The Office of Personnel Management wants to make it clear to federal agencies, while the Pope is in town, it’s okay stay home from work.
Pope Francis, will visit Washington, D.C. Sept. 22-24 and in anticipation of traffic and commuter jams that are expected to snarl capital roadways, OPM is advising agencies to allow employees to telework.
“OPM strongly encourages agencies to allow employees to telework to keep the government operating while helping to minimize traffic congestion and support law enforcement efforts during this event,” acting OPM director Beth Cobert said in a letter dated Sept. 1. “Employees who can be spared from their duties may also request to adjust their work schedule and use their alternative work schedule day off or take annual leave, leave without pay, and /or previously earned compensatory time off or earned credit hours under a flexible work schedule.”
This will be Pope Francis’ first official visit to the United States since his selection as head of the Catholic Church in 2013. Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, was the last pontiff to visit Washington, D.C. — and the second to visit the White House—in 2008.
Francis will also become the 10th pope to visit the U.S., making stops in New York and Philadelphia after his days in Washington.
Federal employees are encouraged to contact their agency’s human resources departments for more information on teleworking policies.
