Anyone affected by the Federal Government shut down?

[Hikergirl]

I know there was a poster who mentioned that they will be required to work during the shutdown, do you guys get paid retroactively for that or are you just expected to work and not get paid at all for that time?

 

[DLgal]

I know there was a poster who mentioned that they will be required to work during the shutdown, do you guys get paid retroactively for that or are you just expected to work and not get paid at all for that time?

It depends. Some are paid back and some are not.

 

[GreatLakes]

I know there was a poster who mentioned that they will be required to work during the shutdown, do you guys get paid retroactively for that or are you just expected to work and not get paid at all for that time?

Everyone I know that works for the government will get back pay and they did during the last shutdown. They work for DFAS, NASA, and are medical personnel in a VA hospital. It isn't really working for free, you just get your money a little later than you would if the shutdown goes beyond the next payday. It isn't ideal but it is what it is.

 

[Christine]

Okay, it's official for me. Got my letter and I'm back at home. Just waiting for the Noon vote to see what I do tomorrow. All our meetings and projects for this week have been cancelled whether we are open or not tomorrow just because some people were traveling in and they didn't know what to do. I have to say, it was fairly chaotic this morning. The letters were ready--they were being pre-reviewed by Employee Relations. Then they were ready and there was this mad scramble to get them printed, along with all the backup stuff that goes with them.

 

[YachtClubWoman]

Not directly affected - I am at a conference and FDA participants are calling in as they cannot be on site at the meeting even though the conference is in DC

 

[smiths02]

My husband is a federal employee, and required to work (essential). He has always gotten paid eventually. I spent a few hours on Saturday rearranging money and making sure all of our automatic drafts would be covered. At least I have a check coming in as well.

 

[smiths02]

My understanding (based solely on my DH's opinion) from before when this was happening is that there will be people furloughed and people who are required to work. In the end, they will probably be paid the same. Those who work will work for nothing and will get back pay when things are settled. Those who don't work will probably get back pay too.

My DH will be working, but would rather be furloughed.

My DH is required to work. Last time, not only was he required to work, he was told that he couldn't take any leave (don't know if that ended up being true as he didn't need leave during that time). So guys with planned vacations were put in a position of not being sure if they would get back pay if they took their vacation time.

 

[Hikergirl]

Everyone I know that works for the government will get back pay and they did during the last shutdown. They work for DFAS, NASA, and are medical personnel in a VA hospital. It isn't really working for free, you just get your money a little later than you would if the shutdown goes beyond the next payday. It isn't ideal but it is what it is.

I am glad to hear that, even though the situation as of right now really sucks for you guys.
Hopefully there will be a resolution very soon.

 

[Action City]

I know there was a poster who mentioned that they will be required to work during the shutdown, do you guys get paid retroactively for that or are you just expected to work and not get paid at all for that time?

They will get back pay, just like they did during the last shutdown. Just like military who is moving in the middle of this, they'll be reimbursed, so they really aren't out any money.

 

[Christine]

My DH is required to work. Last time, not only was he required to work, he was told that he couldn't take any leave (don't know if that ended up being true as he didn't need leave during that time). So guys with planned vacations were put in a position of not being sure if they would get back pay if they took their vacation time.

This is true about the leave.

My friend's entire organization is essential. She has vacation planned starting Wednesday. They are going to end up furloughing her on Wednesday and then recalling her when she returns. I guess there is some wiggle room on that rule.

 

[smiths02]

The same thing everyone else does, wash their hands frequently, lol. Seriously though, there is nothing for them to do that can have any impact on the current flu season. Luckily this is a fairly mild strain (the main one hitting) and the fact that they produced a vaccine for the wrong strains (again) isn't as big of an issue as some other years.

I do think these shutdowns illustrate just how bloated some of these agencies and departments are. Over 800,000 federal employees won't work tomorrow because they aren't "essential". Exactly why are there so many non essential people that we the taxpayers are paying for? I think it's time to stop filling these positions when people retire/quit.

And a previous poster was correct, there has never been a shutdown where the employees weren't paid once a budget was finally passed. Median income for a federal employee is about $80,000, if you know 80k a year and can't survive for a few days because a single paycheck is a week or two late, you've got a lot deeper problems than a single paycheck.

