When OPM announces an early dismissal, you will be excused from work relative to your normal departure time. For example, if a 3-hour early dismissal is announced due to bad weather and you normally leave the office at 5 p.m., you would be authorized to leave at 2 p.m.

Your supervisor has the discretion to exempt you from your authorized dismissal time, but only to avoid hardships such as when younger children are released early from school and there is no other child care available. If you are excused for this reason when an early dismissal is announced, the extra time granted by your supervisor is not to be charged to your personal leave.

Some other things you should know about early dismissals are, if you are:

• In a duty status at the time an early dismissal is announced, you will be excused without charge to your personal leave for the rest of the workday even if they were scheduled to take leave later in the day. However, if you leave before your authorized dismissal (even with approval from your supervisor but not due to a hardship) you will be charged annual leave or LWOP beginning at the time you left work and for the rest of your scheduled workday.
• Scheduled to report to work and do not do so before the authorized dismissal, you will be charged leave or AWOL for the entire workday.
• On previously approved leave, you’ll be charged leave for the entire workday.
• Scheduled to return from leave after an early dismissal is announced but before your authorized dismissal, you will be charge personal leave until your dismissal time. Your absence after the time of dismissal will be excused even if you are scheduled to take leave later in the day.
• Scheduled to report to work after an early dismissal is announced, you may be excused for the rest of the workday even if you are scheduled to take leave later in the day.
• Designated as an emergency employee, you are expected to stay at the work site, or report in, unless specifically excused by your supervisor.