An array of agencies, along or near streets being closed for the president's inauguration, plan to send their employees home early today in an effort to ease traffic congestion and prevent bottlenecks at bus and subway stops.
The federal agencies plan to close on a staggered basis -- from noon through 3 p.m. -- in anticipation of street closures and the gathering of a large crowd for a "Celebration of Freedom" event on the Ellipse.
For example, the headquarters building for the Interior Department is closing at noon, followed by the headquarters of the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management at 1 p.m. The three agencies are near Constitution Avenue and E Street, two of several streets that will be blocked to enhance security for pre-inauguration festivities.
Agencies that decided to maintain normal business hours today have, for the most part, encouraged their employees to take vacation and other leave time or to work from home today.
According to a list compiled for senior OPM officials late yesterday, the Commerce Department plans to close at 3 p.m., the Education Department at 2 p.m., Energy Department at noon, Housing and Urban Development at 2 p.m., and the Veterans Affairs Department at 2:30 p.m.
Other departments, such as State and Treasury, have left it to their bureaus to decide when employees should be sent home. At the State Department, for example, some bureaus will close at 1 p.m. today.
Officials also cautioned that some employees will not leave early, such as employees essential to headquarters operations and security guards.
A number of other agencies also are closing early, according to the OPM list. They include the Agency for International Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Maritime Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Overseas Private Investment Corp. and Small Business Administration.
Kay Coles James, the OPM director, had urged agencies last week to consider early dismissals today or to use flexible personnel rules that permit employees to take unscheduled leave. In a memo Tuesday, she thanked agency heads for helping accommodate pre-inaugural activities.
Inauguration Day will be a paid holiday for most federal employees who work inside the Beltway.
OPM Jobs on Hold
A decision on a job competition involving about 150 employees at the Office of Personnel Management has been put on hold and will be left to the agency's next director, officials said.
James, the current OPM director, has announced plans to leave the agency at month's end. Although the jobs were put up for competition with contractors about a year ago, the agency is still examining price and cost data and may conduct some additional research, the officials said.
"As we look at these competitions, there are a host of considerations," said Clarence C. Crawford, an OPM associate director. James "doesn't want to make a decision and not be here to manage the consequences and work through a decision."
The jobs put up for bid are mostly in the agency's retirement and insurance division, which has employees in Washington and in Boyers, Pa. Most of the employees are General Schedule grade 9 and below and perform clerical and administrative duties.
John Zottoli, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 32, which represents some of the OPM employees at risk of losing their jobs, said the agency could not afford to lose skilled employees at this time.
"It would be very foolish for OPM to turn over the clerical jobs to contractors," he said. "The agency is in the middle of too much turmoil right now -- big changes with investigators coming from the Defense Department, and questions about new initiatives. . . . This is no time to switch to a different workforce."
Bush administration officials have announced that about 1,850 investigators and employees of the Defense Department will transfer to OPM next month in an effort to consolidate background checks on new and current government workers.
Diary Live Today
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E-mail: barrs@washpost.com
