The Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday announced that it would establish a temporary leave-sharing program to help federal employees who need time off from work to recover after Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction across more than half a dozen states.
The storm, which made landfall as a category 4 hurricane in Florida last week, has reportedly caused at least 180 deaths in the U.S. and created widespread flooding and other storm damage as far north as Virginia.
In a memo to agency heads Wednesday, Acting OPM Director Rob Shriver announced that his agency and the Office of Management and Budget will establish an emergency leave transfer program for federal employees across seven states. Such programs enable agencies to set up banks so that federal workers may donate unused paid leave to their colleagues impacted by natural disasters can take time off without needing to use their own paid—or unpaid—leave.