Information for Possible Shutdown

Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 13:00:59 -0500

MEMORANDUM

To:       USGS Employees

From:     Kathleen B. Rutledge
          Acting Personnel Officer

Subject:  Information for Possible Shutdown

This is to provide you with information which may be useful in the event
that we are forced to suspend operations after the current Continuing
Resolution expires at midnight on December 15.  We have established
information hot lines at our centers in Reston, Denver, and Menlo Park. 
These numbers are listed at the end of this memorandum.  We will place
a message on each of these lines to provide you with the most current
information on the status of a shutdown and any other issues of interest
to employees.  

We have been instructed to report to work Monday morning even if we
have no appropriation.  We will receive information at that time about
whether we can continue to work or whether we need to shut down
operations.  If you are on scheduled leave, you do not need to come to
the office unless you have been excepted from the furlough.  If we shut
down operations later in the day, your leave status will be adjusted to
the same status as furloughed employees, as of the time of shutdown. 
We recognize that reporting to work and then going home if we shut
down is inconvenient at best, but we ask that you be patient in these
unusual and trying times for Federal employees.

You are reminded that we are prohibited by law from accepting
volunteer services from employees or volunteers during a period of
shutdown.  If you have not been excepted from the shutdown for the
orderly suspension of operations or the protection of life and property,
you must not come into your office to work.  Supervisors are responsible
for making certain that employees know about this prohibition and follow
it.

Many of you had questions about unemployment compensation during
the previous shutdown.  Unemployment compensation laws differ from
State to State, but the Department of Labor has negotiated with most
State Employment Agencies to establish special procedures for handling
claims resulting from a furlough of Federal employees.   All States require
employees to complete an application, and agencies must furnish payroll
information.  The Department of the Interior has contracted with the Frick
Company of St. Louis, Missouri, to supply payroll information for all
Interior claimants Nationwide, using payroll tapes supplied by the
Department.  If you apply for unemployment compensation, you must
indicate the agency as Department of the Interior, c/o The Frick Company,
P.O. Box 66945, St. Louis, Missouri 63166.  The Agency Code is 440,
and you need to indicate that code somewhere on your application form.

Unemployment compensation is paid through the State where you are
employed, which may not be the State in which you reside.  Employees
working in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia may file their
claims with the Headquarters Personnel Office, 601 National Center,
Reston, Virginia 22092; we will submit claims in a batch between
December 26 and December 30.  Employees in other locations should file
with their State Employment Agencies.  With a few exceptions, most
States require a waiting period of 1 week without pay before you may
begin earning benefits.  Keep in mind that if we are reimbursed for salary
lost during a furlough period, unemployment benefits received for that
same period will have to be refunded.

In the event of a furlough due to a lapse in appropriations, we will not
issue Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, and you will
not need this form to apply for unemployment compensation in these
special circumstances.  As long as you provide your State Employment
Agency with the address of the Frick Company and the Agency Code
440, you will not need any other information or forms from the USGS.

Remember that in the event of a furlough due to a lapse in appropriations,
your Federal benefits will continue.  When you return to a pay status,
you will be responsible for payment of your share of your Federal health
benefits premiums, but life insurance and retirement benefits continue at
no cost to you.  Thrift Savings Plan participation is suspended when you
are in a nonpay status.  All approved leave is canceled for the period of
shutdown, and any use-or-lose leave that has been scheduled and
cannot be rescheduled before January 6, 1996, may be restored.  More
detailed information on the impact of a Government shutdown on
employee benefits is contained in my e-mail message of August 23,
1995, on this subject.

Hot line numbers are shown below:

		RESTON, VIRGINIA	      Local:  703-648-7075
                                    Outside Metro Area:  1-800-228-0975

		DENVER, COLORADO        Local:  303-239-8961
                                    Outside Metro Area:  1-800-474-0046

		MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA  Local:  415-853-8300
                                    Outside Metro Area:  1-800-223-8081