[Infowarrior] - Old law in the modern day....

[Richard Forno]

(More on the Anti-Deficiency Law behind this e-panic:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8434413/US-government-shutdown-the-law-behind-the-problem.html)


Federal Workers Brace for Email Withdrawal
By JANET ADAMY

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013604576247192518889036.html

Federal employees are already fretting about a side effect of a possible government shutdown: surrendering their work-issued BlackBerry devices.

An administration official said Wednesday that if the government can't avert a shutdown by the weekend, non-essential workers would be asked to report to work Monday and turn over their BlackBerrys, laptop computers and other devices that allow them to access the office computer systems. Then the employees would be sent back home.

"If an employee is furloughed, it is illegal—a criminal violation—for them to work," the official said.

In Washington, as in workplaces across the country, email is a vital—if lamented—thread of work and social life, and the prospect of being cut off has some staffers panicked. This wasn't a factor during the shutdowns in the mid1990s, which happened before email devices were commonplace.

Mary Kahn, a senior public-affairs specialist in the office that administers Medicaid, said (in an email) that she is pondering "a 12-step BlackBerry withdrawal program."

Others are preparing to reroute work email to other electronicdevices. Like much about the potential shutdown, it isn't yet clear if federal email will continue undisrupted; most government websites won't continue operating.

Speaking about his work BlackBerry, Rodney Whitlock, health-policy director for Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, said, "I have a Pavlovian response that I swear sometimes I feel like my hip's vibrating when it's not there."

Mr. Whitlock also carries a smart phone he pays for himself. His shutdown contingency plan involves forwarding his work email to another address, which he can access with the smart phone. Mr. Whitlock expects  others in his office would do the same, because many staffers also have personal cellphones and email devices, such as iPhones.

In some corners of Capitol Hill, workers are whispering that chiefs of staff may go soft on the rule; they would allow workers to keep their electronic lifelines and just discourage pecking. "I don't think every office is going to put a big bucket out and make you put in your BlackBerry," a Senate Democratic aide said.

The Committee on House Administration says House offices "may" require furloughed employees to turn in work BlackBerrys and cellphones and should require them to set an "out of office" message on their email, because such workers aren't permitted to perform official duties by email.

The Committee hasn't said if email rerouting would be allowed. Employees wouldn't be permitted to reroute their email if the purpose was to engage in work, said Salley Wood, a spokeswoman for the committee.

Just how far offices can push the line is an open question. Some in Washington say furloughed employees could get away with viewing emails—but not responding to them.

"No one knows if you read it," the Democratic Senate aide said.

—Carol E. Lee contributed to this article.
Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy at wsj.com