While this is accurate, any TSA/CBP agent who has foresight knows they aren't being paid for current work and will need to do something to cover that gap as they won't be getting another paycheck until things are resolved. Credit to that workforce to continue to work under the circumstances.

Do TSA screeners have a 'No Strike' clause? The fastest way to resolve the current situation is to walk off the job.

Federal government employees are not permitted to strike. Some of us recall the 1981 Air Traffic Controllers strike which resulted in Pres Reagan terminating the strikers.

this is why they typically do sick-outs instead

From a legal definition are they actually employees when not getting paid?

Better to keep plugging the hours and know that you'll get paid for them eventually--always been the case--than to seek out other work which will likely pay less (think CBP). This assumes one is in a financial situation to get pay deferred and not living paycheck-to-paycheck. I appreciate that they are there, but they are not working for 'free', and most of CBP anyway is probably better off stomaching being pawns in this rather than going elsewhere to get paid less for the hours they would have worked for the government. Unless seeking a permanent job change I guess.

That could be quite the novel defense to wage theft: "But your honor, they are not my employees because I am not paying them..."

People's mortgages, rent, car payments and such don't stop just because government is having a hissy fit. The unpaid employees are being damaged in various ways and they should be able to recover proveable damages.

Damages? I would say they should get interest, the usual remedy for delayed payment from the government (like for a tax refund). This is responsive to what you posted.

As far as my statement above, I stand by it. I said: "This assumes one is in a financial situation to get pay deferred and not living paycheck-to-paycheck." That presupposes that they can pay their "mortgages, rent [and] car payments" while waiting on Congress. So I'm not sure how your response is actually responsive to what I said.

I also said that for those not living paycheck-to-paycheck, it is to their advantage to continue plugging--especially for higher-paid CBP folks. You didn't bother responding to that by, for example, saying where a CBP officer could work on short notice and get paid more.

You are entitled to your opinion, but your post is entirely non-responsive to what I said and there was no need to quote it if you aren't going to respond to it.

Nope, if we strike or "blue flu" or organize work slowdown or stoppage in any way shape or form, we will be removed rather quickly. It would be reminiscent of the Air Traffic Controllers during the Reagan era.

Based entirely on scuttlebutt at work, the lenders are not being as flexible this time through. Last one had the holiday season and no one wanted to be Scrooge. Now we are in the grind of the year, and the lenders are not as wiling to help out, or defer bills until congress finally removes their head from their 3 point of contact.

Another point, when we finally do get paid, there is no interest, no bonuses (well, unless you get lucky enough to meet the criteria for the 10k bonus that will most likely not be given out this time). As a matter of fact, due to the way taxes work, if you do not adjust your tax exemptions prior to the processing, you get hit with a higher amount of tax withholding, so the net effect is we actually work without regular pay for whatever length of time congress poops the bed, and then at the tail end of it, we get less money than usual. It is just one more kick in the teeth for a workforce that deals with this more and more frequently. This makes it more difficult to retain good people. Locally, during the last shutdown, we lost 2 good employees, and 2 new hires because they were unable to meet obligations (bills, family, etc). One of the good employees had been with us for 6 years, multiple positive comments from passengers, positive commentary from leadership, and I hated to lose them. We are approaching a point where we have newer employees leaving again already. So, commentary about real damages to the people that work for TSA? It is true, even for those of us that are fairly well prepared for this.

After doing some additional reading I had pretty much determined that as long as an employer/employee relationship is maintained, even if not being paid, workers are considered employed. So not much can b e done to help move the issue along. Evident is the lack of concern some government employees have for less powerful government employees. Must be discouraging!

A bit bizarre that they're processing GE applications but shutting down the GE lines.

Maybe because GE applications generate revenue . . .

We agree there.

Yes, Congress is being paid.

Perhaps at some point Congress will pass a bill that will suspend their pay during any shutdown (partial or complete). I won't hold my breath.

Back to the sick out point, while not legal to organize it quite clearly in past shutdowns TSA employees (and others) have used sick leave with greater frequency than usual, which has created issues for sufficient workforce. In theory one could be punished for falsely stating that you're sick when you apply for sick leave, but it would be pretty hard to catch absent serious investigation that the government is unlikely to undertake.

I don't think I was disagreeing with you, certainly wasn't intended, just putting my spin on how I see how things are happening. The damages I mentioned would be for things like bank fees and late payment fees caused by missed pay days. Getting back pay doesn't cure those things. Obviously some workers are better prepared to weather current events but I suspect many can't miss even one paycheck and not see a negative impact on their daily lives. I honestly believe that unpaid workers should be prohibited from being present at their place of work regardless of impact on others. Would certainly put a different spin on the budget process.

Congress seems to always exempt their body from things that impact others. Example would be exempting themselves from complying with Federal Do Not Call regulations in order to allow political messaging to your phone. I agree that they shouldn't be paid when government is unfunded but the bigger issue is not passing budgets as required under current federal law. Continuing budget resolutions should be prohibited in order to force timely budgets. Using government employees as pawns, especially a small subset of employees, is wrong and should not be tolerated