Shutting down wired DC? Good luck

Try finding Washington’s off switch. Today’s technological dependency presents fresh challenges to a decades-old law that bars furloughed federal employees from doing any work, including with government-issued cellphones or work e-mails.

So if you’re still checking your BlackBerry, you’re not the only one. The last time the government shut down nearly two decades ago, managers communicated through memos and phones belonged on desks. Employees now work just as much outside the office and can access critical information in the grocery checkout line. Government staff — facing an unknown amount of unpaid free time — are finding it difficult to disconnect. Some admit to peeking at messages, directing colleagues to a personal email account or using their time off from work as a chance to catch up on it. Those without the luxury of multiple phones or a home laptop worry simply about reaching others. The complications raise the question: Is it a ban that no longer makes sense or just not in hyperwired Washington?