Praise Jesus, for today, Department of Interior (DOI) staff will receive the greatest gift of all: 59 minutes of time off, courtesy of Secretary Ryan Zinke."A small token of our appreciation for all you do to support the American public… Employees working Friday may leave 59 minutes earlier than their normal departure time," an email sent to all DOI staff and leaked to Motherboard by an employee there said.
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This is weird for a couple of reasons: For starters, my source says they can't remember ever getting relieved for a non-federal holiday, especially one that's so blatantly religious (it's Good Friday). A DOI spokesperson did not respond to my question about this.Secondly… 59 minutes? According to the agency, time-off exceeding 59 minutes must be logged as administrative leave.
It should be noted that Zinke is a Lutheran. And in the Lutheran Church, "the Easter Vigil is the most important service of public worship and Mass of the liturgical year."So there you go. Make of that what you will.