3 FAM 3480
WEATHER AND SAFETY LEAVE
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(Office of Origin: HR/ER/WLD)
3 fam 3481 GENERAL INFORMATION
3 FAM 3481.1 Purpose
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Subject to the provisions in this subchapter, the
Department may grant a separate type of paid leave, called weather and safety
leave (WSL), to employees only if they are prevented from safely traveling to
or safely performing work at an approved work location due to:
(1) An act of God as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4;
(2) A terrorist attack; or
(3) Another condition that prevents an employee or
group of employees from safely traveling to or safely performing work at an
approved work location.
3 FAM 3481.2 Authorities
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
The following authorities are cited:
(1) 5 U.S.C. 6329c;
(2) 5 CFR 630, Subpart P.
3 FAM 3481.3 Applicability
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
This subchapter applies to all direct-hire Foreign Service
and Civil Service employees of the Department of State, except for intermittent
employees (i.e., part-time employees who do not have an established regular
tour of duty during the administrative work week).
3 FAM 3481.4 Definitions
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Act of God means an act of
nature, including, but not limited to, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods,
wildfires, earthquakes, landslides, snowstorms, and avalanches.
Approved work location(s):
(1) For employee not participating in a telework
arrangement means the regular worksite(s) of an employees position of record
where the employee regularly performs his or her duties;
(2) For employee participating in a domestic core or
situational telework arrangement means the regular worksite(s) of an employees
position of record (where the employee regularly performs his or her duties)
and the employees approved alternate work site(s), as described in 3 FAM 2361.4;
(3) For employee participating in a domestic employees
teleworking overseas (DETO) arrangement means the regular worksite(s) of an
employees position of record (where the employee would regularly perform his
or her duties in the absence of a DETO arrangement) and the employees overseas
alternate worksite(s), as described in 3 FAM 2368.2
and 3 FAM
2368.10; and
(4) For employee on temporary duty (TDY) away from
his/her regular duty station means the employees worksite at his/her temporary
duty station or any other approved worksite.
OPM means the Office of
Personnel Management.
Participating in a telework program
means an employee is eligible to telework and has an established telework
arrangement (i.e., a valid, approved telework agreement) with the Department
under which the employee is approved to participate in the Department telework
program, including on a core or situational basis. Such an employee who
teleworks on a situational basis (i.e., has a valid, approved situational
telework agreement) is considered to be continuously participating in a
telework program even if there are extended periods during which the employee
does not perform telework.
Weather and safety leave (WSL)
means paid leave provided under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 6329c.
WSL conditions means an act of
God, a terrorist attack, or another condition that prevents an employee or
group of employees from safely traveling to or safely performing work at an
approved work location.
3 FAM 3482 AUTHORIZING weather and
safety leave
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. OPM will provide guidance to Federal agencies
related to the appropriate use of WSL, including OPM guidance on
Government-wide dismissal and closure policies and procedures. It is expected
that such guidance will deal not only with when it is appropriate to use WSL,
but also when other workplace flexibility options (including unscheduled leave,
unscheduled telework and flexible work schedules) should be used in lieu of
WSL. OPM will continue to issue Federal operating status announcements for the
Washington, DC, area.
b. Domestic offices in the Washington,
DC area:
(1) Authorizations for WSL for eligible employees will
generally be based on OPMs operating status announcements, unless
office-specific conditions require grants of WSL beyond that contemplated by
OPMs operating status (e.g., in the case of a building-specific emergency such
as a building fire, power outage, or burst water pipe);
(2) The authorizing official is the immediate
supervisor, unless the employing bureau has designated a higher-level
authorizing official (for example, the second-level supervisor, or executive director);
(3) Employees who are eligible for WSL and are not
participating in a telework program (as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4)
do not have to submit a leave request or otherwise formally request WSL.
However, the employee, supervisor, and office timekeeper are responsible for
ensuring that time and attendance reporting for the relevant period of WSL is
properly recorded per 3 FAM 3485; and
(4) Employees who are participating in a telework
program (as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4)
and who may be eligible for WSL based on one of the exceptions set forth in 3 FAM 3483.2
must submit a leave request as detailed in 3 FAM 3483.3
in order to request WSL.
c. Domestic offices outside the
Washington, DC area:
(1) The authorizing official is the immediate
supervisor at the official work site, unless the employing bureau has
designated a higher-level authorizing official (for example, the second-level
supervisor, or executive director);
(2) Employees who are eligible for WSL and are not
participating in a telework program (as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4)
do not have to submit a leave request or otherwise formally request WSL.
