Some federal buildings closed after quake (update)

The Office of Personnel Management announced that several federal buildings would be closed on Wednesday pending further inspection following a magnitude 5.8 ea...

(This story has been updated from its original version.)

By Federal News Radio Staff

Some federal buildings are now open after initially being reported as closed on the Office of Personnel Management’s website.

These include:

  • DHS buildings 1 & 19 at the Nebraska Avenue Complex,
  • The Nuclear Regulatory Commission building located at One White Flint in Bethesda, Md. (The building had been listed as the Office of the Secretary of Defense on the OPM website.)
  • The Labor Department’s Frances Perkins Building on Constitution Ave. is open, according to its website.
  • The Department of Health and Human Services Hubert Humphrey Building located at 200 Independence Ave. in Washington, D.C., and the HHS building located at 8401 Muirkirk Road in Laurel, Md.
  • The National Endowment for the Arts located in the Old Post Office Building at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. (The Old Post Office Pavilion is also open.)

Federal News Radio has also confirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration HQ buildings 10A and 10B are closed, according to the FAA website. The Agriculture Department’s South Agriculture Building, the Whitten Building, and the Yates Building have also been confirmed as closed today, according to USDA’s website and a USDA official.

The following is a list of other federal buildings that OPM has listed as closed on its website. All of these closures have been independently confirmed by Federal News Radio.

National Building Museum
5th & F Streets, NW
Washington, D.C.

Interior Department HQ
1849 C. St, NW
Washington, D.C.

Interior Department South
1951 Constitution Ave, NW
Washington, D.C.

National Archives Washington National Records Center
4205 Suitland Road
Suitland, Md.

Commerce Department
Building A, 6810
Franconia, Va.

The Office of Personnel Management is advising employees to check with their individual agencies for their building’s operating status. Federal News Radio has contacted the General Services Administration, which provided OPM with its initial list of closures, for an updated list. If you have an update to this list, please email Federal News Radio.

“While this list is as complete as possible, we do not have the status of all buildings. Check with your agency (e.g., agency website, emergency phone number, or supervisor, as appropriate) to see if your building has opened. Guidance from your agency or supervisor supersedes this list.”

OPM said its list of closures will not be updated again until 4 a.m. Thursday.

The official operating status for the federal government on Wednesday is open with unscheduled leave and unscheduled telework available.

If your building is closed, OPM gives the following guidelines:

  • Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time;
  • Non-emergency employees (including employees on pre-approved paid leave) will be granted excused absence (administrative leave) for the number of hours they were scheduled to work, unless–
    • The employee is required to telework by his or her agency’s official policy as reflected in his or her written telework agreement;
    • The employee works or is on official travel outside of the Washington, DC area;
    • The employee is on leave without pay (LWOP); or
    • The employee is on an alternative work schedule (AWS) day off.

Baltimore area federal agencies are operating under normal conditions today, Richard Howell, the executive director of the Baltimore Federal Executive Board, tells Federal News Radio.

Federal News Radio has requested information from OPM and GSA about the process for reporting federal building closures and why there were inaccuracies in this morning’s initial closure list.

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