Is this the true face of Uncle Sam?

The column, which cites our coverage on the issue, criticizes the Office of Personnel Management for failing to analyze why so few employees are fired — just one half of 1 percent of the government’s 2 million employees last year. (It’s also worth noting that the writer of the column, Mark Hemingway, is the husband of one of our former staff writers.)

What I found most interesting, however, was the headline above the column: “More hiring, but little firing, as Leviathan grows.” Not being an expert in Biblical references, I had to google the term to find out what Mr. Hemingway was talking about.

According to trusty Wikipedia, Leviathan is a sea monster referred to in the Old Testament. Many Christian literary sources equate the creature with Satan; in Demonology, Leviathan is the one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper.

So, what do you think? Is the federal government a good place to work, or the gateway to eternal damnation? Sound off below.

In a memo to chief human capital officers and other human resource officials, Berry said agencies should continue to use telework as much as possible to take people off the roads. Berry also suggested agencies use alternative work schedules, or if possible, adjust employees’ work hours to stagger their arrivals and departures throughout the day.

“Be creative in helping your employees adapt to these unusual conditions while still doing the work of the United States government,” Berry said.

If you get to work any more than two hours late, you’ll be charged annual leave or leave without pay for the additional period of absence. But if you take unscheduled leave, you’ll be charged leave for the entire day — you won’t get the same two hours’ grace period other feds will get.

If you telework or are an emergency employee, you’ve got to start working on time.

OPM Director John Berry also issued a statement this evening that stressed most of the government is still operating, and many Washington-area feds are getting their jobs done through teleworking. Full statement after the jump:

“First and foremost, I want to assure every American that their government is working for them, as it has been throughout the snow emergency. Over 87% of government workers live and work outside the National Capital Region, and the vast majority of them are functioning normally. Within the National Capital Region, emergency and mission-critical staffers are at their posts or teleworking. We are receiving daily reports from across government that many thousands more are also teleworking.

The decision to close government buildings in the National Capital Region has two components: first, the safety of our employees and the public. Second, maintaining government operations to the greatest extent possible. As Director of OPM, this decision rests with me, and I will always accept responsibility for it.

The Federal government has plans and systems to maintain operations during emergencies like this one. We are still digging out from a blizzard of historic proportions, and some work has doubtless been delayed, but all the work will get done. Some buildings have been closed, but the people who do the work have been open for business. We’ve equipped many of them with tools like notebook computers, Blackberries, and secure Internet connections that allow them to work from almost anywhere.

Traditionally, OPM has calculated the cost of closure as the cost of giving all Federal workers in the National Capital Region a paid day off. But with so many emergency and mission-critical personnel reporting to work as scheduled, and so many others teleworking, that calculation is outdated. With the new data that agencies have been reporting to us throughout the week, we will be able to update this calculation.

The new cost calculation will be one component of a larger assessment of lessons learned that we are already working on. The data and experience gained from this emergency are helping the government to be even better prepared for future storms and other events that might cause widespread disruptions in the National Capital Region.

The Metro, Washington D.C.’s subway system, has suspended or limited above-ground rail service since Friday, contributing to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry’s decision to close the federal government Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands commute on Metro daily, and suspension of rail and bus service makes it nearly impossible for many to make it to work.

Connolly, a Democrat who represents suburban cities in Northern Virginia, sent letters to Berry and Metro General Manager John Catoe Tuesday, asking if additional funding for Metro overtime and equipment could have prevented the federal government’s closing.

In the letter to Catoe, Connolly wrote:

With more than 40 percent of federal employees dependent on Metro to travel to and from work and with nearly half of all Metro stations located on federal property, the federal government has more than a passing interest in the safety and reliability of the Metro system … Applying these lessons to subsequent storms or disasters could improve the ability of Metro to respond and recover more quickly and help the federal government and other regional employers maintain continuity of operations and reduce productivity losses associated with employees’ inability to travel.”

Connolly also encouraged Berry to expand federal employees’ access to telework programs.

