Federal workers will still report in
Several agencies say they will be limited to shutting down the offices' operations.
WASHINGTON - Federal workers will still have to report to work for about four hours Tuesday even though the government is shutting down.
With no late deal averting the midnight Monday shutdown, several federal agencies say employees would be limited to doing work related to the shutdown, including changing voice mail messages, posting an out-of-office message on e-mail, securing work stations and documents and completing time cards.
At the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, employees were told they cannot work on "any projects, tasks, activities or respond to e-mails."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it would close its offices at 1:30 p.m. Other agencies, such as the Labor Department, expect most employees to be gone by midday, but haven't set a specific time.
Once they head home, furloughed employees are under strict orders not to do any work. That means no sneaking glances at Blackberries or smart phones to check e-mails, no turning on laptop computers, no checking office voice mail, and no use of any other government-issued equipment.
Office managers are encouraging workers to leave government-issued cell phones and computers in a secure place at the office. Those employees who work from home may find it more difficult to break the habit of checking e-mails.
Employees will receive an official e-mail on Tuesday explaining whether they are essential or slated to be furloughed. The e-mail will include appeal rights and a form to use for seeking unemployment insurance. Some workers may be eligible for unemployment depending where they live. Some states, including Pennsylvania, require a one-week waiting period before receiving benefits. Pennsylvania workers should still apply before the start of the first week in order to receive benefits for subsequent weeks.
Federal workers would not see their pay affected right away. If a shutdown continues, all employees can expect to be paid on schedule on Oct. 15, 2013 for hours worked from Sept. 22 through Sept. 30.