Fedweek

Screen showing Inauguration of President Trump, Jan. 2017 on Capital Mall. OPM has said that employees with official worksites in the DC area that are scheduled to telework because of Covid-19 are not eligible for paid time off on Inauguration Day. Image: eddtoro/Shutterstock.com

OPM has sent out a memo similar to one in advance of every presidential inauguration, reminding agencies that Inauguration Day is a paid federal holiday only for federal employees whose official worksites are in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, Arlington and Fairfax counties in Virginia, and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax in Virginia.

The holiday will apply as well to employees whose official duty stations are elsewhere but who otherwise would be assigned to work in that area on that day; conversely, those whose duty stations are in that area will not be eligible if they were assigned to work outside that area on that day.

It adds: “Due to the COVID-19 national emergency, many employees with official worksites in the Inauguration Day area are regularly teleworking. The COVID-19 national emergency is preventing such employees from being scheduled to work in the designated area on January 20.”

As an accommodation, it said, teleworking employees will be considered to be employed in the Inauguration Day area even though they are scheduled to telework outside that area on January 20, if: the employee’s official worksite is within the area; the employee normally would be scheduled to work at the official worksite at least two days per biweekly pay period; and the employee’s telework site is the one from which the employee normally commuted to the official duty station.

For those who work on Inauguration Day, holiday premium pay—which doubles an employee’s salary for the day—applies only if the employee actually performs work in the Inauguration Day area.

OPM also encouraged agencies to allow telework if possible on January 19 and 20 for employees who otherwise would be expected to report to the normal agency worksite in the downtown D.C. area on those days.

It added that normal federal holiday policies will apply on January 18 for the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

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