I believe that a more robust telework program could negate some of those productivity losses in the future, saving federal agencies untold millions.  Furthermore it is my hope that we can use this recent snow emergency to reinforce the importance of telework reforms that we are pursuing while demonstrating specific steps that can be taken to improve implementation of telework programs in the future.”

In case you are excitedly celebrating this rare hat-trick closure and can’t remember the exceptions and caveats, here is the rundown, verbatim from OPM’s site:

• Nonemergency employees (including employees on pre-approved leave) will be granted excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. This does not apply to employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers’ compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status.
• Telework employees may be expected to work from their telework sites, as specified in their telework agreements.
• Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time.
• Employees on alternative work schedules are not entitled to another [alternative work schedule] day off in lieu of the workday on which the agency is closed.

UPDATE: For workers outside the D.C. area living in locales also affected by the storm moving up the east coast: check with your Federal Executive Boards and office heads about closures. The New York FEB’s inclement weather hotline — 212-246-0748 — is recommending non-essential personnel stay home on Wednesday, but this is ONLY a recommendation for feds in the Big Apple. The message also reminds workers to check with their managers to see what their office’s operating status is for tomorrow. It also reminds workers there are only 39 days until spring. Thank goodness.

Each snow day costs the federal government $100 million — possibly more during this blizzard, because I’m sure some feds will just take the rest of the week off and give themselves a “snowcation.”

But many telecommuters are expected to work today, according to OPM — even though their physical-commuting colleagues are not. No lost productivity there. So don’t be surprised if Berry cites this blizzard in the future — a lot — while he’s talking about telework.

DC doesn’t get many snowstorms like this one, of course, but we usually get a few snow days each year — and if telework programs could reduce that $100 million in lost productivity, there’s a big potential long-term savings for the federal government.

(Plus, expanded telework would make our jobs easier: It’s tough being journalists who cover the federal government when the federal government is closed!)

The National Weather Service is forecasting more snow — anywhere from 10 to 20 inches — beginning Tuesday afternoon. That forecast, combined with the still-lousy conditions on many roads in the Washington area, led OPM Director John Berry to close the government. OPM hasn’t yet made any decisions on Wednesday. But considering that tomorrow’s winter storm warning is scheduled to run through Wednesday evening, it’s not looking good.

EDIT: Hat tip to Ben Bowman, a producer at Chicago’s NBC5 and proprietor of Ben’s Breakfast Blog, who made this awesome Snowmageddon video last year:

Click here to view the embedded video.

GSA may have to add tauntauns to the federal fleet if this keeps up. And I thought they smelled bad on the outside.

Washington weather predictions are getting worse and worse. The National Weather Service just issued a winter storm warning — which replaces the previous winter storm watch and means they’re pretty sure it’s happening — that says we’re looking at 10 to 20 inches of snow beginning Tuesday at noon. Temperatures are expected to drop from near-freezing into the upper 20s Tuesday night, and the winter storm warning is scheduled to last until Wednesday at 7 p.m.

This is a marked increase from this morning’s predictions of six inches or so. NWS warns that “The combination of snow and strong winds will make travel very hazardous.” As Han Solo said, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

The Office of Personnel Management hasn’t made its decision yet on the federal government’s operating status for tomorrow.

• Emergency employees must show up for work on time.
• Nonemergency employees (including employees on preapproved leave) will have an excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work.
• Telework employees may have to work from their home or other prearranged telework site.
• Employees on alternative work schedules who were already scheduled to have tomorrow off are not entitled to another AWS day off.

In other Snowmageddon news:

• Washington’s Metro is currently running only in underground tunnels — no above-ground tracks. Metro buses are not operating today.
• Virginia Railway Express trains will not be running Monday, and they aren’t even sure they’ll operate on Tuesday either. VRE said it will make that decision by 6 p.m. tomorrow.
• More snow could be coming Tuesday. The National Weather Service this afternoon issued a winter storm watch that says we could get five or more additional inches of snow beginning Tuesday afternoon and running into Wednesday afternoon.
• And FedLine ain’t trying to brag or nothing, but we just wanted to point out that we said back in December that Snowmageddon was a much better name than Snowpocalypse. And it looks like President Obama agrees:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Berry also said employees on alternative work schedules should, if possible, schedule their day off or use credit hours tomorrow. As of now, agencies in the Washington area will be operating on an unscheduled leave policy tomorrow. If an employee doesn’t think he’ll be able to make it in tomorrow, Berry said he should tell his supervisor as soon as possible that he plans to take annual leave, compensatory time off, credit hours or leave without pay.

