Federal law currently requires that federal workers receive retroactive pay and leave accrual. GOP leaders cite legal analysts, who say it may be unnecessary.
Federal workers who have been furloughed during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown are not guaranteed to receive back pay for their time spent out of work, a Trump administration official confirmed to The Epoch Times on Oct. 7.
The administration is preparing to argue that a federal law purportedly requiring the payment of back pay is not “self-executing” and would require Congress to specifically approve such funding in a new continuing resolution. The argument was made in a memorandum written by Mark Paoletta, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, for that agency’s director, Russ Vought, and shared with The Epoch Times.
In previous years, when a bill to restore government funding passed Congress following a shutdown, it usually included provisions to allow federal workers who were furloughed to receive payment for time spent out of work.
Some “essential” employees continue to work without pay during shutdowns, as required by law, including the U.S. military, law enforcement officers, air traffic controllers, and others.
The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, passed in the wake of a shutdown during the first Trump administration and signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term, requires that federal workers receive retroactive pay and accrued leave during any lapse in federal funding.
“There are some legal analysts who are saying that [backpay] may not be appropriate or necessary,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at an Oct. 7 press conference. “I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion about that … that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here. Even more pain,” he said.
However, Johnson said: “I hope that the furloughed workers receive back pay. … I can tell you, the president believes that as well. He and I’ve talked about this personally. He doesn’t want people to go without pay.”
The issue of federal workers’ pay has met with controversy during the present government shutdown as it reflects the Trump administration’s preference for reducing the overall size of the federal workforce, as well as the desire of some populist conservatives for fiscal prudence.
By Arjun Singh and Emel Akan
