Obama officials threaten jail time to federal workers who work at home during closure

Federal authorities are threatening conscientious government workers with prison time if they elect to continue to work out of their homes during a government closure, Pajamas Media has learned.

Making a possible government closure as complete as possible, the Obama administration is informing federal employees they can be legally prosecuted and face imprisonment even if they elect to volunteer their time and work at home during the shutdown. Some had hoped there would be a partial shuttering of the government, but it appears the Obama administration will seek the widest possible cessation.

Some Democrats appear to welcome a draconian federal shutdown simply for partisan reasons. Former Governor Howard Dean recently said a government wide shutdown would be “the best thing in the world” for Democrats.  As the Obama shutdown plans have been secretive both to the public and even to government unions, it is unclear how badly the closure will hurt the public.

But one federal employee with a high GS-13 ranking at a major federal department was told the shutdown would be immediate, widespread and tough. She was informed by a supervisor that “if they discovered you’re working at home, you could go to jail.  It’s against the law.”  She agreed to be interviewed by Pajamas Media on the grounds her identity was not revealed.

The admonition is consistent with a stern April 7 memo by Jacob Lew, President Obama’s director of the Office of Management and Budget.  Citing Section 124, Circular A-11, OMB warned federal employees that even voluntary work is strictly forbidden. All federal employees “are prohibited, pursuant to the legal requirements of the Anti-Deficiency Act, from performing any work over the weekend,” the memo warns.

Lew’s announcement says if a closure order is issued, all federal employees “will be prohibited, after midnight on Friday night from working remotely, such as from home — including by accessing agency information (e.g. Blackberries, cell phones, computers, laptops).”

“This is just plain ridiculous,” said the employee.  “I was told I could not even do volunteer work.  After all, it’s free labor. Why wouldn’t I be able to do it,” she told Pajamas. “They want to confiscate my computer and my cell phone too.”

The Obama administration has been extremely secretive about their shutdown orders.  They not only been tight lipped to the public, they have been mum to its own unions.  On March 2 the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal union, filed a Freedom of Information Act request about what a shutdown would entail.  As of yesterday AFGE did not get a reply to their FOIA request. On March 16 union leaders demanded and were stonewalled by Obama administration personnel officials for their shut down plans at a meeting of the National Council on Labor-Management Relations.

Finally, on March 31 AFGE filed a lawsuit to force the Obama administration to release its shut down plans.  Nothing has come of it so far.

Michael Hager, former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has speculated that the administration doesn’t want to tell the unions how many will be laid off for fear it would receive the wrath of its unions, who are crucial for the 2012 elections. Federal Times quoted Hager on March 21 reporting that:

“Hager also said he suspects the administration doesn’t want to hurt its political support from labor unions by unveiling shutdown plans that could send hundreds of thousands of union workers home without pay. The growing uncertainty of how long a shutdown might last and what it would entail could damage unions’ relationships with Democratic lawmakers and prompt them to support other candidates in the next election, he said.”