It is my understanding that those folks have been temporarily laid off which entitles them to apply for unemployment benefits. If there is no date for their return to work, they can collect while not working and can look for work other than the current employer. To call this a "furlough" is outrageous because they're usually not handled without pay, e.g., an army officer on furlough is still paid for his time.

In most employment scenarios, e.g., restaurants, where extra time is needed by a part-time or full-time hourly employee, working off the clock is a big no-no for the employer who could be in trouble with the labor board for failing to pay the employee.

What is Gannett trying to accomplish other than depriving furloughed workers of rights they have while not employed?

A person's time is their own.  If they agree to sell some of that time to a company for acceptable compensation, that's called employment.

If said company decides NOT to pay them or demand the use of that time, what possible means could ANYONE have to prevent them from selling that time on the open market?

Demanding or forcing a person to accept uncompensated time is commonly called "slavery".

I wonder if the union will seize on this opportunity to organize a local?  That would mean sure death for Gannett.

I'm also surprised that Gannett hasn't made more of their employees independent contractors. 

Since reporters can't be bothered to carry out a basic function of their job, research, why is Gannett worried that reporters will work on their own time?

Welcome to the era of unity, you racist!

Not sure about this whole "furlough" thing. It might be a way for Gannett to keep their Borg Drones from actually noticing the outside world in a mental shackles sort of way.

I do know that if they are still employees of the company and remain employees of the company, but the company is not conducting business or using a particular business unit due to financial situations, then the employees cannot assume that they have been "laid off" or get any financial, i.e. Barry's Bottomless Handout Pocket in unemployment benefits.

These douche bags need to look around and get a dose of reality. It is happening in many industries. I work in the semiconductor industry and many of my customers are shutting shop and other drastic measures to avoid laying off workers. This stinks for the workers that are affected (i.e. they are the overhead) since many of them do not have the available vacation hours saved up. Most of these people take off time for vacations; a day here and there. They obviously do not save up, because they are spending their money on the vacations. They are the stupid ones. No work, no pay. Just that simple.

Having gone through this on a smaller scale (2000-2002), I learned to take little vacation and save up a decent amount. I highly recommend anyone reading this far into my comment to do the same. I have about a half a year's salary saved for just this kind of action. Now if these people were smart, they might just start perusing the internet and stumble across these sites and realize why their employer is going belly up. Who knows, perhaps this is just the sort of thing they needed all along; a kick in the butt to do better journalism. The ones who remain are milkmen with no capacit whatsoever to do better. They will eventually sink with the ship, or get laid off due to "BUDGET CUTS".

My advise to these people who do go the way of the Old Media Dodo: Please smile at me when you ask me if I want fries with that meal.

The solution is simple...build Worker's Retreats where they can keep tabs on everybody better during vacations.  The weekends are no problem, as they can be taken up with Civil Defense Force drills, 'voluntary' community service and the like.

Folks need to get with the program and start thinking like a Socialist.

One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.