WASHINGTON — With hundreds of thousands of Metro commuters scrambling at the last minute to find a way to work Wednesday, the private-sector business community is urging employers to be as accommodating, and generous, as they can.
Considering the unexpected nature of the transit disruption and little time for employees to plan for it, Jim Dinegar, president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, is making these suggestions to Board of Trade members:
- Provide ways to underwrite or pay in full for cabs, Uber or other transit options.
- Pay for parking.
- Secure parking spots in your building where possible.
- Apply liberal leave policies so that people can take unplanned vacation days off.
- Let employees, who can, work from home.
- Reconsider meetings to decide whether to reschedule.
“There will be plenty of time to express dismay about this situation, but right now we all need to pull together and get through this with as minimal disruption as possible,” Dinegar says.
“Not easy to do, but if you can prepare and communicate options to your company, we will all be better ready to deal with the difficulties we face without an operating rail system.”
With about 700,000 riders per weekday on Metro, the federal government has taken much of the pressure off. The Office of Personnel Management says government agencies will be open, but employees have the option Tuesday for telework or unscheduled leave.
