With the initiative to have all federal employees back in the office, many federal employees were confused when they read the recent notice to all federal agencies in the DC area. The notice stated, “Federal agencies in the Washington DC area are Open and employees have the Option for Unscheduled Leave or Unscheduled Telework.” With the possibility of inclement weather impacting operating status this week, it’s a good time to sift through the details.
Telework has to be pre-approved. The inclement weather announcement allows those who don’t have telework pre-approval to take unscheduled annual leave, or if they are authorized to telework, they can either telework or take annual leave.
Telework Fundamentals
According to The Guide to Telework in the Federal Government, “telework” is a work arrangement that allows an employee to perform work during any part of regular, paid hours at an approved alternative worksite (e.g., home, telework center). This definition of telework includes what is generally referred to as remote work but does not include any part of work done while on official travel or mobile work.”
Generally speaking, there are two types of telework: routine telework, in which telework occurs as part of an ongoing, regular schedule, and situational telework, which is approved on a case-by-case basis, where the hours worked were NOT part of a previously approved, ongoing and regular telework schedule.
Here is where it gets a little confusing: Situational telework includes telework due to inclement weather and special work assignments and is also referred to as situational, episodic, intermittent, unscheduled, or ad-hoc telework.
Situational Telework Explained
There are many scenarios in which an employee can be approved for telework under the second type described above, i.e., situational, episodic, or ad-hoc. Since every employee eligible to telework has formally received training and entered into a written telework agreement, their supervisors may approve them to telework on a case-by-case basis as the need arises.
Examples include but are not limited to an employee who has a short-term need for uninterrupted time to complete work on a complex project or report; an employee who is recovering from illness or an injury and is temporarily unable to report to the traditional office physically; and an employee receives word of an OPM announcement on the status of Federal Government operations in the Washington, DC, area due to inclement weather as “Open with Option for Unscheduled Leave or Unscheduled Telework,” and notifies her/his supervisor that she/he would like to opt for unscheduled telework that day.
Excluding Factor
Employees who wish to telework (regardless of which type) must first be pre-approved by their supervisor, successfully complete an interactive telework training program provided by the agency, and enter into a written agreement with their supervisor.
Telework Changes and Clarifications
Announcements such as this can be confusing without clarification from your agency’s Human Resources office, especially now that major changes to telework are on the horizon.
It is always recommended to contact your supervisor, especially in times like this, to avoid misunderstandings. The offices were open in this case, and there would have been staff available to address your concerns.
