OPM Guidance on COVID-19

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OPM's actual guidance:"Critically, supervisors may allow employees to work from home during an emergency with a child or others in the home who need care, so long as employees document the hours they actually work and take appropriate leave for the time they aren’t working."

My agency is taking this to mean that if you care for your children during your 8-4:30 day, you need to take leave.

I'd like it interpreted that I can start work at 6am and work until midnight to get my 8.5 hours in. I will do the same work (lawyer), but I need flexibility on hours. My DH is active duty stationed overseas.

Where are they that inflexible with lawyers? We can pretty much work whenever we want, although we are generally supposed to be working core hours of 10-3, and I am sure there will be even greater flexibility under these circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what the SEC has been doing the last couple of days? They are the first agency to go through all or virtually all telework so it would be interesting to know what guidance/rules they have put out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great that some of you get don’t ask don’t tell. My boss asks and forces annual leave. Same with snow days. And I can’t make up the hours on other days even though I’m technically on maxiflex. My boss told me to take it up with whoever wrote the rules.

Whoever wrote the rules needs to understand the rules don’t apply anymore. This is not a typical situation. I’m sorry your boss sucks.

Boss and I had a heated discussion the other day because I asked to work from 7-3:30 instead of 8-4:30 (I am on maxiflex, but I don't think that means anything to boss). She said she had a duty to tax payers to make sure I was at work at the times I said I'd be at work. I said I felt I had a duty to taxpayers to get my job done #1, while also working the correct hours. I think she just doesn't know how to evaluate work and thus fixates on our time. We're all JDs, PhDs or masters degrees and all are GS13/14s. Not sure why we're treated like toddlers. Actually, I give my toddlers more autonomy.

There are plenty of bosses in the federal government who will be forcing their employees to take annual leave or sick leave or come in. I'd rather employees telework while recovering instead of taking the change on them still being contagious. I want OPM to address this head on.

Mine makes me come in sick, although I have 160 hours of sick leave. He wants a written note from the doctor specifying that 1) I have coronavirus and 2) I can do my job from home otherwise I'm expected in the office. First, my primary care doc doesn't have the test and he doesn't know what I do at work. It's absurd.

That's ridiculous and not enforceable. You need to enlist HR or go over his head here. You can't have the flu or something else?

Yeah, pp’s crazy supervisor needed to be addressed long ago.

Adding that I'm also on prednisone. Nobody cares, at least this is how my agency works.

[Anonymous]

My husband works for an agency that has not implemented the OPM guidance. Basically, he has been told that he cannot telework and his only choice is to take sick leave if he is actually sick, or to take annual leave otherwise. This is a job where telework is easily possible. OPM's guidance really is meaningless if agencies don't actually implement it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what the SEC has been doing the last couple of days? They are the first agency to go through all or virtually all telework so it would be interesting to know what guidance/rules they have put out.

Most people already telework regularly to some degree so it's not that much of a change. Trainings have been cancelled as has SEC Speaks (major external outreach event). They don't want us to use video through WebEx or other bandwidth intensive applications so as not to overload the system. They are also asking us to use our laptops rather than Citrix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband works for an agency that has not implemented the OPM guidance. Basically, he has been told that he cannot telework and his only choice is to take sick leave if he is actually sick, or to take annual leave otherwise. This is a job where telework is easily possible. OPM's guidance really is meaningless if agencies don't actually implement it.

Now that it's been declared a pandemic the more lagging agencies will have to step up.

[Anonymous]

I heard HHS has gone to telework and the building is pretty much closed (lights out, but security is still there).

I hadn’t heard that on the news, but I heard it directly from two people who work in the building.

Are other federal offices on telework? Since the non-fed offices in dc typically follow their lead, it would be helpful to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard HHS has gone to telework and the building is pretty much closed (lights out, but security is still there).

I hadn’t heard that on the news, but I heard it directly from two people who work in the building.

Are other federal offices on telework? Since the non-fed offices in dc typically follow their lead, it would be helpful to know.

We should do a roll call. But neither DH's agency, nor mine are on telework of any sort.

[Anonymous]

Treasury...no changes to telework

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great that some of you get don’t ask don’t tell. My boss asks and forces annual leave. Same with snow days. And I can’t make up the hours on other days even though I’m technically on maxiflex. My boss told me to take it up with whoever wrote the rules.

Whoever wrote the rules needs to understand the rules don’t apply anymore. This is not a typical situation. I’m sorry your boss sucks.

Boss and I had a heated discussion the other day because I asked to work from 7-3:30 instead of 8-4:30 (I am on maxiflex, but I don't think that means anything to boss). She said she had a duty to tax payers to make sure I was at work at the times I said I'd be at work. I said I felt I had a duty to taxpayers to get my job done #1, while also working the correct hours. I think she just doesn't know how to evaluate work and thus fixates on our time. We're all JDs, PhDs or masters degrees and all are GS13/14s. Not sure why we're treated like toddlers. Actually, I give my toddlers more autonomy.

There are plenty of bosses in the federal government who will be forcing their employees to take annual leave or sick leave or come in. I'd rather employees telework while recovering instead of taking the change on them still being contagious. I want OPM to address this head on.

Mine makes me come in sick, although I have 160 hours of sick leave. He wants a written note from the doctor specifying that 1) I have coronavirus and 2) I can do my job from home otherwise I'm expected in the office. First, my primary care doc doesn't have the test and he doesn't know what I do at work. It's absurd.

Do you think you have the virus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard HHS has gone to telework and the building is pretty much closed (lights out, but security is still there).

I hadn’t heard that on the news, but I heard it directly from two people who work in the building.

Are other federal offices on telework? Since the non-fed offices in dc typically follow their lead, it would be helpful to know.

That’s not the case with HHS at all.

[Anonymous]

Interior- nothing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard HHS has gone to telework and the building is pretty much closed (lights out, but security is still there).

I hadn’t heard that on the news, but I heard it directly from two people who work in the building.

Are other federal offices on telework? Since the non-fed offices in dc typically follow their lead, it would be helpful to know.

Not true -- DH works at HHS and hasn't received any such notice. He expects it will come though.

[Anonymous]

State: Moving towards teleworking 50% of the time. OK to telework w/ kids at home, just need to get up to 8 hours total; my bureau is even saying that as long as you get your work done, they don't need you track hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great that some of you get don’t ask don’t tell. My boss asks and forces annual leave. Same with snow days. And I can’t make up the hours on other days even though I’m technically on maxiflex. My boss told me to take it up with whoever wrote the rules.

Whoever wrote the rules needs to understand the rules don’t apply anymore. This is not a typical situation. I’m sorry your boss sucks.

OPM has new rules that permit teleworking w/ a dependent home, tracking hours actually worked and taking leave as needed.

I can’t even imagine what this will look like with a 2 and 4 y/o. Well I worked for 25 min. while they watched a show. Then I had to stop for 5 min. to get snacks. And then I worked for another 8 min., but had to take a break to wipe my 4 y/o’s butt. And then I wrote half an email, but my 2 y/o decided to start climbing the furniture so I had to stop and get him down. Then I finished my email, but my kids started fighting and had to be separated.

I mean, how is this even feasible. Maybe for a day or two, but weeks on end??