Despite legislation that was signed last weekend that guarantees federal workers back pay once the government reopens, 15,000 furloughed employees still won’t receive anything.
The non-federal employees affected by the government shutdown include those who work at gift shops and restaurants on federal property.
In fact, in San Francisco, the 150-year-old restaurant Cliff House has been forced to close and its 175 employees forced to stay home with no hope of back pay upon return. The establishment is located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and while most employees have been using vacation days, those are drying up as the government shutdown continues.
“They’re going to run out of vacation time and we’re going to run out of money,” Mary Hountalas, who has run the restaurant with her husband for 40 years, told The Huffington Post. Hountalas estimated it costs about $10,000 per day just to maintain the building. “We have our loans, our utilities, our insurance — never mind what happens when we have to pay the over $40,000 for our employee health plans next month.”
But the percentage of individuals that won’t get their money back also include private sector workers and federal contractors.
And according to the Huffington Post, non-government workers connected to national parks are but a slice of the workforce affected by the government shutdown. It’s unclear how many private-sector employees may be out of work, but The Washington Post reported the government spent $518 billion on contracting in 2012.
Translation: The government needs to stop playing games…like yesterday.
SOURCE: Huffington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
