Obama gives Federal workers Christmas Eve day off

[siggy_freud]

I'm a government worker, though only until the 2nd of Jan and then I switch to the private sector at a new job.

Where I work, we can carry 2-years worth of vacation forward, until we start losing it. I accrue vacation at a little over 3 hours per 2-week pay period. It equates to two weeks off per year, meaning I can bank 160 hours of vacation before I'm capped.

I have no qualms with the President giving some workers Xmas Eve off. Many probably desperately need it. I've been in Government 2.9 years, and am at my vacation cap already, meaning I have taken very little time off in the past 3 years or so. I don't wear it as a badge of honor, as I think it's important to take time off. Productivity returns with relaxed workers with good work/life balances. Because of that, I opted to take the last 1.5 weeks off before I transition jobs, and will be taking all of next week, and half the week after off, which includes Xmas Eve. Frankly, it's dead Xmas eve anyways, so people mine as well either work from home, or be with family.

[GrimJack]

Usually Christmas Eve works this way only when part of the day is excused. Is this because you are seasonal status? I didn't think it was possible to get charged leave for a designated holiday even if you already took the day off (the system overrides it).
The executive order even authorizes in lieu of holidays. Executive Order-- Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Monday, December 24, 2012

Well, let me look that over -- hmmm, I will see what my pay stub says. I don't really care that much; under normal conditions, if you take a vacation day, and the office is closed that day as an administrative leave day, you take a vacation day. Reading the proclamation, I can't tell if they designated it a holiday or a administrative day.
I have worked for the FED for more than 3 years so I get 6 hours leave each pay period - in June, I was being warned that I would exceed my max of 240 hours by the end of the year. That was good enough for me, since June I am down to about 10 hours of leave at year end. Being a seasonal, and most years I get off from mid June to mid November, it was pretty easy to accumulate vacation hours (on furlough, you are not allowed to use either sick leave or vacation).

With all the Identify Theft this year (I was on the ID Theft Specialty Unit), there was no seasonal layoff so I actually worked my 2080 hours this year. B-T-B - multiplying 2000 times hourly wage gives you a rough idea of yearly salary.

[bjl584]

I'm lucky enough to work for a company that is closed xmas eve and xmas day.

[optimist]

From a purely economic standpoint, it makes no sense to have one work day - Monday - between a Sunday and a Holiday. It costs more to heat up all the federal buildings for just a day than the workers that actually show up and do any work on that day can produce.

[syracusa]

Not to be the Grinch but as a taxpayer I would like to get my money's worth. This means loss of productivity and millions of wasted taxpayer dollars. Baa-hum-bug (lol).

Can you spell P-E-T-T-Y?

[QuarterMillionMan]

With America being in such insummountable financial dire straights I would think that President Obama would be doing everything in his power to tighten its financial belt. To me every little bit counts. I agree that it was a nice gesture on Obama's part to give federal employees Christmas Eve day off but they also had Christmas Day off as well. I perceived that move by Obama a frustration move due to Congress not being able to compromise a deal on the fiscal cliff before Christmas.

[elessar78]

Wasn't the president's party waging a war on Christmas? But Bush 2 gave workers Xmas eve off on 01, 03, 07, and 08.

[laurend1985]

When I worked for the feds we also got a day off if the holiday fell on a week-end, so it's really nothing new. Also, there was much work getting done, it was really a day of doing nothing anyway.