Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 15, 1995 TAG: 9511150060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There was no problem finding an open parking space Tuesday at the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke - although finding an open office was something of a challenge.
The 700-some employees who work there showed up Tuesday morning as usual, but most had been sent home on furlough by lunchtime. Except for U.S. District Court employees, only a handful of workers deemed "essential" remained on each floor.
For the courts and court personnel, it was business as usual, although they didn't have much company.
"It is kind of lonely," said U.S. Marshal Larry Mattox, whose whole staff stayed on the job because the courts remained open.
At the Social Security Administration, just four managers out of a staff of 42 remained to handle emergencies. Normally, 150 to 200 people a day are served there in person, and more than that are handled by phone.
After 10 a.m., Social Security workers got notice of the furlough. They finished the interviews in progress and any work they had at the time, and went home at 11:30.
"After a couple of days, it's going to hurt us," assistant manager Jim Harris said. "When you deal with that many people, you've got to keep moving or things get backed up."
Although military personnel were deemed essential, Saturday's concert by the U.S. Marine Band at the Roanoke Civic Center was canceled and will not be rescheduled. The band was ordered to return to Washington.
At the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as at other agencies, clerical and support staff were sent home, but law enforcement agents were kept on.
"Crime doesn't take a furlough," said Jim Silvey, resident agent in charge of the ATF's Roanoke office. "We're working, not knowing whether we're going to be paid."
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., has said essential workers will be paid once spending has been approved for the government and that furloughed workers will be paid as well, although federal employee unions are skeptical.
The Virginia Employment Commission said Monday that if the furlough lasts for at least five days, federal employees can apply for unemployment compensation by mail once they go back to work. Workers don't need to go to a VEC office; they can get benefit forms at their agency personnel offices when they go back to work. If they are paid for the furlough, however, they would have to repay any unemployment compensation.
Meanwhile, the largest union of federal employees announced it was taking legal action to restrain the government from forcing "essential" employees to work without pay. The American Federation of Government Employees said the government has "overstepped its boundaries" by declaring 60 percent of its workers essential and making them stay on the job without pay, disqualifying them from unemployment compensation.
by CNB