Any other families planning for a furlough?

[disykat]

The sequester is a ten year deal. No one seems to be talking about what those other nine years look like. If something really lasts ten years, it's pretty much going to be permanent IMO. That's what most furloughs end up being if they continue beyond a brief time isn't it? A pay cut.

I've been surprised by some of the posts here acting like it's only a six month deal. That's just the first year.

 

[smitch425]

DH got word that his office will receive their letters on Thursday or Friday. He will have to be there when they come, so he is hoping to get them Thursday. He and a few guys from the office have NCAA tourney tickets for Friday, and they have been looking forward to this for over a year. They will be so disappointed if they can't go to the games that day. I guess I will end up going if he can't, but I really hope he gets to make it.

We broke the news to the kids that our Disney trip may not happen this year. DD acted as though she didn't even hear us. She just looked at us and walked off without a word. We are going to do our best to scrimp and save to come up with a vacation plan. After all of the stuff we have been through already this year, we really need that vacation this year more than ever.

I will continue to pray for everyone affected by this. I am hoping that once the air travel becomes a problem for everyone (because it will), leaders will realize that this problem needs a real solution or they will find themselves without voter support in the next election. Most of the public doesn't understand the wipespread effects this will have, but sadly, they are about to find out just how BIG this really is.

 

[gwynne]

The sequester is a ten year deal. No one seems to be talking about what those other nine years look like. If something really lasts ten years, it's pretty much going to be permanent IMO. That's what most furloughs end up being if they continue beyond a brief time isn't it? A pay cut.

I've been surprised by some of the posts here acting like it's only a six month deal. That's just the first year.

JMO, YMMV as always.
I guess it kind of depends on whether you think 10 years of sequester will be considered reasonable and left in place. I don't. I don't believe the American public, will, either.
I think the goofballs in congress will be forced to act in the next couple of months. The sequester can be cancelled by legislation. It is not a permanent, done deal with no way out.

I think we are in a holding pattern, now, because the bulk of the pain hasn't been felt yet. We'll see how things are in mid April and beyond.
I am betting that air travel delays, flight cancellations, office shutdowns, and the annoyance of not having services that are expected will force a solution.

 

[mikehn]

The sequester is a ten year deal. No one seems to be talking about what those other nine years look like. If something really lasts ten years, it's pretty much going to be permanent IMO. That's what most furloughs end up being if they continue beyond a brief time isn't it? A pay cut.

I've been surprised by some of the posts here acting like it's only a six month deal. That's just the first year.

Furloughs were necessary this year mainly because the sequester kicked in just about half way through the year. federal agencies did not have enough time to plan meaningful cuts to meet their share of the budget reduction for this year, and therefore the only thing left was to furlough people in order to meet that reduction. In the coming years, federal agencies now have time to plan out their share of the reductions to avoid future furloughs, ie, they have time to cut things that really are not needed.

 

[gwynne]

DH got word that his office will receive their letters on Thursday or Friday. He will have to be there when they come, so he is hoping to get them Thursday. He and a few guys from the office have NCAA tourney tickets for Friday, and they have been looking forward to this for over a year. They will be so disappointed if they can't go to the games that day. I guess I will end up going if he can't, but I really hope he gets to make it.

We broke the news to the kids that our Disney trip may not happen this year. DD acted as though she didn't even hear us. She just looked at us and walked off without a word. We are going to do our best to scrimp and save to come up with a vacation plan. After all of the stuff we have been through already this year, we really need that vacation this year more than ever.

I will continue to pray for everyone affected by this. I am hoping that once the air travel becomes a problem for everyone (because it will), leaders will realize that this problem needs a real solution or they will find themselves without voter support in the next election. Most of the public doesn't understand the wipespread effects this will have, but sadly, they are about to find out just how BIG this really is.

I totally agree with what you've said. We did a quick estimation, took our take home $$ amount, and knocked off 20%. We're budgeting based on the new figure. It may not be totally accurate, but it helped us plan.
We figure that's something positive we can do in the meantime until this big fiasco of a show is over. It's all smoke and mirrors, and hard working folks who just want to do their jobs are caught in the middle.

