President Clinton is giving federal employees affected by the recent fires in Los Alamos, N.M., time off to help recover their losses and rebuild their lives, according to a May 16 memorandum issued to agency heads.
The memo states that employees affected by the natural disaster may be excused from duty "without charge to leave or loss of pay" if faced with a personal crisis. The memo also authorizes Janice R. Lachance, director of the Office of Personnel Management, to investigate the need for an emergency leave transfer program.
The leave transfer program enables employees in other agencies to donate unused leave time to those victimized by the fires.
The time-off policy also applies to employees who provide emergency services, including those in law enforcement and relief work.
Clinton ordered a similar leave policy in September 1999 in the wake of Hurricane Floyd.