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FFXC Fed Workers. New Snow Policy For Federal Government Workers
Posted by: dika-dika ()
Date: November 03, 2011 05:09AM

New Snow Policy For Federal Government Workers: MyFoxDC.com




WASHINGTON - On January 26, as snow was covering the region, thousands of commuters rushed from their jobs to get home, only to get trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

"Unfortunately, the government didn't release us until about 3 [p.m.] and at that point, it was really too late," said federal worker Christine Maleti.

Maleti was trying to get home after her training. She said from Rosslyn to Fairfax, it normally takes her about an hour. But on that snowy day, it took her four hours.

In some cases, drivers were stuck in traffic for more than eight hours. Some even slept in their cars and didn't get home until the next day. Other drivers abandoned their cars in the middle of the snow-filled roads.

"It was chaos, it really was. I was driving down I-270. I've never been in that type of situation," said Drew Kessler.

Kessler was trying to get from Silver Spring to Gaithersburg. Normally, a 45 minute trip took him “five hours. My car died in the middle of I-270, so I had to huff it home, up about a mile in the middle of the interstate because people couldn't get up the hill.”

Some pointed the finger at the federal government’s poor planning for creating the situation by dismissing workers too late at the height of the storm.

"I know sometimes they would make the call in the mornings a little bit too late while people were already in route to work. So [with] people already in commute, it didn't do them any good," Kessler said.

"We need to put in measures ahead of time to proactively handle situations,” said Maleti.

Now, the Office of Personnel Management says it will make a decision earlier to shut down and send workers home. Or they will allow people to telework when severe weather could cause problems. Also, workers who do not leave the job by a certain deadline will be told to shelter in place and not get on the road.

"I don't know that it would be a big impact. Certainly, it would be a convenience not to have to travel in that weather," said government worker Linda Williams.

So what happens if they schedule leave anticipating a storm and there is no storm? The Office of Personnel Management said that is a risk they will take and to be better safe than sorry.


Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/new-snow-policy-for-federal-government-workers-110211#ixzz1cdD8gupf



workers who do not leave the job by a certain deadline will be told to shelter in place and not get on the road....That bull.....no food and light in those federal builidings.

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Options: ReplyQuote
Re: FFXC Fed Workers. New Snow Policy For Federal Government Workers
Posted by: Kilton ()
Date: November 03, 2011 06:13AM

dika-dika Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So what happens if they schedule leave
> anticipating a storm and there is no storm? The
> Office of Personnel Management said that is a risk
> they will take and to be better safe than sorry.

Good for OPM.

This won't solve the bulk of the problem though. It won't fix all the non-government workers who were too stupid to leave work earlier that day.

But I gotta admit -- it was fun being at home and watching the traffic cameras.

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Re: FFXC Fed Workers. New Snow Policy For Federal Government Workers
Posted by: Snow Lover ()
Date: November 03, 2011 08:37AM

I hope we have TONS of snow storms this year...!
spacer67.gif

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Re: FFXC Fed Workers. New Snow Policy For Federal Government Workers
Posted by: lamefeds ()
Date: November 03, 2011 10:11AM

That was super helpful advice, thanks Government.

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