NASA Ames Center Operations During a Furlough

Subject: Center Operations During a Furlough.
From: Centerwide Announcement
Date: September 30, 2013

TO: Resident Staff

FROM: S. Pete Worden, Director

SUBJECT: Center Operations During a Furlough.

If the Congress and the President do not provide a new appropriation or continuing resolution the Federal Government will be in a furlough situation. Should this occur, NASA civil servants and contractors shall report to work at their normal time on Tuesday, October 1 to perform an orderly shutdown. It is anticipated that an orderly shutdown can be completed in less than four hours. At approximately 11:00 AM, access to the NASA Ames campus (behind the black fence) will be limited to only those civil servants who have received notices identifying them as excepted and contractors whose contract officers have informed them that certain activities must continue during a furlough. Only these excepted personnel will be allowed access to the NASA Ames campus.

For those excepted positions continuing to work during a furlough, please note that the Arnold Avenue Gate (in front of Building N200) will be closed. The only access to the NASA Ames campus will be through the Mark Avenue Gate (near Building N239). Also note that should an emergency occur, dial 9-1-1 from your landline or (650) 604-5555 from a cell phone, as the NASA 9-1-1 Dispatch Center will continue to operate and fire and security police services will still be available. Please do not use the NASA 9-1-1 Dispatch Center as a source for furlough information.

During a furlough, the center’s information phonemail number (650) 604-9999, will be updated with furlough status information by 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM each day. Please call this number daily to find out furlough status. In addition, the NSSC Customer Service number (877) 677-2123 also will provide NASA operating status. Monitoring public news broadcasts for information on the furlough also will be helpful to you.

For communication devices, all employees are instructed to keep their government issued smartphones, laptops and other devices; however employees who are not performing excepted functions may not use these devices. Excepted employees may use their equipment for excepted activities. Employees in On Call status shall monitor their devices to see if they have been called to work. Please do not contact excepted employees for status updates during a furlough.

WebTADS- As part of the orderly shutdown process, all employees are required to complete their timesheets through 9/30/13. Please do not enter time for 10/1/13 through 10/5/13. NASA plans to process a partial payroll so employees can be paid for their work through the end of the fiscal year. Supervisors are required to review their employees’ WebTADS entries but should not approve the timesheets. This will be done at the Agency level. However, supervisors must approve all overtime, credit hour, and comp time requests so payroll can process. Time spent on shutdown activities on the morning of 10/1/13 will be captured once an appropriation bill is passed and employees return to work.

Timekeeping Instructions During the Furlough- NASA civil servant employees who are performing excepted activities during the furlough must report their hours worked on a daily basis. For Ames, the only excepted activities identified during the furlough are those essential to prevent imminent threats to human life or the protection of property. Employee names and hours worked will be compared to the HQ approved furlough–excepted list to ensure the Center does not create an Anti-Deficiency Act condition. Since WebTADS will not be available, employees must report their hours worked using a special form created specifically for this purpose. The link to the timekeeping form will be provided to excepted employees in a separate communication.

On-Call Personnel- Employees identified as on-call may be recalled temporarily to perform excepted activities. During the furlough, those excepted employees on duty may identify a contingency or emergency that require the services of an employee listed as on-call. The on-duty employee shall notify the Center Chief of Furlough Operations, Phil Snyder, who will consult with the Center Director and Center CFO. If the activity for which the on-call employee will perform continues to meet the definition of excepted activities, the on-call employee will be contacted and reinstated to perform such activities.

During a furlough, Phil Snyder, Chief of Protective Services, will serve as the Chief of Furlough Operations. Should you have questions or issues during a furlough, contact Mr. Snyder at (650) 604-4592 or mailto:Phillip.T.Snyder@nasa.gov . He will do his best to answer your questions, put you in contact with the person who can answer your question, or point you to a helpful resource.

During a furlough, the following operations will be closed: Ames Child Care Center NASA Ames Conference Center The Golf Club at Moffett Field Mega Bites Cafe Barcelona Cafe Tee Minus One Bar and Grill Swimming Pool Basketball Court NASA Lodge Exchange Gift Shop DECA Commissary

Since the NASA Research Park (NRP) tenant operations are not subject to government appropriations, NRP organizations will continue to operate.

Further furlough information, such as NASA Frequently Asked Questions, NASA Shutdown Plan and Memo from the Office of Management and Budget may be found at http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html . The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted information on their website to answer your furlough questions. ( http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furlough-guidance/guidance-for-shutdown-furloughs.pdf )

If you have any questions or would like to respond to this memo electronically, you may do so by clicking on the following: mailto:Phillip.T.Snyder@nasa.gov