Government shutdowns & VA positions?

[serotonin]

soooooo if the government shuts down as some are predicting (though there's a good chance a compromise will be reached and it won't happen), what happens to VA postdocs and interns? Do they still go to work? how does that work with APA required hours and whatnot?

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[neuronic]

It is easy to politic DOD programs, but it looks bad on both sides if veterans are targeted. As such, the VA is basically exempt, although there has not been a raise for employees in quite a few years. One potential consequence is no new hires, however, the current positions are already funded.

 

[JeyRo]

Also the VA is on a 2 year budgetary cycle, which insulates it further from this kind of stuff.

Re. the issue of raises, that's not exactly true (that salaries have been frozen). While cost of living increases have been frozen, step increases, merit increases, and bonuses are still happening just like always. I'm getting ABPP'd likely in a few months and I'll see another scheduled increase happen a year from that. So things are OK at the VA, relatively speaking.

 

[nessa34]

soooooo if the government shuts down as some are predicting (though there's a good chance a compromise will be reached and it won't happen), what happens to VA postdocs and interns? Do they still go to work? how does that work with APA required hours and whatnot?

my understanding from my previous VA employment is that under certain kinds of government shutdowns, you would not be able to go to work. I think this came up with the debt ceiling problems... is that happening again? We were told it was actually against the law to go to work then, because the gov't is not allowed to let people work for free. It depends on what "government shutdown" means though, because as other have pointed out, the VA is insulated from some budgetary maneuvers.

 

[WisNeuro]

my understanding from my previous VA employment is that under certain kinds of government shutdowns, you would not be able to go to work. I think this came up with the debt ceiling problems... is that happening again? We were told it was actually against the law to go to work then, because the gov't is not allowed to let people work for free. It depends on what "government shutdown" means though, because as other have pointed out, the VA is insulated from some budgetary maneuvers.

From everything I've seen, not accurate. Search various government sites about who is affected during the shutdown. Essential activities, VA hospitals included, are exempt. And trust me, shutting down health or mental health services is a poison pill that no politician is going to swallow in a budget fight.

 

[CSOPP]

First, I want to say that I have not worked with the VA in any capacity. However, I was on internship with the BOP earlier this year when they were discussing the debt ceiling/government shut down. Yes, the psychology department was absolutely going to be impacted by a potential shut down/furloughs. And yes, as interns, we were going to be impacted as well. It's true that the government will not let you come to work on a furlough day. We discussed options with our supervisor, who was going to have us do related outside projects that she would count as hours towards our internship total. Thankfully, it never came to this. I will say that the VA appeared to be exempt from what we were going through, so that's a good sign for everyone working there right now.

 

[nessa34]

From everything I've seen, not accurate. Search various government sites about who is affected during the shutdown. Essential activities, VA hospitals included, are exempt. And trust me, shutting down health or mental health services is a poison pill that no politician is going to swallow in a budget fight.

Like I said, depends on the specific budget situation, and you are right that the VA is normally exempt from budget drama. But when I was a VA employee (year or two ago), there were a few times when we were told that we may not have been able to report to work on Monday, depending on how budget negotiations went over the weekend. They worked out and it never came to anything, but the VA can be affected. Also, I was in a non-essential research position- there may have been provisions for essential clinical work to continue on a reduced basis.

 

[WisNeuro]

Like I said, depends on the specific budget situation, and you are right that the VA is normally exempt from budget drama. But when I was a VA employee (year or two ago), there were a few times when we were told that we may not have been able to report to work on Monday, depending on how budget negotiations went over the weekend. They worked out and it never came to anything, but the VA can be affected. Also, I was in a non-essential research position- there may have been provisions for essential clinical work to continue on a reduced basis.

Research may have been a different story, but if you were clinical, your job was never going to be affected by the sequester or a shutdown. If it ever gets to the point where that is the case, well you are probably going to have more to worry about then your job at that point.