Funeral for Pope John Paul II The funeral for Pope John Paul II will be held on Friday, April 8, 2005. Some Federal employees may wish to participate in the observance of Pope John Paul's funeral service. Agencies may approve an employee's request for leave or other time off from work on Friday to the extent that the employee's absence from work does not interfere with the efficient accomplishment of an agency's mission or the employee is not needed at work for reasons of national security, defense, or other essential public business.	National Donate Life Month, 2005	2005 Emergency Preparedness Survey Thank you for your many efforts to improve the nation's emergency preparedness. A key factor in ensuring that the government can continue its operations is protecting the safety of our employees. For the third year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is conducting an Emergency Preparedness Self Assessment Survey of efforts to protect employees. In June 2004, the Department of Homeland Security issued Federal Preparedness Circular 65 (http://www.fema.gov/onsc/docs/fpc_65.pdf).	Compensatory Time Off for Travel Section 203 of the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-411, October 30, 2004) authorized a new form of compensatory time off for time spent by an employee in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable. (See CPM 2004-22, November 1, 2004). The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently issued interim regulations implementing this new provision (copy attached).
Status of Agency Leave and Dismissal Policy, Wednesday, January 19, 2005 As you know, a number of streets in and around the White House Ellipse will be closed during the day on Wednesday, January 19, 2005, to accommodate the Presidential Inaugural "Celebration of Freedom" event. The Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) memorandum of January 11, 2004, advised agencies to encourage employees to use the work scheduling flexibilities available to them to take time off from work and avoid the anticipated major traffic congestion in the downtown Washington, D.C., area.	Presidential Inaugural Celebration of Freedom Wednesday, January 19, 2005	Earthquake in Central California	The 2003 President's Quality Award Winners
Extension of Locality Payments to Non-General Schedule Employees The President's Pay Agent Washington, D.C. 20415-1000 The President's Pay Agent has decided to extend the 2004 locality-based comparability payments to certain categories of non-General Schedule employees. Except for the categories of employees listed below, the locality-based comparability payments are extended to the same Governmentwide and single-agency categories that were authorized to receive the 2003 locality payments.	New Performance-Based Pay System for the Senior Executive Service	Excused Absence for Federal Employees on December 26, 2003	Washington, DC, Area Dismissal or Closure Procedures
Return of Activated Military Members to Federal Civilian Employment	FY 2004 Presidential Rank Award Program	Long Term Care Insurance Information in Retirement Seminars	Hurricane Gustav Disaster Relief
Tropical Storms Gustav and Hanna	Update on Excused Absence for Employees Returning from Active Military Duty	Report on Senior Executive Service Pay for Performance for Fiscal Year 2007	Responding to Wildfires
Wildfires in California	Volunteerism in the Aftermath of Emergency Situations As you know, over the past few months many areas of the United States have been faced with serious crises as a result of devastation brought about by floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. The effects of these natural disasters can be severe, requiring long term recovery efforts such as those still underway in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast Region following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.	HR Flexibilities Available to Assist Federal Employees Affected by Severe Weather Conditions or Other Emergency Situations	CPM 2003-12: Hurricane Isabel