And while everyone sympathizes with the traveling public, it is important that the cuts hurt. Otherwise, it's easy to say, leave me alone... let those federal employees suffer with a pay cut and cut in hours. And, of course, federal employees actual job responsibilities haven't been cut. They still have to find a way to get things done with one less day, no travel, and other budget cuts.
Frankly, the entire country should be working together, and not just expect one group to do the heavy lifting.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Furloughs were necessary this year mainly because the sequester kicked in just about half way through the year. federal agencies did not have enough time to plan meaningful cuts to meet their share of the budget reduction for this year, and therefore the only thing left was to furlough people in order to meet that reduction. In the coming years, federal agencies now have time to plan out their share of the reductions to avoid future furloughs, ie, they have time to cut things that really are not needed.

Agreed. Every agency, department, etc has fat in their budget that can be cut. I know we had a $6M project that didn't have any payback at all and we could have easily done without, but we were told to do the project from higher up. There are also lots of new positions that wouldn't even need to be filled if they stopped recruiting for the position. Save money in these ways and you can keep the staff you still have without furloughs.

Sorry to those who have two family members affected by furloughs or worse.

 

[eyor44]

BTW.... for those of you that have gotten your furlough letters...Eglin Air Force Base received theirs last week. Rumor on the base is that they were informed that this will be the norm for the next 10 years. Were you told the same? Just wanting to know how much I need to prepare for. If it is permanent then some things will have to change in my budget. Thanks!

The sequester is a ten year deal. No one seems to be talking about what those other nine years look like. If something really lasts ten years, it's pretty much going to be permanent IMO. That's what most furloughs end up being if they continue beyond a brief time isn't it? A pay cut.

I've been surprised by some of the posts here acting like it's only a six month deal. That's just the first year.

There are rules about how long they can give us LWOP and still keep us as Full Time employees. If it goes over a certain amount of time then the rules change and a RIF will kick in.

Another ripple effect that people seem to be avoiding mentioning is that if we are paid less, then we pay less taxes. Less taxes means less money for Social Services. Also Government employees are known as big givers for CFC. I already know of several people who are looking into canceling their CFC donations for this year. I know I will be donating less this year, if at all.

 

[bunny]

The comments are laughable. I would love for DH to be paid over $100,000 (not even close!!) and what are all these lush benefits that everyone thinks he gets?
He gets vacation and sick leave- normal! Most companies offer this.
He gets medical insurance- normal! Blue Cross Blue Shield. Pretty typical.
We have Thrift Savings- most companies offer some sort of 401K or retirement accounts. normal.

What are these lush benefits that we are missing out on?

I work in a small business. We work with a skeleton crew. A few years ago everyone took sizeable pay cuts. Our health insurance has doubled. No one gets more than three weeks off and no more than one week at a time. It is a hardship for us when someone is off, since there is no job overlapping. We don't have sick time. You need to be basically hospitalized before taking a sick day. We do have retirement, but it can not be utilized until you are a certain age. It is not based on how many years you have worked here. On the flip side, we haven't laid anyone off or fired anyone.

So, no 6 to 8 weeks paid vacation and another couple weeks personal or sick leave is not normal. Fully funded health insurance is not normal. Being able to retire after 20 or 25 years is not normal.

It seems to me that a lot of government agencies have too many people working there if they can afford to have their employess off that many days. Maybe if they cut their work force as corporate America has done, they would reduce costs.

 

[psimon]

I work in a small business. We work with a skeleton crew. A few years ago everyone took sizeable pay cuts. Our health insurance has doubled. No one gets more than three weeks off and no more than one week at a time. It is a hardship for us when someone is off, since there is no job overlapping. We don't have sick time. You need to be basically hospitalized before taking a sick day. We do have retirement, but it can not be utilized until you are a certain age. It is not based on how many years you have worked here. On the flip side, we haven't laid anyone off or fired anyone.

So, no 6 to 8 weeks paid vacation and another couple weeks personal or sick leave is not normal. Fully funded health insurance is not normal. Being able to retire after 20 or 25 years is not normal.

