As people may know Florida is currently getting battered by hurricane Ian as well as other nearby states in the path. I've never been terribly educated on the labor laws here but I thought it was a no-brainer to call off any work that requires you to go outside even just to drive to an office because, as someone who's lived here my whole life, I'm pretty used to storms and hurricanes but still understand the danger just the strong winds can pose. Last night I saw a state of emergency was declared and today schools are closed and my family member who works for the government was told to remain at home, which makes sense seeing the debris littering the road this morning and hearing the wind rain and thunder last night. Now, I drive around a ton for work and often have to work outside but as I was told “work is only called off when the higher ups decide it's absolutely necessary” basically meaning they'll wait until the hurricane suddenly changes paths to head straight for us (at least that's what it sounds like to me.) I understand we're a high demand trade and have customers to please, but as the 'boots on the ground' I couldn't care less what they think and I will not come in if it looks terrible despite losing out on that pay, even if they actually are watching forecasts and such.
A quick search showed me that there is no law against the higher ups doing this but I'll ask my friend who's very knowledgeable on laws what their experience is. I'm curious about other people's experiences with situations like this especially from other US states, much love and I hope everyone is staying safe