Hartford  — If you're working on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, you'd better stay all day.

That's the word that has gone out to state employees — in capital letters, no less.

The widespread practice of leaving early has gotten so extreme that Melody Currey, commissioner of administrative services, deemed it necessary to issue an official email to dozens of commissioners and agency heads, including the treasurer's and attorney general's offices, as well as major agencies such as the state police and departments of transportation, social services and energy and environmental protection.

The top of her email says, "To All Commissioners and Agency Heads, IMPORTANT PLEASE READ.''

It continues: "The day before Christmas and New Year's, we do not allow for early dismissal of your employees. ... Hopefully, this will save all of you from being asked, 'Are we getting out early?' Your agency is to remain open during regular working hours. There will be no exceptions to this.''

The memo states that employees using personal or vacation time can take the day off or leave early — at the commissioner's discretion.

State employees concede that it has become a "custom'' to leave before 4:30, and that supervisors tolerated it for years.

State employees were cautious about being quoted by name on a sensitive topic, one explaining that leaving early on the days before Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's is not unusual.

"Everybody left early last year and other years,'' the employee said. "It's been more of the custom that people could slip away early, and everyone let it be.''

The employee added, "People are people, and they want to get a jump on things — just like [in] a lot of private companies. It's usually kind of informal that starting at 2 o'clock, you can start slipping out. Just don't do it all at once.''

Currey said she wrote the memo after commissioners asked about the policy.

"Just a number of calls from different commissioners asking if we're having early dismissal,'' Currey said Tuesday. "I was commissioner at DMV for four years, and they have to work until the end of the day. These are the rules. You work a full day.''

A former legislator and East Hartford mayor, Currey added, "It's a straightforward, common-sense thing. That's the policy.''

A state employee said the memo was related to widespread early departures last year at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in Hartford, but Currey said that was not the case.

"I don't know what DEEP does or doesn't do,'' Currey said.

But she said she has heard directly from a state employee, whom she said she does not know, about the policy.

"One gentleman has emailed me twice that he's upset that I sent out this memo,'' Currey said. "He's not happy that I did this. I think I'm Grinch Currey.''