I do find it mildly entertaining that government workers are scared about the "uncertainty" when the rest of the country working in the private sector lives with that day in and day out. #welcometotherealworld

I would have to look at what "essential" is really meant to mean, though. Saying there shouldn't be an employee because it is not "essential" might not tell the whole story. People who are essential to public safety aren't the only important people who work in the government.

ETA: For example, my DH who is essential thinks it pretty essential that someone eventually pays him or makes sure we are enrolled for health insurance (but those HR type employees will be furloughed)

 

[wvjules]

I am on a federal contract but the agency I am working for is able to work through the shutdown and up through February 9. It's business as usual here today and will be unless it drags out past 2/9/18.

 

[AMW86]

I work for an agency that fines entities for noncompliance, so we are able to work off of money from the fines. We do work under other laws that do not allow for fines, so we are not allowed to work on those cases. And we were just told that our payroll was already processed, so we are getting paid on Friday

 

[Skippy918]

A few of my friends are furloughed. Hopefully they aren’t out of work too long.

 

[DopeyDame]

I know there was a poster who mentioned that they will be required to work during the shutdown, do you guys get paid retroactively for that or are you just expected to work and not get paid at all for that time?

Civil servants and military will almost certainly get paid back (at least they have in all previous shutdowns) It's the contractors who are more up in the air. Presumably if the contractors are authorized to work (ie, essential personnel) then the government will pay them for that work at some point, and the employees will get paid eventually. If the contractor employees don't work, then the government most likely won't pay the contractor for the lost time, so then it becomes up to the contractor if they'll pay their employees out of their profits. I work for a massive government contractor, and they've assured us that we'll get paid on time no matter what. For a lot of the really small contractors though, they may not have the cash on hand to pay their employees if they aren't getting paid from the government.

 

[Snowflakey]

Just want to say that my thoughts are with all of you affected by this. Hope this nightmare is over with soon!

 

[DopeyDame]

I would have to look at what "essential" is really meant to mean, though. Saying there shouldn't be an employee because it is not "essential" might not tell the whole story. People who are essential to public safety aren't the only important people who work in the government.

ETA: For example, my DH who is essential thinks it pretty essential that someone eventually pays him or makes sure we are enrolled for health insurance (but those HR type employees will be furloughed)

Right - essential is defined as necessary to protect people or property. So, for example, in NASA people who are directly responsible for keeping the International Space Station operating are essential. But people who are working on building the next generation satellites that are still on the ground are furloughed.

That doesn't mean we don't need the engineers who are building and designing future missions. We absolutely do. But they aren't "essential"

 

[Hikergirl]

Civil servants and military will almost certainly get paid back (at least they have in all previous shutdowns) It's the contractors who are more up in the air. Presumably if the contractors are authorized to work (ie, essential personnel) then the government will pay them for that work at some point, and the employees will get paid eventually. If the contractor employees don't work, then the government most likely won't pay the contractor for the lost time, so then it becomes up to the contractor if they'll pay their employees out of their profits. I work for a massive government contractor, and they've assured us that we'll get paid on time no matter what. For a lot of the really small contractors though, they may not have the cash on hand to pay their employees if they aren't getting paid from the government.

I'm "liking" because I appreciate the info.

I really hope this doesn't last too long and everyone directly effected is back to work and getting paid before it becomes a hardship for them.

 

[verleniahall]

My cousin and her husband are both in the Navy and are unsure what will happen with their pay. Plus they are scheduled to relocate across the country in two weeks. So needless to say that're starting to panic about that, as the Navy is picking up the tab for relocation.

What I have been told (one of my friends on Active was supposed to be moving) is that until the shutdown is over, they are not doing any outprocessing/inprocessing, etc... - One of my friends is PG and her husband is away on temp orders, and they aren't able to go back until this is all over as well

It is hurting SO MANY people - I am the FRG Leader for my DH's Guard Unit here in KS and i Have been fielding calls from panicking spouses about Drill this weekend - what can they do for help with food, gas, etc...

 

[verleniahall]

I know there was a poster who mentioned that they will be required to work during the shutdown, do you guys get paid retroactively for that or are you just expected to work and not get paid at all for that time?

It depends on the agency - Military we assume will get backpay (we did before) but it depends on the other agencies