Tell me more about those "cushy government jobs"...
My wife just got called back to her job at Treasury (gotta get those tax refunds out, right — even though that’s not actually her area of work) after being furloughed since before Christmas. Of course, she still isn’t getting paid…but, now, she also has to foot the bill for her two-hour-each-way bus commute, plus shell out for lunch at the overpriced low quality federal building cafeteria (since they don’t get enough of a lunch break to go outside the building). Also, the shutdown rules forbid the use of sick days so, if you’ve got the flu, show up anyway or get declared AWOL (yes, that’s a thing in the civil service, too).
But here’s the clincher...
Up until now, being furloughed, she’s been eligible for unemployment. Sure, she has to pay it back when the shutdown ends, but that will be from back pay, so that’s not a problem. However, now that she’s back on the job, even for no pay, that unemployment gets cut off completely. Because, even if you’re not getting paid, you’re still employed, so you don’t qualify!
To sum it up: we’re looking at weeks/months of full-time work for a grand total of $0.00...plus lots of added work-related expenses. No unemployment. And this situation will continue until 45 decides it will end.
So, tell me again about all those lazy federal bureaucrats in their cushy government jobs, living high on the hog on the taxpayer’s bill, won’t you?
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I'm so sorry your family is going through this. I cannot imagine how angry you must be.
sitting at home on unpaid work stoppage, not working, not getting paid, and will never get back pay from their companies. We're also on a hiring freeze and can't onboard new folks we've interviewed and want to hire. And as an added bonus, have to explain this to security clearance investigators who ask what you did while not working.
Fun for everyone. 
