Government Shutdown - March Edition

GulfBravoPapa said:

No, he means if you lose your medical there are no admin duties available and you are now furloughed.

And by “furloughed,” we mean that, at least if past is prologue, federal employees get back pay for all furlough time with full pay, right?

DOD4Life said:

And by “furloughed,” we mean that, at least if past is prologue, federal employees get back pay for all furlough time with full pay, right?

I believe there’s federal law that guarantees full back pay for furlough status during shutdowns now.

ClearanceClarence said:

I believe there’s federal law that guarantees full back pay for furlough status during shutdowns now.

Awesome! I thought that might be the case. Does anyone have a link to that? I’ll search it myself in the meantime. Definitely useful info for the federal ATC community at a time like this.

ClearanceClarence said:

I believe there’s federal law that guarantees full back pay for furlough status during shutdowns now.

Found the link:

Government Shutdown Frequently Asked Questions | U.S. House of Representatives

DOD4Life said:

Awesome! I thought that might be the case. Does anyone have a link to that? I’ll search it myself in the meantime. Definitely useful info for the federal ATC community at a time like this.

Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 - Wikipedia

DOD4Life said:

Awesome! I thought that might be the case. Does anyone have a link to that? I’ll search it myself in the meantime. Definitely useful info for the federal ATC community at a time like this.

They can tack on whatever the hell they want to the budget next year

32andBelow said:

They can tack on whatever the hell they want to the budget next year

True, but until they make any changes in any future law, the existing law cited in the link presides, right?

DOD4Life said:

True, but until they make any changes in any future law, the existing law cited in the link presides, right?

It does. But you shouldn’t use prior sanity to decide how to proceed in the new future.

32andBelow said:

It does. But you shouldn’t use prior sanity to decide how to proceed in the new future.

Gotcha. I’m fully aware, lol. I harbor no illusions of what our future holds in this fucked up new reality.

Not even fully in and already supporting a government shutdown, at least no one is eating the cats or dogs anymore

ilefttheunion said:

Not even fully in and already supporting a government shutdown, at least no one is eating the cats or dogs anymore

It’s not just the immigrants, we federal employees gotta eat too, Sir.

DOD4Life said:

It’s not just the immigrants, we federal employees gotta eat too, Sir.

Now no one eats? Here is to hoping for a quick shutdown and no sick letters for the leave abuse that is about to come.

ilefttheunion said:

Not even fully in and already supporting a government shutdown, at least no one is eating the cats or dogs anymore

He fixed that already

ClearanceClarence said:

I believe there’s federal law that guarantees full back pay for furlough status during shutdowns now.

The 13th amendment to the Constitution

ilefttheunion said:

Now no one eats? Here is to hoping for a quick shutdown and no sick letters for the leave abuse that is about to come.

Sick leave letters seem silly to get if you aren't burning any sick leave

dingalings99 said:

what do you mean by the disqualified part and after that? its my first shutdown i wanna bang out

You can bang out and use sick leave. If you are sick and take nyqill or theraflu or zyrtec d make sure you call and report it to the flight surgeon.

If you are medically dqd you may have to request to be furloughed

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furlough-guidance/guidance-for-shutdown-furloughs.pdf

ilefttheunion said:

Now no one eats? Here is to hoping for a quick shutdown and no sick letters for the leave abuse that is about to come.

Can use sick leave or furlough. Our contract doesn't have furlough abuse letters.

Employees generally will not opt to use paid leave since retroactive pay is granted for furlough periods without charge to leave balances under 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2). As a result, most employees prefer to remain in furlough status for the duration of the lapse to preserve their leave balances."

What does "prefer" or "request" to be in furlough status even mean? Can they not just deny it?

buffalochickenqueefadilla said:

What does "prefer" or "request" to be in furlough status even mean? Can they not just deny it?

This is my opinion

Furlough of Excepted Employees:

• If an employee is performing "excepted" work (work critical to human safety, the protection of property, or other excepted activities), they cannot simply stop working because their duties are essential.
• Supervisors can deny a furlough request for such employees because the work they are performing is deemed necessary to continue during the shutdown.
• In exceptional cases where an excepted employee requests to use paid leave (under 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(3)) or seeks furlough status, the supervisor has discretion to approve or deny the request, taking into account operational needs.