As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are staying home. While fewer than half of federal employees are furloughed, by most estimates, more than 800,000 federal employees were off the job. In Ohio, estimates had as many as 75,000 individuals on furlough, about 1.5 percent of the state’s total employment, before most civilian employees of the Department of Defense - about 9,400 of that total - were called back to work.
Meanwhile, Ohio’s federal representatives have stayed busy in Washington, though some are working for no pay. Both of Ohio’s Senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, are donating their salaries to charity. And at least half of the Representatives are reportedly donating their pay to charity as well, including Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner.
