Office Closures: US

This Office Closures policy explains how your organization will communicate and manage emergency and weather-related shutdowns, including expectations for remote work, safety-related absences, and pay practices. 

While there's no single federal "office closure" statute, closures and related decisions often intersect with federal workplace safety obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act's General Duty Clause (29 U.S.C. 654) and federal wage and hour rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. chapter 8), especially when you're deciding whether employees should work remotely, how to handle exempt salary basis pay, and when non-exempt time is compensable.

A clear, consistent policy helps employees make safe choices, reduces confusion during fast-moving events, and gives HR and managers guidelines that aligns operations, payroll, and compliance.

The History Behind Office Closures Policies in the US

Office closure rules grew out of basic operational reality, but the legal backing comes from wage and hour laws and in the everyday Workplace Rules & Logistics decisions HR has to make. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) set the core split that still drives most closure guidance: non-exempt employees generally get paid for hours worked, while exempt employees are paid on a salary basis when they perform work during the workweek. Employers learned that a snow day can turn into a pay dispute when managers improvise, so they wrote down their rules in a policy.

Safety law pushed the same conversation from another angle. OSHA's General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards, and severe weather, wildfire smoke, and other emergencies can create hazards that are hard to ignore once you know they're coming. Unionized workplaces also added structure through the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), because closures, schedule changes, and remote-work directives can touch wages, hours, and working conditions, plus protected concerted activity when employees raise safety concerns together.

After major regional disruptions (hurricanes, blizzards, and then the COVID-19 era's mass shift to remote work), employers started writing down who decides to close, how employees will be notified, and what "work from home if you can" actually means for timekeeping and expectations. The goal became consistency, because the fastest way to create liability is to treat the same closure differently across teams, locations, employees, or job types.

Which Law is the Office Closures Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute an Office Closures Policy for your US-based employees, you should make sure it's in compliance with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), General Duty Clause (29 U.S.C. 654) and related federal workplace safety requirements enforced by OSHA under 29 U.S.C. Chapter 8.

How to Write an US-Specific Office Closures Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept.
• Explain who can decide to close the office and how employees will be notified.
• State the expectation to work remotely during closures and to be prepared to do so.
• Encourage employees to prioritize safety and communicate availability when travel feels unsafe.
• Define pay treatment for exempt employees during closure weeks.
• Define pay treatment for non-exempt employees based on hours worked.
• Explain how PTO can be used to cover missed time when non-exempt employees cannot work remotely.
• Address how part-time employees should handle closures that affect their scheduled shifts.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

Even when notice is not required, this is still the kind of policy most employers should put in their handbook or otherwise publish to employees. It answers a question employees will ask, sets expectations, and gives managers a consistent script. If you do not include it, you will end up explaining it ad hoc, and that is when inconsistency, resentment, and accidental noncompliance shows up. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to US employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.