Suit filed over shutdown employment

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: UPI

WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. government can't order its employees to work during a shutdown without promise of payment, a lawsuit filed by the largest federal employee union said.

The lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia contends the Obama administration is violating the Constitution's Appropriations Clause and 13th Amendment by requiring federal civilian employees to work without pay during a period of "lapsed federal appropriations," the union said Friday in a release.

Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry were named as defendants.

The federal government could shut down at midnight Friday if congressional negotiators fail to reach an agreement on a budget bill for the remainder of the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/04/08/Suit-filed-over-shutdown-employment/UPI-69841302296176/

[Tesha]

1. It's a basic American pronciple that you get paid for your work.

Of course, these days, we seem to be running a bit
short on those basic American principles.

Tesha

[greiner3]

2. "work without pay;"

Wally Mart all over again.

[bbinacan]

3. That lawsuit is dead in its tracks.

And a waste of time. Sadly to say, this goes with the territory for Fed employees.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. No. Everyone gets paid for their work. Only essential people can be required to show up

as an "emergency." So yeah, maybe air traffic controllers and doctors have to be there. But anyone whose job is not absolutely necessary for the survival of human beings can stay home.

The danger of making them work for no pay is that citizens will yawn and say "Our government is working just fine."

How would Walmart ewmployees like to be told "YOu must show up but we will not pay you?"

[bbinacan]

5. I have no idea

what your point is and how it compares to Walmart. Maybe you should read my comment again.

[annabanana]

6. "exempt" employees (the ones who HAVE to report for work) WILL

get their paychecks retroactively. The "non-exempt" (non-essential) employees are NOT to report, and will only get back pay if Congress says they will.

[Thor_MN]

8. Exempt and non-exempt refer to salaried and hourly pay

I don't think they have anything to do with essential vs. non-essential. An essential employee could be either salaried or hourly and an non-essential could be either as well.

These days, exempt usually means you aren't getting overtime no matter how many hours you have to work to accomplish your workload, plus the workloads of the four people they laid off in your department.

[JDPriestly]

7. I hate to say this, but if Republicans do not want to pay the taxes that

they definitely owe, then let them find out how they like life without an airport.

Above all, seems to me that the private contractors at all levels should be told they will not be paid during the government shutdown.