It seems to me that a lot of government agencies have too many people working there if they can afford to have their employess off that many days. Maybe if they cut their work force as corporate America has done, they would reduce costs.

We DO NOT have fully funded health or life insurance or any other insurance. That may be the myth but is far from the truth.

I am paying close to $1000/month because of the coverage I selected. Depending on the plan you select, you can pay more or less. It is NOT FREE.

As to the age you retire, that is your choice depending on how much of a pension you want. If you want to retire after 20 years, go ahead, but your take home will be severely reduced. Stick around for 40 years and you will take home more. Don't think we get a wonderful retirement just because we are employed by the Fed. We earn it.

I can guarantee the all the things we take for granted in society (air traffic control, meat inspectors, etc) will be diminished if working less hours become the norm. That means higher prices for everything and less revenue in the way of taxes for the gov't. This will start a grand spiral downward. I hope that is not the goal here. No one will win.

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[disykat]

The only people I know who retire at 20 years from government jobs do so because they had 20 years in the military prior to taking that government job.

 

[worm761]

So, no 6 to 8 weeks paid vacation and another couple weeks personal or sick leave is not normal. Fully funded health insurance is not normal. Being able to retire after 20 or 25 years is not normal.

It seems to me that a lot of government agencies have too many people working there if they can afford to have their employess off that many days. Maybe if they cut their work force as corporate America has done, they would reduce costs.

We pay for our health insurance. It is not paid for us. It comes out of his paycheck just like yours. We have copays that we pay too. And because it is a federal program we are not allowed to participate in any of the deals the pharmacies have. So no Target 5% off coupons. No rewards at Walgreens or CVS. And no free turkeys at Thanksgiving for using the pharmacy.

And DH doesn't have 6-8 weeks vacation time. I am sure that he wishes that he does but he doesn't.

And we pay into the Thrift Savings. It is not funded for us.

As for having too many people, um no. DH is doing the job of 3 people. He is qualified to teach 3 classes and is being told to qualify for a 4th because bodies are needed. So when he is not teaching his class, he teaches other classes too. And if he has a class, no vacation because then they don't get taught and the schedule gets behind and the students would have nothing to do that week. So I get to plan my vacations, when we can afford them, around the military's schedule for DH and what classes he will be required to teach.

 

[smitch425]

I work in a small business. We work with a skeleton crew. A few years ago everyone took sizeable pay cuts. Our health insurance has doubled. No one gets more than three weeks off and no more than one week at a time. It is a hardship for us when someone is off, since there is no job overlapping. We don't have sick time. You need to be basically hospitalized before taking a sick day. We do have retirement, but it can not be utilized until you are a certain age. It is not based on how many years you have worked here. On the flip side, we haven't laid anyone off or fired anyone.

So, no 6 to 8 weeks paid vacation and another couple weeks personal or sick leave is not normal. Fully funded health insurance is not normal. Being able to retire after 20 or 25 years is not normal.

It seems to me that a lot of government agencies have too many people working there if they can afford to have their employess off that many days. Maybe if they cut their work force as corporate America has done, they would reduce costs.

None of those "not normal" things you mention apply to government employees either. Where did you get that ridiculous info? Do you have a link?

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I work in a small business. We work with a skeleton crew. A few years ago everyone took sizeable pay cuts. Our health insurance has doubled. No one gets more than three weeks off and no more than one week at a time. It is a hardship for us when someone is off, since there is no job overlapping. We don't have sick time. You need to be basically hospitalized before taking a sick day. We do have retirement, but it can not be utilized until you are a certain age. It is not based on how many years you have worked here. On the flip side, we haven't laid anyone off or fired anyone.

So, no 6 to 8 weeks paid vacation and another couple weeks personal or sick leave is not normal. Fully funded health insurance is not normal. Being able to retire after 20 or 25 years is not normal.

It seems to me that a lot of government agencies have too many people working there if they can afford to have their employess off that many days. Maybe if they cut their work force as corporate America has done, they would reduce costs.

