Fwd: Fwd: Government Shutdown Issues

A message I got at work:

Subject: Government Shutdown Issues

Interested Souls:

   Changes in procedures for handling day to day business are continuing now that the Federal Government has gone into shutdown mode for an indeterminate period. Below is the list that was shared before the shutdown with new information in a beautiful magenta hue for your enjoyment:

• Supernumerary shifts will be changed to operational shifts every morning (probably I shifts) since only operational shifts can be supported during a shutdown.
• All leave is cancelled. People will be in either work status or furlough status. Persons whose leave is cancelled will be rescheduled for operational shifts.
• Appointments with physicians should be rescheduled for times outside scheduled work hours. Tours of duty will be flexed as much as possible to accommodate special needs.
• Requests for a few hours of time off will not be approved unless an emergency exists.
• Individuals can request conversion to furlough status for a minimum of one day. Returning a person from furlough to excepted status requires a review at the Department of Commerce level, and the amount of time required for this is uncertain. 
• Central Region will prepare and submit to DOC at 200 PM each day a spreadsheet of persons requesting conversion from excepted to furlough and from furlough to excepted status. Anyone needing a conversion for an emergency for the next day should advise the MIC as soon as possible but absolutely before 200 PM.
• Individuals requiring less than a full day off for personal emergencies or illness will be AWOL for that time. There is no provision for conversion of status to furlough for less than a day.
• Anyone who takes AWOL for emergencies will not be paid for that time even if compensation for furlough time subsequently is granted by Congress.
• There is no guarantee that persons in furlough status will receive compensation.
• All compensation after 1 October will be delayed until there is a continuing resolution or budget.
• Compensatory time and overtime can be used for severe weather and other mission critical activities.
• Equipment maintenance necessary for keeping systems operating will be performed.
• Cooperative program maintenance should be delayed unless necessary to keep equipment functional.
• Social media communication will continue, but any posts must be related to current or expected weather.
• The status of persons who are called for jury duty is unknown. 
• NOAA Public Affairs employees are furloughed, so there is no one to whom to refer inquiries from the media. We are authorized only to discuss issues related to operational forecasts with the media. Persons wanting to know details about the furlough should be advised that information is available at opm.gov.
• Changes in procedures are likely, so please be patient. Feel free to visit with the MIC if there are questions.
  

                                         LJR