative leave.
Employees already scheduled to TELEWORK must continue to telework until the end of their scheduled tour, or request unscheduled leave.
UNSCHEDULED LEAVE means employees:
Must notify their supervisors of their intent to use leave;
May substitute an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) day off for the unscheduled leave day;
May use scheduling flexibilities during the remainder of the pay period to make up time taken as unscheduled leave, or
May request sick leave, if appropriate.
Absences will be charged to the appropriate leave category, i.e., annual leave, earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, earned compensatory time off for travel, earned credit hours, or leave without pay.
Employees on pre-approved leave for the entire workday or those who were granted unscheduled leave before an early departure policy is announced must be charged leave for the entire workday or remainder of the workday, as applicable.
Employees on leave and not scheduled to return to work must be charged leave.
Employees on leave, who are scheduled to return to work after the applicable departure time, must be granted administrative leave beginning at the time he or she was scheduled to return from leave.
Employees who have pre-approved leave (e.g., for a dental appointment) that starts after their staggered departure time may be granted administrative leave.
Employees with individual hardships or unique circumstances, e.g., no available public transportation, or no alternative forms of child or elder care, or the employee has health/medical limitations, may be granted a reasonable amount of administrative leave (TC 66).
Federal offices are OPEN for business as usual under a XX- HOUR STAGGERED EARLY DEPARTURE EMPLOYEES MUST DEPART NO LATER THAN XX:XX AT WHICH TIME FEDERAL OFFICES ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
Emergency employees must remain at work unless directed otherwise by their supervisor. Non-emergencyemployees may be dismissed from their worksite XX hours early based on their regularly scheduled tour for the day. Employees must be out of their offices by the final departure time.
XX hours STAGGERED EARLY DEPARTURE means employees:
May be dismissed from their worksite XX hours early based on their regularly scheduled tour of duty for the day. For example, an announced 3-hour early departure means an employee who is regularly scheduled to work until 5 p.m., is authorized to leave at 2 p.m.
Whose staggered departure time is later than the final departure time must depart at the final departure time. For example, if a 3 hour staggered dismissal with a final departure time of 2 p.m. is announced, employees with a staggered departure time of 3p.m. must leave their offices by the 2 p.m. final departure time. These employees are granted administrative leave from 2 p.m. until the end of their regularly scheduled tour for the day.
Will be granted administrative leave (TC 66) for the hours remaining in their work day.
Who depart prior to their staggered early departure time or the final departure time will be charged leave and will not be granted administrative leave.
Employees already scheduled to TELEWORK must continue to telework until the end of their scheduled tour, or request unscheduled leave.
UNSCHEDULE LEAVE means employees:
Must notify their supervisors of their intent to use leave;
May substitute an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) day off for the unscheduled leave day;
May use scheduling flexibilities during the remainder of the pay period to make up time taken as unscheduled leave, or
May request sick leave, if appropriate.
Absences will be charged to the appropriate leave category, i.e., annual leave, earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, earned compensatory time off for travel, earned credit hours, or leave without pay.
Employees on pre-approved leave for the entire workday or those who were granted unscheduled leave before an early departure policy is announced must be charged leave for the entire workday or remainder of the workday, as applicable.
Employees on leave and not scheduled to return to work must be charged leave.
Employees on leave, who are scheduled to return to work after the applicable departure time, must be granted administrative leave beginning at the time he or she was scheduled to return from leave.
Employees who have pre-approved leave (e.g., for a dental appointment) that starts after their staggered departure time may be granted administrative leave.
Employees with individual hardships or unique circumstances, e.g., distance, availability of public transportation, child or elder care responsibilities, may be granted a reasonable amount of administrative leave (TC 66).
IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE FEDERAL OFFICES ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
Emergency employees must remain at work unless directed otherwise by their supervisor. Non-emergency employees must depart immediately from their office. Employees will be granted administrative leave for the number of hours remaining in their regularly scheduled tour of duty. This excludes employees who:
Leave before an immediate departure policy is announced. These employees will be charged leave from the time they left until the end of their regularly scheduled tour of duty.
Are on official travel outside of the affected region,
Are on leave without pay, or
Are on their alternative work schedule (AWS) day off.
Employees already scheduled to telework continue to telework or may take unscheduled leave.
Employees scheduled to return from leave after an immediate departure is announced must be charged leave for the period prior to the immediate departure and then granted administrative leave for the remainder of the workday following the immediate departure time.
Absences will be charged to the appropriate leave category, i.e., annual leave, earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, earned compensatory time off for travel or earned credit hours.
Federal offices are CLOSED to the public.
Emergency employees must report for work on time unless directed otherwise by their supervisor. Non-emergency employees with approved telework agreements are required to telework but will receive 2 hours of administrative leave on the day of the closure.
