The Office of Personnel Management is encouraging federal employees who work in the Washington, DC area to telework next week because of expected traffic congestion stemming from the upcoming NATO Summit.
OPM said that the NATO Summit is likely to cause “significant impacts to vehicular traffic and commute times for employees in the Washington, DC area” between Monday, July 8, 2024 and Friday, July 12, 2024. Consequently, OPM asked federal agencies to permit federal employees to telework that week.
Federal employees may also request to use their alternative work schedule day off, annual leave, earned compensatory time off, credit hours or other authorized time off.
Any federal employees who do need to commute to the office next week should allow extra time to get there and should also monitor the news for announcements about road closures or any disruptions to public transportation.
What is the NATO Summit?
Representatives from member countries who are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are meeting in Washington, DC this year as part of a Summit taking place from June 9-11, 2024. According to its website, the meeting marks the 75th anniversary of NATO and is being held “to make key decisions on how to continue to protect their one billion citizens as the world faces the most dangerous security environment since the Cold War.”