Update: DC area offices reopened on Wednesday, January 28, albeit with a delayed arrival. OPM’s notice for Wednesday states:
Applies to: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Status: Open – 1 hour Delayed Arrival – With Option for Unscheduled Leave or Unscheduled Telework
Federal agencies in the Washington, DC area are Open under a 1 hour Delayed Arrival and employees have the Option for Unscheduled Leave or Unscheduled Telework. Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than 1 hour later than they would normally be expected to arrive.
Telework Employees Not Scheduled to Telework and Requesting Unscheduled Telework must be prepared to telework, take unscheduled leave or other paid time off, or a combination-thereby accounting for the entire workday. In general, weather and safety leave is not available to telework employees who do not report to the office.
Remote Workers and Telework Employees Scheduled to Telework are expected to begin their workday on time unless requesting unscheduled leave. In general, weather and safety leave is not available to remote and telework employees who do not report to the office.
Non-Telework Employees, and Telework Employees Not Scheduled to Telework and Not Requesting Unscheduled Telework are expected to either report to the office and be granted weather and safety leave for up to 1 hour past their normal arrival time or request unscheduled leave for the entire workday. Weather and safety leave is not available to those employees requesting unscheduled leave.
Emergency Employees are expected to report to their worksite on time unless otherwise directed by their agencies.
Employees on Preapproved Leave (paid or unpaid) or other paid time off (e.g., compensatory time off, credit hours)-including an employee who requests unscheduled leave or other paid time off-generally should be charged leave or other paid time off and not receive weather and safety leave.
The original article follows below.
Federal agency offices will be closed again on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 according to an announcement from the Office of Personnel Management.
After several inches of snow and sleet around the area coupled with high temperatures forecasted to remain below freezing much of this week, unsafe travel conditions have prompted multiple closures in the Washington, DC area. According to NBC4 Washington, many school districts in the area are closed as well in addition to federal government offices.
OPM’s announcement states:
Applies to: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Federal Offices in the Washington, DC area are Closed. Maximum Telework is in effect.
Telework Employees are expected to work. Generally, telework employees may not receive weather and safety leave.
Remote Workers are expected to work. Generally, remote workers may not receive weather and safety leave.
Non-Telework Employees generally will be granted weather and safety leave for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. However, weather and safety leave will not be granted to employees who are on official travel outside of the duty station or on an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) day off or other non-workday.
Emergency Employees are expected to report to their worksite unless otherwise directed by their agencies.
Employees on Preapproved Leave (paid or unpaid) or other paid time off generally should continue to be charged leave or other paid time off and should not receive weather and safety leave.
