Dh came home today to share some of the latest discussions on the topic at work. He is fairly certain that his area will be exempt from the furlough, whih is a good thing

.
The new issue, however, is that there is a possibility that those who are exempt can't take regular medical or personal leave. If they do, the furlough will kick in. Of all times...we are planning a short trip to FL over spring break. If we don't get back-pay, we'll survive, somehow, for those three days.
What nobody can answer is whether or not the furlough (brought on my the vacation leave) will end as soon as they return to work OR if they get kicked into the general furlough...meaning no pay until everyone returns to work.
If this is the case, he certainly can't risk no pay for an unknown amount of time, so he will have to skip the trip. Thank goodness this isn't a Disney trip, or something else that we had paid thousands to take.
None of them have any idea if they are really exempt or not. They won't know until they show up for work Monday morning.
This is a nightmare. It would be easier if we knew all the rules and could mentally prepare. But nobody seems to really know what will happn.