Feds Encouraged to 'Telework' on 'I Have a Dream' Anniversary to Avoid Traffic

The acting director of the Office of Personnel Management has suggested that federal employees “telework” on Wednesday to avoid the traffic congestion in Washington due to the 50th anniversary celebrations honoring Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

According to the Federal Times, Elaine Kaplan, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, “said in a memo to agency chief human capital officers Aug. 23 that employees should consider teleworking, rearranging their work schedules or even taking annual leave on Aug. 28, when many celebrations and events are scheduled to commemorate the occasion.”

“Due to the increase in traffic, road closures, and related commuting disruptions on this day, Federal employees who work in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area should expect significant commuting delays and travel disruptions,” Kaplan said in the memo. 

“Employees who can be spared from their duties may also request to adjust their work schedule and use their alternative work schedule day off or take annual leave, leave without pay, and/or previously earned compensatory time off or earned credit hours under a flexible work schedule.”