Unscheduled leave for "evacuating" after earthquake?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

This is hindsight. Right after an earthquake, you don't know if there will be another one and how big it will be.

Larger aftershocks are not the norm. The initial (noticed) quake is usually the main event, and this main event was not big enough to create the widespread chaos and destruction you described.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally appropriate to be charged unscheduled leave for leaving early yesterday.

Agreed. Also a Fed here. You did what you thought was appropriate in your situation. That is what leave is for

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think this is a fair way to look at the situation. If I ( at my non-fed job) simply left for the day, without asking for leave, I would face disciplinary consequences. Consider it a good trade off thaT you are allowed to have such great flexibility.