Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

GS-13 and below are non-exempt employees and required to receive overtime pay. GS-14 and above are exempt due to labor laws (basically, they earn more than 100K), so they usually receive comp time. This ends up being a pretty nice deal if you like doing things, taking vacations, etc. GS-14s can and do receive overtime for certain things, but it's rare, compared to 13 and below. GS aren't "salaried" in the way that you'd think, hours are tracked exactly and you are paid by the hour, just guaranteed 40hrs/week at least. During the furlough, there was no pay and it was not set in stone if people were going to get paid. They got paid because an act of congress authorized pay for that time, not because they are "salaried". The year before, a few people were forced to take some furlough days and they never got paid. The benefit is there are some pretty decent rules in terms of what they can and can't tell you to work and how you get compensated for it. You generally aren't taking work home or being forced to show up, start working, and then only get paid when the "engines are turning", at least that's been my experience with the labor laws and compensation.