Where on earth are you getting your information?? 6-8 week vacation? No. I think DH has 10 days for this year if I remember right, he gets a certain amt. of hours based on how much he's worked and his is off this year because of his deployment last year so I can't remember, but it's never been more than 2 weeks, I'm not even sure it's ever been a full 2 weeks. He also does not get that many sick days a year and he has to go to the dr. if he takes more than one or two. I'm not sure how many because he's only used one this year. Fully funded health insurance? No. Only for the military. We pay for Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield, but there are other insurance options, all of which we pay for. I think you have federal DOD employees confused with the military. However they don't get 6-8 weeks vacation either and in order to get "sick days" they have to go to a medical clinic EVERY TIME. So I'm not really sure what you're talking about.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I'm really anxious, DH has had a meeting where they told them they were probably being furloughed and explained how they were going to do it, I think it was one day a week for 22 weeks, but he hasn't gotten an official letter yet. I wish we would hear something definite.

 

[bunny]

None of those "not normal" things you mention apply to government employees either. Where did you get that ridiculous info? Do you have a link?

This is not uncommon at all. Depending on the profession, multiple weeks of vacation at hiring is commonplace. DH started with 3 weeks right out of college. Now he gets 5 weeks, and that doesn't even include time off awards that he receives. Generally, he earns about 5-8 of those days a year. Next year he will get 6 weeks of vacation. He can carry over 240 hours to the following year, and he always does. The rest is use or lose, so he uses it.

To Smitch425, here is what you posted earlier about your husband's vacation.

 

[worm761]

I'm really anxious, DH has had a meeting where they told them they were probably being furloughed and explained how they were going to do it, I think it was one day a week for 22 weeks, but he hasn't gotten an official letter yet. I wish we would hear something definite.

This is where we are too. Just sort of waiting. They said letters next week. One day a week. All hours taken for furlough must be in one hour increments. And they are thinking of doing rotating Mondays and Fridays but we won't know for sure until the head honcho releases the furlough letters. Around here only the Navy bases have not received theirs.

 

[wvjules]

An email came out to my agency today.

employees will be furlough on either Monday “OR” on Friday, based on mission requirements and employee interests.

Early next week, your supervisor or manager will meet with you to discuss specifics of our furlough plans and provide instructions.

 

[Swimalie]

We DO NOT have fully funded health or life insurance or any other insurance. That may be the myth but is far from the truth.

I am paying close to $1000/month because of the coverage I selected. Depending on the plan you select, you can pay more or less. It is NOT FREE.

As to the age you retire, that is your choice depending on how much of a pension you want. If you want to retire after 20 years, go ahead, but your take home will be severely reduced. Stick around for 40 years and you will take home more. Don't think we get a wonderful retirement just because we are employed by the Fed. We earn it.

I can guarantee the all the things we take for granted in society (air traffic control, meat inspectors, etc) will be diminished if working less hours become the norm. That means higher prices for everything and less revenue in the way of taxes for the gov't. This will start a grand spiral downward. I hope that is not the goal here. No one will win.

---Paul in Southern NJ

Thank you for clearing this up for those who are uninformed.

I've been following your saga and I'm really sorry, Paul. My husband is a 17 year employee (and won't be retiring for another 13 years, at least, debunking another myth). We haven't heard a word about what is going on with his job.

 

[gwynne]

This is not uncommon at all. Depending on the profession, multiple weeks of vacation at hiring is commonplace. DH started with 3 weeks right out of college. Now he gets 5 weeks, and that doesn't even include time off awards that he receives. Generally, he earns about 5-8 of those days a year. Next year he will get 6 weeks of vacation. He can carry over 240 hours to the following year, and he always does. The rest is use or lose, so he uses it.

You are very lucky to have so much vacation time.

I noted you joined in '99, maybe things were different in the private sector back in the day, but many don't find things the same, now.
Both my (adult) kids have advanced degrees. They both started out part time, had to work hard (and job change a few times over a period of years) to eventually move up and land full time jobs with benefits. It has not been easy, and what they went through is not unusual for many 25-35 year olds. They certainly weren't offered a boatload of vacation time. They work hard, and are glad to have their positions.

 

[Swimalie]

They work hard, and are glad to have their positions.

Fed employees work hard, too and are glad to have their positions.