Scoop: White House memo says furloughed federal workers aren't entitled to backpay
www.axios.com
A move to deny backpay to up to 750,000 furloughed workers would dramatically escalate Trump's pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown.

Furloughed federal workers aren’t guaranteed compensation for their forced time off during the government shutdown, according to a draft White House memo described to Axios by three sources.

Why it matters: If the White House acts on that legal analysis, it would dramatically escalate President Trump’s pressure on Senate Democrats to end the week-old shutdown by denying back pay to as many as 750,000 federal workers after the shutdown.

  • someguy3
    20·
    18 hours ago

    Someone posted this link earlier:

    https://legalclarity.org/do-federal-employees-get-back-pay-after-a-shutdown/

    Federal employees are legally guaranteed to receive back pay for wages lost during a government shutdown. This assurance removes the financial uncertainty that once accompanied lapses in government funding. While the process is now automatic, understanding the law that protects employees, who it covers, and the timeline for payment is helpful for any government worker facing a shutdown.

    The Legal Guarantee for Back Pay

    The certainty of retroactive pay is a relatively recent development. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) mandates that federal employees receive back pay for the period of a lapse in appropriations, and it applies to all future shutdowns. Before GEFTA, Congress had to pass specific legislation after each shutdown to authorize back pay, which created anxiety for workers. The 2019 law amended Title 31 of the U.S. Code, making retroactive pay an automatic component of the process.

    Covers everyone whether they were working or not, except contractors.