From time to time, emergencies arise that impact government operations. These emergencies could include, but are not limited to, severe weather, natural disasters, or manmade disasters. In response, the Mayor may declare an emergency that suspends or modifies some government operations. The shifts to our government's operating status may entitle certain employees to additional compensation and warrant the use of specific time reporting codes. This issuance provides guidance to employees and management officials on the procedures to follow where the Mayor declares an emergency and shifts the District’s operating status to a late arrival, early dismissal, government closure, or maximum telework.

Non-essential and Non-emergency Employees

1. Employees who physically report to work shall receive Administrative Closing Pay – ACP[1] for the remaining hours of their tour of duty.
2. Employees who telework are not subject to early dismissal and must work the remainder of their tour of duty without receipt of any pay premiums.
3. Agencies may also require employees who physically report to work to remain at work despite the early dismissal. If ordered to remain at work, these employees will receive the Administrative Closing Worked – ACW premium, if eligible, as described below between the hours of early dismissal and 7:00 p.m.

Essential and Emergency Employees

Essential employees and activated emergency employees who must remain at work shall receive an Administrative Closing Worked – ACW[2] premium for hours worked between the early dismissal time and 7:00 p.m. The premium is provided on an hour-for-hour basis at a rate equivalent to the employee’s rate of basic pay. Administrative Closing Worked is provided in addition to other pay (e.g. overtime) and shall not be considered basic pay for any purpose.

Employees who had Requested Leave or had Pre-Approved Leave

If an employee requests and is granted leave for the remainder of their tour of duty prior to the declaration of an early dismissal, the employee shall be charged leave for the remainder of their tour of duty.

If the employee had requested and was granted leave for their entire tour of duty before the early dismissal was declared, the employee shall be charged the entirety of their scheduled leave for the day.

If an employee requests and is granted leave at any time after a notice of early dismissal, they will only be charged leave for the period when leave commences to the hour that early dismissal is authorized.

Non-essential and Non-emergency employees

1. Non-essential employees who have duties that can be performed remotely must report virtually at their regular time according to their established tour of duty. If an employee’s routine telework day falls on the same day as the District operates in a maximum telework status, they should enter their time as Telework (Routine) – ROTW. Otherwise, employees should use Telework (Emergency) – EMTW. Teleworking employees shall not receive any Administrative Closing Worked premiums.
2. Non-essential employees who do not have duties that can be performed remotely, and who are not required to report to work should enter Administrative Closing Pay – ACP for hours they would have worked.

Essential and Emergency Employees

Essential and activated emergency employees who are required to physically report to work and perform non-overtime work shall receive an Administrative Closing Worked – ACW premium.

Employees who had Requested Leave or had Pre-approved Leave

Non-essential and un-activated emergency employees who had requested and were granted leave for the entirety or part of their tour of duty prior to the shift in operations shall be charged leave in the same manner as any other workday.

When a late arrival policy is in effect because of a declared emergency, most employees are authorized to physically report to their duty station later than their usual time without loss of pay. Typically, the Mayor will order a late arrival policy of two hours, though a shorter time may be ordered. The late arrival policy applies to all employees whose typical tour of duty begins between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Non-essential and Non-emergency Employees

1. Employees who are physically reporting to work shall use Administrative Closing Pay – ACP for hours they would have worked had there not been a delay, and Regular Pay – REG for the remainder of their time worked during their normal tour-of-duty.
2. Employees with a teleworking agreement who are authorized to situationally telework, or whose routine telework day falls on the day of a late arrival, shall report virtually at their regularly scheduled duty time. Teleworking employees should enter their time as they normally would. Teleworking employees shall not receive any Administrative Closing Worked – ACW premiums.

Essential and Emergency Employees

Essential employees and activated emergency employees who must work during the late arrival period (i.e., the length of the delay) shall receive an Administrative Closing Worked – ACW premium for hours worked during the late arrival period.

