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Unscheduled leave for "evacuating" after earthquake?
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Anonymous
| you weren't there working - of course you should be charged leave. |
Anonymous
| Just another illustration of the policy that you only get the administrative leave if you are on duty & working: My agency typically grants some admin leave, usually four hours, before some holidays. So if you're working the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, you can be pretty certain that you are going to be allowed to leave 4 hours earlier than usual because, historically, we get an email from our Chairman to that effect around mid-morning every year on that day. But if you have taken the day off, you be charged 8 hours of leave. If you're at work, you get 4 hours off without using any of your leave. This actually incentivizes people to come to work that day. In addition, admin leave costs the government a lot of money. So the policy of providing admin leave, either in an emergency or in the agency head's discretion for other reasons, is construed against granting "free" paid leave to employees who are already using their own accrued paid leave. |
Anonymous
OP - if the dismissal was at 4:00, that's was just over 2 hours after the quake? How long do you think it should take? At the first rumble, should they have said, "OK, everyone go!" I think you're being unrealistic. |
Anonymous
| I'm a fed and I went back to work. We were out of the building for about an hour or so. The reality is that you were AWOL and now get to take leave. |
Anonymous
| The flexibility to leave the office at a moment's notice, without fear of being disciplined/fired, is well worth using 4 hours of leave time. |
Anonymous
| I'm a fed and my building was never officially evacuated. |
Anonymous
| Getting into your car and driving after an earthquake is not a good idea. The road, bridges and retaining walls could be severely damaged. Power lines down. You could ignite gas from a ruptured main by starting your engine. A big aftershock could cause you to get into an accident. Have a family emergency plan about where to meet and who will take care of what. But stay put until it is safe for you to travel. |
Anonymous
I left right away as well...every man for themselves, I say! |
Anonymous
| I understand the evacuation and leave policy if there is structural damage to a building. But also agree with the pp who mentioned the dangers of driving after an earthquake. And definitely do not go running out of a building during an earthquake. |
Anonymous
| I never understand why folks wait for the "official word" during emergencies. I'm not saying I run screaming from the building and hop in my car or call in at the first sign of a snowflake on the ground. I have an hour commute (each way) on a good day. If I'm at work and I hear there is a terrible storm coming I dont wait for the official word, I put in my leave and leave. What good is it to me to save a couple hours of leave just so I can be scared sh*tless driving home or get stranded? Bottom line....if I dont feel it's safe I'm getting the hell out of dodge. I would gladly take my leave or if I didnt have it...leave without pay. |
Anonymous
This quake was not of such a magnitude. Bridges might have been compromised-- that's reasonable. Gas mains could have been damaged, but then, OP's nose would have given her some clues. Power lines weren't down, and it would have to be a much, much larger aftershock to cause accidents from the shaking alone. In fact, it's hard to feel even moderate quakes like the one we had when you're driving. |
Anonymous
| I am a fed. We shut down (becuase FEMA had to inspect our building). We get administrative leave for the day (even those people that left before the announcement, becuase I guess there is no way to keep track of it all)....they announced we were shut down after an hour. |
Anonymous
Here no one was working for at least an hour as they milled around outside and building management tried to decide what to do. We were not even permitted in the building for a while. So, if you could not have been working anyway not sure why you would be charged leave. I do not believe our agency is charging leave, regardless of when people left work. |
Anonymous
This is hindsight. Right after an earthquake, you don't know if there will be another one and how big it will be. |
Anonymous
|
Honestly, I don't think anyone knew WHAT to do. For us, they didn't know if our building was safe, but realized people needed their things, so they let us go back in "carefully," get our stuff and leave. I had to laugh - like 800 people entering a building at the same time can be "careful". But I also think they made the best decision they could. They didn't force anyone back in, but gave us the option.
I'm glad they didn't make the decision instantly. I would have questioned, if there was any thought put into it. But we only waited about 30 minutes. I guess I'd be more frusterated if I had waited longer - only because my car keys were in the building. If not, I would have gladly taken leave. You did what you felt was right, and the only thing you were charged was leave. Its not like you got put on probation or got punished or something. |