Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2018 December 28

= December 28 =

USA goverment shutdown
Many people ask to work with no pay. In the USA law they can go strike or sue the goverment for pay? --Curious Cat On Her Last Life (talk) 01:04, 28 December 2018 (UTC)


 * Many hourly wage workers employed by the federal government, and some others, are represented by unions such as the American Federation of Government Employees. Strikes are unlikely after the infamous 1981 PATCO fiasco, but lawsuits are certainly not out of the question, if they don't end up getting paid what they're owed... AnonMoos (talk) 04:34, 28 December 2018 (UTC)
 * For those unfamiliar with PATCO referred to above, see Reagan fires 11,000 striking air traffic controllers, Aug. 5, 1981. Alansplodge (talk) 16:23, 28 December 2018 (UTC)
 * They do end up getting paid what they're owed. The paycheck is delayed, but eventually they get it. And if they bank with United Services Automobile Association, Navy Federal Credit Union, Pentagon Navy Federal Credit Union, or First Command Financial Services, and have direct deposit, they are eligible for 0% interest payday loan until they start getting paid again. --Guy Macon (talk) 18:41, 28 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Federal employees are prohibited by law from striking. Those who are required to work must be paid after the lapse. Furloughed employees theoretically don't have to be paid, but in practice, Congress has enacted a law which pays for their furlough time after every shutdown, out of a basic sense that rank-and-file civil servants shouldn't be penalized for political grandstanding. NorthBySouthBaranof (talk) 18:54, 28 December 2018 (UTC)


 * This issue was discussed at great length on PBS News Hour on January 2, 2018, in which the AFGE union president J. David Cox discussed an ongoing lawsuit and other legal proceedings unique to these unusual circumstances for many employees of the federal government.
 * Nimur (talk) 00:46, 4 January 2019 (UTC)