Official Government Shutdown 2023 Thread

[Anonymous]

Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

Who can and can’t work is all legal— so if you can work you must work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. What’s the likelihood that this is all political theater and will blow over by Oct 1? I don’t understand politics very much. I though the debt ceiling fight was going to be a bigger issue but that resolved at the last minute.

I feel like it’s always political theater but the Republicans only get crazier every cycle. I’ve been a fed for 9 years and the only shutdown I’ve experienced was literally one Friday morning.

Wait? What 9 years? Were you one during Trump? I’m confused.

NP. in previous years, some budget packages had been passed, so not every agency was affected the same way. I've been a federal worker for 9 years and haven't personally had a shutdown because i used to work for a non-appropriated agency. also some agencies have more runway/money in the bank than others and sometime use that to continue operations as normal for a day or two if it looks like congress is getting its act together. but this time seems rough to predict.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

They’re required to work. They can’t even take leave. If they don’t work, they’re AWOL and can be disciplined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who are tracking this, and/or who are scared, how long do you think we'll be shutdown?

About a month.

someone a few posts above is floating a quarter!

YIKES

The FC aims high.

What is wrong with them? I don't get it.

This is what happens when a party has no platform and looking for free airtime/publicity. People seem to forget the last shutdown where we were hours away from losing GPS capabilities. Let seniors and military go 3 months without pay and see what happens.

Wow, everything runs on GPS today…

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/ripple-effects-shutdown-reach-gps-system-and-beyond/622226/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

No, nothing that you sign upon being hired. And some people aren't necessarily "essential", but based on their particular program, they may be funded even in a shutdown.

For example, my DH has always had to work during previous shutdowns, even though he's not in a critical or essential position, he's administrative like I am. But while I got to stay home during previous shutdowns, he was going to the office (Veteran's Affairs) and working every day due to their funding not lapsing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

They’re required to work. They can’t even take leave. If they don’t work, they’re AWOL and can be disciplined.

Right all leave is cancelled. If you get sick, you get furloughed and don’t return until shutdown ends. Now that they are guaranteed pay, I guess Feds could get “sick” and furlough themselves. I almost had to do that because of scheduled surgery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who are tracking this, and/or who are scared, how long do you think we'll be shutdown?

About a month.

someone a few posts above is floating a quarter!

YIKES

The FC aims high.

What is wrong with them? I don't get it.

This is what happens when a party has no platform and looking for free airtime/publicity. People seem to forget the last shutdown where we were hours away from losing GPS capabilities. Let seniors and military go 3 months without pay and see what happens.

Wow, everything runs on GPS today…

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/ripple-effects-shutdown-reach-gps-system-and-beyond/622226/

Yes critical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

They’re required to work. They can’t even take leave. If they don’t work, they’re AWOL and can be disciplined.

Right all leave is cancelled. If you get sick, you get furloughed and don’t return until shutdown ends. Now that they are guaranteed pay, I guess Feds could get “sick” and furlough themselves. I almost had to do that because of scheduled surgery.

This has to be fixed in the eventual settlement. One of the things that should give a shutdown a real bite is being able to save money for each day of shutdown while hammering the administrative state and its worker bees. Guaranteeing back pay ruins this. Biden and Schumer are pretty feeble, so the House Republicans should hold out until that legislation gifting shutdown back pay is eliminated or at least substantially reduced.

[Anonymous]

sucks for SEC employees... all stock trades (including for spouse) have to be pre-cleared, and you can't get a margin loan. less than two weeks to decide if I want to sell something to free up cash, and no way to figure out how much/for how long...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An 8% drop in all non military spending one month — in order to fund the government for one month (after which there will be more demands) has already been torpedoed by the FC.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/18/house-funding-deal-republicans/

There is no deal to make or plan that would satisfy them.

holy crap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

They’re required to work. They can’t even take leave. If they don’t work, they’re AWOL and can be disciplined.

Right all leave is cancelled. If you get sick, you get furloughed and don’t return until shutdown ends. Now that they are guaranteed pay, I guess Feds could get “sick” and furlough themselves. I almost had to do that because of scheduled surgery.

This has to be fixed in the eventual settlement. One of the things that should give a shutdown a real bite is being able to save money for each day of shutdown while hammering the administrative state and its worker bees. Guaranteeing back pay ruins this. Biden and Schumer are pretty feeble, so the House Republicans should hold out until that legislation gifting shutdown back pay is eliminated or at least substantially reduced.

That’s terrible. Biden and Schumer better not do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

Who can and can’t work is all legal— so if you can work you must work

Yes. There is no decision to be made at the individual level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are those fed employees that are required to work during shutdowns actually required to work (legally) or is that cultural/political? As in, do you sign something when you are hired that binds you to working without pay? This is all very frustrating and grandstanding.

They’re required to work. They can’t even take leave. If they don’t work, they’re AWOL and can be disciplined.

Right all leave is cancelled. If you get sick, you get furloughed and don’t return until shutdown ends. Now that they are guaranteed pay, I guess Feds could get “sick” and furlough themselves. I almost had to do that because of scheduled surgery.

That is if you are "essential". If you are being paid through alternate funding (like the whole IRS) you can take leave etc.

[Anonymous]

No one is essential, it’s “excepted” like your work is excepted from the order to stop based on a lapse in appropriations.