“Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid supports the measure, but said Saturday that if furloughed workers are guaranteed back pay, there’s no reason to keep them out of work.”
Unsurprisingly, Reid is conflating terms. All Federal workers are in furlough status and thus not being paid. Some furloughed Federal workers (essential workers) are still required to report to work despite their furlough status.
I agree 100% that if employees have not been required to work, they should not be paid. However, if the workers were required to show up to work, they should be paid. That seems like just plain common sense.
That’s exactly what I said. If they work, they should be paid.
But again, while you may or may not be technically correct about the use of the word “furlough,” I bet you couldn’t find 1% of the people who are using the word that way. When they say “furloughed,” they are referring to those “non-essential” personnel who are not at work.