[kevao]

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

Couldn't afford to? Bankruptcy? Two things Fed employees never have to face. So you are correct in that "it's a different world."

[muawiyah]

federal employees face hot and cold running RIFs all the time. I even went through total destruction and abolition of the federal agency I worked for at the time. My unemployment compensation was going to be $15 per bi-weekly period.

Why do you folks imagine federal employment is without ordinary travail?