Dec 5 Holiday

President George H.W. Bush Funeral Information

December 3, 2018

Federal agencies will be closed on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, to mark the state funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.

President Trump announced the closures in an executive order and Acting OPM Director Margaret Weichert provided guidance to agency heads.

Employees and managers are encouraged to review the policies regarding work schedules to ensure holiday time and work hours are charged appropriately.

The following applies to non-bargaining unit employees/positions and bargaining unit employees/positions, except where the applicable collective bargaining agreement contains conflicting provisions:

Policy Guidance on Office Closures for the George H.W. Bush state funeral:

“In lieu of” Holiday:

If the holiday falls on a non-workday for a full-time employee who works a flexible or compressed work schedule, the employee is entitled to an “in lieu of” holiday. If the employee’s “in lieu of” holiday falls on Sunday, December 2, 2018 or Monday, December 3, 2018, the employee will receive holiday premium pay for hours worked.

For detailed guidance, refer to HRPM Reference Material: Days Observed “In Lieu of” the Actual Holiday.

If an employee works a compressed work schedule, the scheduled holiday is the number of work hours regularly scheduled for that day (refer to HROI: Compressed Work Schedules). If the employee works a flexible work schedule, the scheduled holiday is limited to 8-hours (LWS-8.15, paragraph 14 (a)).

Note: When an employee is required to work his or her regularly scheduled hours on a holiday, the employee receives holiday premium pay. The employee is not entitled to an “in lieu of” holiday. Hours worked on the holiday that are not part of the employee’s normal tour of duty are compensated as overtime or compensatory time.

Part-time Employees:

Generally, a part-time employee is not entitled to a holiday unless the holiday falls on the employee's regularly scheduled workday.

Mission Critical Employees:

Mission-critical employees are expected to remain in contact with their organizations during any closure situation to maintain continuity of operations. These employees may be required to work during the holiday. If so, holiday premium pay would be granted for hours worked. Your manager will advise you whether you are required to work on Wednesday, December 5.

Training:

Federal training course schedules must be adjusted to accommodate the declared federal holiday. You should contact the training facilitator for more information regarding scheduling information.

Employees on Travel:

Travelers do not need to come back on December 5, due to the closure. Employees on travel will not work on the December 5, however, the agency will cover their hotel and incidentals.

Policy references: HRPM LWS-8.9, Holiday Absences, HRPM LWS-8.14, Workweeks, Tours of Duty & Work Schedules and HRPM LWS-8.15, Alternative Work Schedules

If you need assistance or have questions, please contact your servicing Human Resource Services Division.