However, the employee, supervisor, and office timekeeper are responsible for
ensuring that time and attendance reporting for the relevant period of WSL is
properly recorded per 3 FAM 3485; and
(3) Employees who are participating in a telework
program (as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4)
and who may be eligible for WSL based on one of the exceptions set forth in 3 FAM 3483.2
must submit a leave request as detailed in 3 FAM 3483.3
in order to request WSL.
d. Posts abroad:
(1) The authorizing official is the immediate
supervisor, unless the chief of mission or principal officer at post has
designated a higher-level authorizing official (for example the second-level
supervisor or deputy chief of mission);
(2) Employees who are eligible for WSL and are not
participating in a telework program (as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4)
do not have to submit a leave request or otherwise formally request WSL.
However, the employee, supervisor, and office timekeeper are responsible for
ensuring that time and attendance reporting for the relevant period of WSL is
properly recorded per 3 FAM 3485; and
(3) Employees who are participating in a telework
program (as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4)
and who may be eligible for WSL based on one of the exceptions set forth in 3 FAM 3483.2
must submit a leave request as detailed in 3 FAM 3483.3
in order to request WSL.
3 FAM 3483 TELEWORK-READY EMPLOYEES
and OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
3 FAM 3483.1 Telework-Ready
Employees
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Employees who are participating in a telework program
under 3 FAM 2360
(as described in 3 FAM 3481.4)
and are able to safely travel to and perform work at an approved alternate work
site (e.g., the employees home where that is the approved alternate
worksite/telework site) may not be granted WSL unless one of the exceptions set
forth in 3 FAM
3483.2 applies.
3 FAM 3483.2 Telework Considerations
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Employee participating in a core or
situational telework arrangement: In most cases, employees who have a
valid approved situational or core telework agreement in place are not eligible
for WSL. In determining whether an exception applies such that a grant of WSL
to a teleworking employee may be permissible, the authorizing official must
consider whether the WSL conditions as defined in 3 FAM 3481.4
affect travel to and work at both the regular work site and the alternate work
site of an employee. [Generally, WSL should be authorized based on an OPM or
office-specific closure or operating status announcement.] Additionally, the
authorizing official must evaluate whether an employee could have reasonably
anticipated the WSL condition and whether the employee took reasonable steps
(within the employees control) to prepare to telework at the approved alternate
worksite:
(1) WSL conditions at both regular
and alternate work site: If an employee is prevented from safely
traveling to or safely working at the alternate work site, as well as his or
her regular work site, due to one or more WSL conditions, the authorizing
official will grant WSL to the employee, (e.g., flash flooding from a hurricane
led to a power outage at an employees office (regular worksite) as well as her
home (approved alternate worksite)); and
(2) Anticipating WSL conditions:
If, in the authorizing officials judgment, the WSL conditions could not have
been reasonably anticipated, the official may approve WSL to the extent an
employee was not able to prepare for telework as described in 3 FAM 3483.2,
paragraph b, and is otherwise unable to perform productive work at the
alternate work site:
(a) Example where WSL is appropriate:
An employee is authorized to situationally telework but must prepare for his
telework day in advance so that he can take his work files home (i.e., will not
be able to perform productive work from home without his work files). A
tornado causes a power outage at the employees regular work site (i.e.,
office). Since the tornado and associated office power outage could not have
reasonably been anticipated and because the employee could not perform
productive telework without his work files, the authorizing official may grant
WSL; and
(b) Example where WSL is not
appropriate: An employee is authorized to situationally telework but
must prepare for his telework day in advance so that he can take his work files
home (i.e., will not be able to perform productive work from home without his
work files). A snow storm is forecasted days in advance, and causes an office
closure. The employee did not take his work files home and could not perform
productive telework without his work files. Because the snow storm could have
been reasonably anticipated and the employee could have taken but did not take
reasonable steps to prepare to telework, the authorizing official may not grant
WSL;
(3) WSL conditions only at alternate
work site: An authorizing official will not approve WSL when the WSL
condition does not prevent the employee from safely traveling to and safely
performing work at his or her regular work site, even if the affected day is a
scheduled telework day, unless the employee is teleworking under a valid remote
work agreement (i.e., a telework arrangement under which an employee performs
the duties of his/her position from an alternate worksite located outside of
the commuting area of his/her regular worksite) or DETO agreement. For
example, an employee on a core telework agreement is regularly scheduled to
telework on Mondays and the alternate work site is the home. A windstorm
causes a power outage that knocks out power to the employees home and prevents
the employee from teleworking from the alternate worksite on Monday. If the
employee is able to safely travel to and work at the regular work site (i.e., office)
on Monday, then the authorizing official will not approve weather and safety
leave.
b. In making a determination under subparagraph a(2) of
this section, the authorizing official must evaluate whether the WSL conditions
could have been reasonably anticipated and whether the employee took reasonable
steps (within the employees 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 required for teleworking. If an employee is unable to
perform work at the alternate work site because of the employees failure to
make necessary preparations for reasonably anticipated conditions, the authorizing
official will not approve WSL, and the employee must request paid leave (i.e.,
accrued, accumulated or advanced annual leave, or, if appropriate, sick leave),
previously earned compensatory time off, or leave without pay.
