[kevao]

A lot of private-sector folks weren’t given the luxury of a pay cut or a one-day-per-week furlough. They were simply shown the door....

[muawiyah]

So, other than the FLSA why didn't employers simply whack workers one day a week so they could keep more employees employed?

The federales, except for USPS, are not covered by all the provisions of FLSA ~ it's a different world.