While Tuesday’s East-Coast earthquake shook up the Washington, D.C., area and prompted some employees to leave for the day, Justice Department personnel were minimally effected.
Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said in an email Wednesday that no official evacuation was issued for any DOJ buildings, though some employees voluntarily left for a brief time.
And spokeswoman Jessica Smith told the Blog of Legal Times that department employees had returned to the Main Justice building about 20 minutes after the earthquake and had resumed work shortly before 3 p.m. yesterday.
Hornbuckle declined to answer questions about safety measures taken for Attorney General Eric Holder during the earthquake, but Fox News’ Fox Nation reported Tuesday that he was evacuated from the department.
No structural damage to any department buildings was reported, Hornbuckle said.
All federal executive branch departments and agencies in Washington were open on Wednesday, according to a U.S. Office of Personnel Management release. But some government buildings remained closed and workers were given the option to work from home or take unscheduled leave.
The list of closed buildings within the district as of Wednesday morning included the U.S. Drug Administration’s Yates Building, The National Building Museum, the Agriculture Department’s James D. Whitten and Agriculture South buildings, the Department of Homeland Security’s Nebraska Avenue buildings No. 1 and 19, and the Interior Department’s headquarters and south buildings.
