Emergency conditions are defined as situations in which significant numbers of employees are prevented from reporting to work on time, or in which the closing of all or part of the Department's activities is required. Such conditions can include, but are not limited to snow emergencies, severe icing conditions, floods, earthquakes, major fires, public health or safety emergencies, hurricanes, air pollution, power failures, or widespread interruption of public transportation.

Closing. When an emergency condition results in the closing of all or part of the Department's activities for one or more whole days, all employees of offices affected by the closing will be excused from work without charge to leave, including employees who would otherwise have been on approved paid leave. However, the following are not entitled to excused absence and shall remain in their current status, employees:

• On LWOP pending disability;
• In receipt of workers' compensation;
• On military leave;
• On suspension; or
• In a nonpay status on the last hour of the workday immediately before and the first hour of the workday after the closure.

When a closing occurs, employees on a flexible work schedule who do not have a scheduled workday during the office closure (or are on their AWS day off) may not be granted another workday or "in-lieu-of" day. (See Comptroller General opinion B-217080 (June 3, 1985)).

Also see Excused absences.