Employees who had Requested Leave or had Pre-approved Leave

Unscheduled Leave

During a declared emergency, the Mayor may also authorize non-essential and non-emergency employees to use unscheduled leave in combination with a late arrival. When the Mayor authorizes the use of unscheduled leave:

• An employee may use their own annual leave, compensatory time, exempt time off, or leave without pay to cover their period of absence.
• The normal requirements for non-essential and non-emergency employees to notify their supervisor within prescribed time limits are suspended.

Employees who use unscheduled leave and who do not report for duty for any reason shall use leave for the entire day. Employees who arrive later than authorized by the Mayor shall use leave for the additional time taken to report to their duty station.

Scheduled Leave

An employee who had previously requested and received approved leave for their entire tour of duty on a day when a late arrival is declared will be charged for their full scheduled leave.

During a full closure (also referred to as a shut-down), an employee not designated as an "essential employee" or "emergency employee" shall be dismissed from work. Telework shall not be authorized during a full closure or shutdown.

Non-essential Employees

Non-essential employees will be granted Administrative Leave for the entire closure period.

Essential and Emergency Employees

Essential employees and activated emergency employees are still required to report for duty even upon the occurrence of conditions beyond the employee’s control. These employees shall a receive an Administrative Closing Worked – ACW premium for hours worked during the shutdown.

Leave

If a non-essential and non-emergency employee had requested and was approved for leave before the day of a shutdown, they will not be charged any leave for the shutdown period.

Employees are not entitled to an “in lieu of” day if their regularly scheduled alternate work schedule arrangement falls on a day where the District’s operating status changes because of a declared emergency.

For example, employees are not entitled to a replacement day off if an emergency closure happens to fall on an employee’s regularly scheduled day-off. Similarly, if an employee’s routine telework day falls on a day where the District is operating in a maximum telework capacity, the employee is not entitled to another routine telework day.

Sections 1135.2 and 1271.10 of the District Personnel Manual entitle essential and emergency employees to compensation for regular work performed during an administrative closing. Section 1135.2 specifically states that the personnel authority may determine if compensation may be provided in the form of premium pay or leave. While the premium pay is still effective, the discretion to grant Administrative Closing Leave is currently not an option. Therefore, all eligible essential and emergency employees shall receive the paid Administrative Closing Worked premium, and “Administrative Closing Leave” shall not be used in place of the Administrative Closing Worked premium nor be given in addition to the premium.

Essential and activated emergency employees who are directed to work during a closure must record time worked during the period using the Administrative Closing Worked – ACW timecode. Employees should enter their time as follows:

1. Using the Regular Pay – REG timecode, enter your regular hours worked on your timesheet as you would normally.
2. Using the Administrative Closing Worked – ACW timecode, on a new line, enter your hours worked, rounded to the nearest quarter-hour, for time worked during the closure, delay, or early dismissal.

Example 1

Dejuan is an emergency employee and normally works Monday through Friday from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. On Friday, the District government dismisses employees two hours early because of an incoming snowstorm, but Dejuan is still required to complete the remainder of his shift. He should record his timesheet for that week as follows:

Example 2

On another week, the District government closed on Wednesday due to snow. Dejuan was still required to work on Wednesday despite the closure and worked his regular shift. He would record his timesheet for that week as follows:

To the extent a provision of this issuance is incompatible with a negotiated collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the CBA provision shall apply.

1. D.C. Official Code §§ 1-6103 and 1-612.01, et seq.
2. 6-B DCMR § 1135, Premium Pay—Administrative Closing Pay/Leave
3. 6B DCMR § 1266, Administrative Leave
4. 6B DCMR §§ 1270 through 1273, Declared Emergencies;

The provisions of this DPM issuance apply to employees in the Career, Legal, Excepted, and Management Supervisory Services, but excludes the following:

• Uniformed members of the Metropolitan Police Department; and
• Uniformed members of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

Uniformed members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department who are essential personnel and are required to work during a declared emergency (Essential and Emergency Personnel section) shall not receive Administrative Closing Pay. For additional information, refer to §§ 1123.1 and 1201.2 in Chapters 11B and 12, respectively, of the D.C. personnel regulations.