I don’t think government employees are getting the day off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, do you people ever work?

When the government is off, federal contractors don't get paid. I have to use up my leave or take an unpaid day off whenever the government decides to give its worker random extra days off. There was just one on 12/24, too.

You make quite a bit more as a contractor than direct hire feds so you can pound sand.

I was a gov tech contractor for over a decade and I am now making more as a fed employee GS 15 step 6 in the DMV. The highest I made as a IT PM contractor was $180,000.

Well that puts you in the top 5% of earners in the US. I.e., you are rich.

Anonymous wrote:I’m a fed and this should be a working day. There is no reason for us not to work that day. In fact, performing our public service by working is a way to honor President Carter’s legacy of service. I will be annoyed if this is a day off.

Technically, POTUS is the head of the executive branch, so it’s a day to honor the guy who was our boss while in office and gives us the ability to watch the funeral. Realistically, it makes sense to keep as many nonessential people off metro and the roads and out of the federal core as possible for security and logistics reasons. Just like the Inauguration. Speaking of which, Feds usually get the Inauguration off and don’t this cycle because it aligns with MLK Day. So, think of it as a wash.

Also, we are talking about once every 8 or so years, or 3-4 working days for someone who achieves full retirement as a Fed. If THIS is what has your knickers in a twist and not all the time spent preparing for almost shutdowns and having actual shutdowns, or the time wasted during Trump’s last administration trying to carry out his half a**ed ideas that were enjoined by courts, then you’ve been a Fed for about 6 minutes or are a troll.

FWIW— I would do this for every former POTUS, but because Carter actually lived his faith and was deeply involved in his church, I will be going to Mass on 1/9 if we have the day off. I think volunteering would also be an appropriate way to spend the day.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know the date he will lie in state at the US Capitol?

Hopefully January 6.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know the date he will lie in state at the US Capitol?

not yet.

The timeline say 36 hours before his funeral. So, likely 1/7 and 1/8. Maybe 1/6 and 1/7.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, do you people ever work?

When the government is off, federal contractors don't get paid. I have to use up my leave or take an unpaid day off whenever the government decides to give its worker random extra days off. There was just one on 12/24, too.

How often does a President pass?

Ford in 2006 and George HW Bush in 2018. So averaging once every 8-10 years. Inauguration is on MLK Day this year, so not an extra day. It evens out.

Surely, the average time between presidential deaths is the same as the average presidential tenure, so a number less than 8 years.

In recent history, Carter and George HW Bush both lived a really, really long time, which threw things off. Between Clinton (recently hospitalized for an infection and had quad bypass surgery) and Trump (McDonalds) and Biden (showing his age). I’d expect more than one death in the next 8 years.

But, Obama, Clinton, Trump, Reagan, and Bush 1 were all two term presidents since Carter (5 8 year terms if Trump is still with us in 2028) vs just Bush 2 and Biden who were not (so 2 4 year terms). So the average term length since 1980 is just under 7 years (my back of the napkin math says 6.86 years). So one every 8 years isn’t that far off.

With such a small data set, it just takes a couple people living into their 90s to throw the numbers off.

I’m a fed and this should be a working day. There is no reason for us not to work that day. In fact, performing our public service by working is a way to honor President Carter’s legacy of service. I will be annoyed if this is a day off.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know the date he will lie in state at the US Capitol?

not yet.

Does anyone know the date he will lie in state at the US Capitol?

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, do you people ever work?

When the government is off, federal contractors don't get paid. I have to use up my leave or take an unpaid day off whenever the government decides to give its worker random extra days off. There was just one on 12/24, too.

That is the fault of whoever wrote your contract.

When I was a government contractor at two different companies over a seven-year period, the contract stated that we were to be paid when we "could not access the building" even if there was not a building for us to access.

Blame your company for being cheap. You know your CEO is raking it in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, do you people ever work?

When the government is off, federal contractors don't get paid. I have to use up my leave or take an unpaid day off whenever the government decides to give its worker random extra days off. There was just one on 12/24, too.

How often does a President pass?

Ford in 2006 and George HW Bush in 2018. So averaging once every 8-10 years. Inauguration is on MLK Day this year, so not an extra day. It evens out.

Surely, the average time between presidential deaths is the same as the average presidential tenure, so a number less than 8 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, do you people ever work?

When the government is off, federal contractors don't get paid. I have to use up my leave or take an unpaid day off whenever the government decides to give its worker random extra days off. There was just one on 12/24, too.

You make quite a bit more as a contractor than direct hire feds so you can pound sand.

Np. This is true in limited instances. I'm a fed and I can't believe how often this lie is repeated by feds.

+100. As a fed, I make substantially more than the contractors I work with. I was surprised at how low a lot of their salaries are.

I was thinking to myself is it half mast? I thought it was half staff have I been saying it wrong the whole time…

Anyway, I thought I’d post this for anybody else that was confused.

Half-staff" and "half-mast" are both terms used to describe a flag flown partway down a pole to indicate mourning or distress. The main difference is that "half-staff" is used in American English to refer to a flag flown on land, while "half-mast" is used to refer to a flag flown at sea. However, the terms are often used interchangeably, especially in unofficial contexts

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biden is handing out reprieves like candy. My money is on the Executive order.

Biden is very old school and deeply reveres Carter. It would be the first time Feds were not off. Which would be kind of an insult. Even atrump gave Feds the day off for Bush. Plus, some Feds do actually work in DC. They like to clear DC out for these events for security and crowd control reasons.

Yet he ordered the Day of Mourning and Flags to be at half mast but did not close the federal government yet...

OPM usually issues the instructions to agencies with the EO, and they’ve been open for business (checks watch) less than three hours. Realistically, they close the government to reduce people the in the federal core and on metro the day of the funeral. Also makes security easier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, do you people ever work?

When the government is off, federal contractors don't get paid. I have to use up my leave or take an unpaid day off whenever the government decides to give its worker random extra days off. There was just one on 12/24, too.

You make quite a bit more as a contractor than direct hire feds so you can pound sand.

Right but you don’t work

Enjoy your unpaid day off!