c. Employee participating in DETO
arrangement: If an employee is prevented from safely working at the
approved overseas alternate worksite(s) due to circumstances arising from one
or more of the WSL conditions described in 3 FAM 3481.1,
the authorizing official will grant WSL to the employee.
d. Employee on TDY: Employees
are generally not able to telework while on TDY. If an employee on TDY orders
is prevented from safely traveling to or working at the temporary duty station,
or any other approved work site, due to WSL conditions during the period of employee's
TDY and is not located in the commuting area of employee's regular worksite or
an approved alternate work site, the authorizing official shall grant WSL to
the employee.
e. Dependent care responsibilities and
telework:
(1) Per 3 FAM 2362.1,
paragraph j, telework is not an alternative for child, elder, or dependent
care. Employees must not use duty time for any purpose other than official
duties, and must make other arrangements for such care. While Department
policy does allow employees to telework while children or elderly parents are
in the home, employees may not use duty time to care for those dependents;
(2) In certain circumstances, WSL conditions that
affect an employees regular worksite (e.g., office) may also cause
school/facility closures and result in a child/dependent staying at home with a
teleworking employee. Under such a scenario, the employee may telework,
consistent with Department telework policy in 3 FAM 2360, as
long as the employee is not actively caring for the child/dependent. Weather
and safety leave will not be granted for any time spent caring for a
child/dependent. The employee would be expected to account for work and
nonwork hours during his or her tour of duty and take the appropriate personal
leave (e.g., annual leave or leave without pay) to account for the time spent
away from normal work-related duties; and
(3) Example: Local federal offices are officially
closed due to a snowstorm. That same snowstorm results in a school closure for
an employees child. The employee may telework while employee's child is in
the house, as long as the employee is not using any duty time to care for the
child. Under this scenario, the employee would be expected to account for
work and nonwork hours during employee's tour of duty and take the appropriate
personal leave (e.g., annual leave or leave without pay) to account for any
time spent away from normal work-related duties. The employee may not receive
WSL for any time spent caring for a child.
3 FAM 3483.3 Certification Requirements
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Employees who are affected by one of the scenarios
described in 3
FAM 3483.2, subparagraph (a)(1), or paragraphs c or d, must submit a request
via Form DS-7100 to the authorizing official detailing the reasons why they are
prevented from safely traveling to or working at the relevant work site(s), as
well as the specific dates and hours for which they are requesting weather and
safety leave. An employees own certification of their inability to safely
travel to work at the relevant work site(s) due to a WSL condition is
sufficient documentation to support the leave request. The employee must
submit Form DS-7100 and certification within 10 workdays after the employee's
return to work. Failure to do so may result in the authorizing official
declining to grant WSL.
3 FAM 3483.4 Emergency Employees
and Emergency Relocation Group Employees
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Certain employees are designated as emergency
employees who are critical to Department operations and for whom weather and
safety leave may not be applicable. Emergency employees typically are
employees responsible for providing essential facilities, security, and
information technology services. Examples could include DS Command Center
staff; Operations Center staff; Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NRRC) staff;
employees serving on the Incident Management Team coordinated by the Office of
Emergency Management (A/OEM) (when notified by OEM that their presence is
required to respond to the emergency situation); and others who perform
essential duties that may not be suspended.
b. Bureaus and offices must ensure that employees who
are emergency employees are identified as such in their work requirements and
telework agreements (where applicable), and notified in writing of their status
at least annually. The written notice must specify whether, in circumstances
arising from one or more WSL conditions, unless directed otherwise:
(1) The emergency employee is required, irrespective
of any OPM government operation status or other general dismissal or closure
announcement, to report to/remain at their regular work site (e.g., office);
or
(2) The emergency employee has the option to, in
appropriate circumstances, telework at an approved alternate worksite (e.g.,
home) in lieu of traveling to/reporting at the regular worksite; and
(3) If the emergency employee is required to report
for work and fails to do so, that employee may be charged absence without leave
(AWOL) for the period not worked and may potentially be disciplined for AWOL.
c. Bureaus and offices may designate different
emergency employees for the different circumstances expected to arise from WSL
conditions.
d. Consistent with the written notice requirements in
paragraph b of this section, emergency employees must report to work at either
their regular work site or their approved alternate work site, as stated in the
written notice, unless:
(1) The authorizing official determines that travel to
or performing work at their official worksite is unsafe for emergency
employees, in which case the office may require the employees to work at
another location, including an approved alternate (i.e., telework) work site;
or
(2) The authorizing official determines that
circumstances justify granting weather and safety leave to emergency employees,
consistent with the requirements in this FAM chapter, including those in 3 FAM 3482, 3 FAM 3483.1,
and 3 FAM
3483.3.
e. Emergency relocation group (ERG) employees are
personnel from bureaus and offices who are designated to support the
Departments continuity-of-operations programs. ERG employees may be called
upon to work during emergencies involving national security, extended
emergencies, or other unique situations. Policies and procedures for ERG
employees are described in 6 FAM 410:
(1) ERG employees are not automatically considered
emergency employees for purposes of weather and safety leave; and
(2) Bureaus and offices that choose to designate an
ERG employee as an emergency employee must follow the written notification
procedures outlined in paragraph b of this section.
