Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made a surprise announcement on Saturday that he would reinstate almost all of the 400,000 civilian employees of the Defense Department who had been sent home when the government shut down last week. Mr. Hagel said “most DoD civilians” would be exempted from the furloughs and would return to work next week because Pentagon and Justice Department lawyers interpreted a stopgap budget measure signed into law last week by President Obama, which guaranteed pay for service members, to also apply to a larger number of civilian workers. That action came as the House, in a rare Saturday session, voted unanimously to guarantee that all federal workers will receive back pay once the government shutdown ends, offering a promise of relief, if not an actual rescue, to more than one million government employees either furloughed or working without pay. When the government shut down on Tuesday, about half of the Defense Department’s civilian work force of 800,000 was ordered to stay home; military personnel are automatically exempted from the shutdown. In a letter to the department released Saturday, Mr. Hagel said government lawyers had advised that under the Pay Our Military Act, the Defense Department could “eliminate furloughs for employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members.” Read more http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/u...lls-most-defense-department-workers.html?_r=0