The National Weather Service is still predicting the snow to begin mid-morning, but says “conditions will deteriorate rapidly Friday afternoon” and the most hazardous conditions will be tomorrow night. Arlington County, Va., is also recommending residents have enough food and water to last three to five days. (h/t to @weatherbykate, who also notes that the always-helpful weather.com lists tomorrow’s golf index as “poor.” You know, in case you were still hoping to squeeze in that back nine.)

EDIT: Also, a helpful emergency weather planning guide can be found here.

The Office of Personnel Management just declared that anyone who can’t make it in tomorrow can take unscheduled leave. Emergency employees are still expected to show up. FedLine’s crack meteorological team (which is pretty much just me checking the National Weather Service’s Web site) will keep you posted on the federal government’s operating status over the next few days.

NWS is forecasting near-blizzard conditions and says this storm could be about as bad as the Dec. 19 storm, which closed the federal government for the first time in nearly seven years. Each snow day costs the government about $102 million, OPM Director John Berry said last December.

Emergency employees will be required to report to work as scheduled, according to an Office of Personnel Management memo.

Non-essential federal employees received an excused day off on Monday as the area recovers from more than a foot and a half of snow.

Photo from Snowpocalypse Facebook page

The Great Blizzard of Aught-Nine — or as this reporter calls it, Snowmageddon* — has now closed the federal government for the first time in nearly seven years. The Office of Personnel Management this afternoon announced federal agencies in the Washington area will be closed on Monday.

Non-emergency employees — including employees who already had preapproved leave scheduled for Monday — will be excused. Employees who have telework agreements in place may have to work from home or other telework site.

Emergency employees must show up for work on time tomorrow. Sorry guys.

Closing the entire government in the nation’s capital costs $102 million per day, OPM Director John Berry said earlier this month. (The last time the government closed was in February 2003.) The closure will also mean most feds will only work two-and-a-half days this week — they’ll get their usual day off on Christmas Day, and President Barack Obama has granted feds half a day off on Christmas Eve.

Enjoy your day off, feds! Have some hot chocolate, go sledding, play in the snow with your kids. But whatever you do, FedLine does NOT recommend throwing snowballs at armed police officers.

* Yes, FedLine is aware Facebook and everybody else is calling it Snowpocalypse. I like Snowmageddon, and I’m sticking to it.

The memo, from OPM director John Berry, requires all agencies to get OPM’s permission before moving political appointees into career positions (at all levels). OPM previously required permission for such moves only during election years. The policy, which takes effect in 2010, applies to anyone who has held a politically-appointed job in the previous five years.

OPM’s reviews will be conducted by career employees.

“Burrowing in” attracted a lot of attention late last year, as it does every election year: Roughly 20 political appointees switched to career jobs during the waning months of the Bush administration.

Because some experts, including OPM, have expressed concerns about the assumptions made in the Postal Service IG report, the Committee directs the Postal Service, in coordination with OPM and OMB, to develop a fiscally responsible legislative proposal to grant a limited measure of relief from the PAEA requirements to pre-fund retiree health benefits.

If I’m reading this right, the Senate is not going to move forward on companion legislation to H.R. 22 until the Postal Service, OMB and OPM create a “legislative proposal.” Nevermind that there is already a legislative proposal, H.R. 22, which passed the House Oversight and Government Reform committee unanimously last week. The Senate wants a new one.

That puts the Postal Service on a rather tight timetable, especially with Congress taking off most of August for vacation. If this bill isn’t passed by September 30 — when the Postal Service’s health care payment is due, a payment it cannot afford — then it becomes a moot point.