Non-emergency employees without telework agreements and any employees on preapproved leave will be granted administrative leave for the number of hours they are regularly scheduled to work.
Employees granted administrative leave due to the closure must code the T&A using TC 66-weather.
Maxiflex employees that are granted administrative leave (TC 66) must code the T&A to reflect the number of hours regularly scheduled to work for the day. For example, a regularly scheduled 8-hour day would be coded with 8 hours TC 66. A 9-hour day would be coded with 9 hours of TC 66.
Employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers' compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status are not granted administrative leave.
Telework eligible employees must notify their supervisor of their intent to Telework from home on a non-telework day.
Employees on alternative work schedules are not entitled to another AWS day off in lieu of the workday on which the agency is closed.
SHELTER-IN-PLACE (SIP) on XX date
Employees must:
Find shelter as instructed in their Program’s emergency procedures.
Remain in the designated area until notified that they may return to their office or leave the worksite.
Employees prevented from entering the worksite must be granted administrative leave for the duration of the announcement.
Employees already scheduled to telework must continue working unless affected by the SIP emergency or otherwise directed by their Program. Note: SIP procedures are conducted when employees (and visitors) must remain in the office or take immediate shelter in a readily accessible interior location to protect themselves. SIP has been added to the operating status announcement as an additional tool to help protect the MRP workforce during certain severe weather events, e.g., tornadoes, or emergencies, such as danger from exposure to outside contaminants in the event of a release into the atmosphere of hazardous materials such as radiological, biological, or chemical contaminants. It may also be used in rare situations for employees who have not left the office after a “Staggered/Final Departure or Immediate Departure” announcement was made. Employees will be paid base pay through the end of their regularly scheduled tour of duty for SIP situations occurring during regular working hours. Employees placed in official “standby duty” status during SIP situations that occur after duty hours may be entitled to premium pay.
Field Emergency Dismissal and Closure Procedures
During emergency situations, field offices:
With local Federal Executive Boards (FEBs) must follow the dismissal or closures procedures of the FEB.
Without a local FEB, are advised to consider adopting the DC area guidance outlined above and applying it to their particular situation. The highest ranking official at the facility is delegated the authority to make weather and/or emergency related decisions. In addition, when making dismissal or closure decisions:
MRP Programs co-located with other USDA offices must contact those offices and make a joint USDA decision. Disagreements between local managers will be referred to the Deputy Administrator of MRPBS for resolution. If resolution cannot be reached, the Deputy Administrators may contact the Director, Office of Human Resources Management, USDA, for final resolution.
MRP Programs that are not co-located are to use official public announcements by local, State, or Federal authorities that travel is to be avoided.
The designated MRP official must arrange for an announcement on local radio stations and/or other appropriate available media, if not already arranged by another Federal authority. If a public announcement is not possible, the designated official may determine retroactively that employees who could not report for duty because of the emergency will be granted administrative leave.
Dismissals and Emergency Closings
If an early dismissal or emergency closure occurs at the telework participant’s normal duty station, then he/she may continue teleworking for the remainder of his/her workday based on his/her regularly scheduled tour of duty.
With supervisory approval, employees with an approved Telework Agreement, working at their ODS during an early departure authorization, may depart prior to the scheduled early departure time, without charge to annual leave, as long as they make up the time later in the day or within the pay period.
When Federal offices are closed to the public, all employees with an approved Telework Agreement will be required to telework and granted 2 hours of excused absence.
If a satellite office is affected by an emergency, the organization responsible for operating the satellite office has the authority and responsibility to close the office. Telework participants must notify their immediate supervisor of the dismissal.
If the emergency closing affects the alternate worksite for only a portion of the day, the supervisor may:
Require the telework participant to report to the ODS,
Approve annual leave or leave without pay, or
Authorize an excused absence.
More information on excused absence may be found in Human Resources Desk Guide, Subchapter 4630, Absence and Leave.
Accounting for Travel Time
The employee's workday may begin at the traditional worksite, the private residence (if working at home), or at a satellite office. Travel time to any of these locations once the workday has begun is considered official duty time for the purpose of time and attendance.
Example: An employee who begins the workday at home, but is required to travel to the office for a mid-day meeting, is considered "on-the-clock" while traveling to the office. The return trip home is on the employee's own time and is considered "off-the-clock."
If an employee is notified in advance of the workday to report to his/her ODS, on a day previously scheduled for telework, travel to the ODS is not considered official time.
Documentation
Work Schedule Form, MRP 19-R, (optional) may be used to document an employee's flexible schedule. A copy of the form is included with this Subchapter. Supervisors are responsible for monitoring and verifying time and attendance reports. This includes using appropriate telework codes in WebTA.
Scheduling Guidelines 
If an employee is notified in advance of the workday to report to his/her ODS, on a day previously scheduled for telework, travel to the ODS is not considered official time.