Hurricane Fay reminds managers of emergency workforce flexibilities

As Hurricane Fay continues to soak the state of Florida, several employees from departments like Homeland Security will end up working overtime to help clean up what President Bush on Thursday declared a federal disaster. That means agency managers need to know the federal workforce flexibilities available to them during such emergency situations, which have become more frequent during the last decade.

A new -- and timely -- report from the Congressional Research Service outlines several human resources flexibilities regarding hiring authority, pay and leave benefits for federal workers affected by or working during a crisis, natural or otherwise. In general, the Office of Personnel Management has broad discretion when it comes to determining staffing, pay and work schedules for employees and temporary hires during emergencies. OPM can authorize agencies to make direct hires in a crisis without abiding by Title 5 and has approved the direct hire of medical officers, nurses, diagnostic radiologic technicians and pharmacists at all grade levels and locations.

In addition, OPM has the authority to allow agencies to appoint career employees to the Senior Executive Service for up to 18 months to meet an unanticipated and urgent need. Agencies also can rehire retirees with OPM's approval. And agencies can make exceptions to the biweekly cap on premium pay for emergency overtime work. There are also premium pay categories for employees required to work at night, on Sundays, holidays or in hazardous conditions -- and a slew of other special allowances regarding expenses and travel.

For employees who are affected by an emergency, telework is an alternative. But if working off-site is not feasible, the government provides flexible leave, including an emergency leave transfer, which allows federal employees to donate unused annual leave to affected workers in their own agency or those working in others.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and hurricanes Katrina and Rita, human resources flexibilities became critical for managers trying to provide incentives to essential employees and to assist workers affected by the disasters. In the past few years, OPM has focused on educating agencies about the flexibilities in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak. But in the aftermath of the devastating floods in the Midwest this past spring and Hurricane Fay, it's likely the government will focus on potential natural disasters for the foreseeable future.