3 FAM 3484 ADMINISTRATION OF WEATHER
AND SAFETY LEAVE
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. WSL is taken in quarter-hour increments and the
minimum is a quarter hour.
b. Employees may be granted WSL only for hours within
the tour of duty established for purposes of charging annual and sick leave
when absent:
(1) Full-time employees: For
a full-time employee, that tour is the employees standard schedule, which for
most employees is the 40-hour basic workweek defined in 3 FAM 2331.3;
(2) Part-time employees: For
part-time employees, that tour is established in accordance with 3 FAM 2337.3-1
and leave is charged in accordance with 3 FAM 2337.3-2;
(3) Flexible work schedules:
Full-time employees on flexible work schedules (FWS) may be granted up to 8
hours of weather and safety leave in a workday. (The FWS currently supported
by the Department, noted in 3 FAM 2335.2,
include flexitour, gliding schedule, variable-day schedule, variable-week
schedule.) For a full-time employee on a variable-day or variable-week
schedule, the employee must make arrangements to work extra hours during other
regularly scheduled workdays or use annual leave, credit hours, or compensatory
time off in order to fulfill the 80-hour biweekly work requirement. For
example, an employee on a variable-day schedule must work 40 hours in a
workweek. The employee worked 6 hours on Monday and was granted 8 hours of WSL
on Tuesday due to a snowstorm. The employee will need to work 26 hours over
the next 3 workdays, or alternately use leave, credit hours, or compensatory
time off to meet the 40-hour workweek requirement; and
(4) Compressed work schedules:
Full-time employees on compressed work schedules (e.g., 4-day workweek or 5/4-9
compressed) may be granted weather and safety leave up to the amount of
non-overtime hours they would otherwise work on that workday. For example, if
the conditions for granting weather and safety leave occurred on an employees
10-hour workday, the authorizing official may grant up to 10 hours of weather
and safety leave.
c. Unless one of the situations in 3 FAM 3484,
paragraph d applies, employees will not receive weather and safety leave for
hours during which they are on other preapproved leave (paid or unpaid) or paid
time off. The authorizing official will not approve weather and safety leave
for an employee, who, in the authorizing officials 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.
d. Employees may cancel preapproved leave or paid time
off in certain situations arising from WSL conditions and may be granted WSL if
all other WSL requirements for WSL are met:
(1) Sick leave for appointment:
If an employee was previously approved to use sick leave and the legal basis
for that sick leave has been eliminated due to WSL conditions, the sick leave
must be cancelled and WSL may be granted if consistent with all other
provisions in this FAM subchapter. For example, an employee is scheduled to
use sick leave for a medical appointment and that medical appointment is
cancelled due to a blizzard, that employees sick leave must be cancelled and
the employee may be granted WSL if eligible (e.g., if the employee is a nonteleworking
and nonemergency employee and is prevented by the WSL condition from safely
traveling to, or safely performing work, at an approved worksite);
(2) Sick leave due to illness:
If an employee is on previously approved sick leave due to the employees own
illness during WSL conditions described in 3 FAM 3481.1,
that employee will remain on sick leave; and
(3) Leave in connection with personal
travel: If an employee has been approved to use annual leave, leave
without pay, or compensatory time off in connection with personal travel and
that travel has been delayed or cancelled due to WSL conditions, the employee
may choose to cancel his or her previously approved leave. For example, a
hurricane closes an employees office and also results in her vacation flight
being cancelled. The employee may choose to cancel her annual leave and may
receive WSL if she is a nontelework employee and nonemergency employee who is
prevented from safely traveling to or performing work at an approved worksite.
3 FAM 3485 RECORDS AND REPORTING
(CT:PER-910; 05-09-2018)
(State only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Authorizing officials must ensure that time and
attendance reports from office timekeepers accurately reflect any weather and
safety leave granted by the official. Employees share responsibilities with
the timekeeper and authorizing official in affirming the accuracy and
completeness of leave used during each pay period, as required in 4 FAH-3 H-525.
b. The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial
Services (CGFS) must designate and account for weather and safety leave under
this subchapter as a category of leave separate from all other types of leave.
3 fam 3486 through 3489 unassigned