The polic on this is so confusing. If you are normally scheduled to telework today, then you have to work. Otherwise your duty to work or not is based on the specific language in the agreement you signed with your agency.

Which makes sense. I telework on Thursday, so I bring work home Wednesday night. So unless I happened to bring work home before a day the govt is closed, I can't telework.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a manager trying to decide who to furlough, I'd be paying close attention to who was responsive today.

Get ready to lose before the MSPB then.

Like that would be a problem. I know what I'm doing and how to do it.

Anonymous wrote:If I were a manager trying to decide who to furlough, I'd be paying close attention to who was responsive today.

Get ready to lose before the MSPB then.

Per OPM, your supervisor has the authority to grant an excused absence on days the government is closed if weather negatively impacts the the telework site. Power outages and lack of childcare are two of the cited examples.

Bottom line -- if you have an understanding supervisor, you shouldn't have to take annual for a lack of childcare.

I am not scheduled to telework today, but I will try and do some work. I do have three kids with me today, but my teenage neighbor will be watching them while I am on conference calls. I am under no obligation to work today, but as a federal NIH employee, I will!

The reasoning is that telework is a benefit given to you, and on rare snow days, you give back in return.

If that were the way it worked at my office, I would be fine with it. But except for two slots of one day a week teleworking rotating among 30 workers on a six month basis, we can't otherwise telework absent bad weather.

I'm not scheduled to telework today-but brought work home. My 19 month old is home with me (daycare closed) so DH and I are kind of splitting the day up (plus she'll take a 2 hour nap). So I'll do what I can but I won't feel guilty about not doing 8 hours. The total amount of work I have to do Wong change-I'll just make up the time/work over the next few days.

Like the PPs, my department (Treasury) mandates that if you're set up to telework, your options during a shutdown are to telework or to take leave. School/daycare closure is your problem, not theirs. The reasoning is that telework is a benefit given to you, and on rare snow days, you give back in return.

This policy means that I won't do any telework until my youngest can be baysat by the TV, or until my husband's schedule would allow him to be on for snow days. But that's ok.