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.
“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.
Many federal workers have missed scheduled paychecks during the shutdown, requiring them to rely on savings. Should the shutdown continue for another two weeks, they might miss another round of paychecks.
Several federal employees’ unions have demanded that the Trump administration refrain from any layoffs of federal workers based on the shutdown. Shortly before the shutdown began, two unions filed a suit against the federal government to preemptively block any such action. They similarly oppose any denial of back pay.
Senate Democrats, whose votes are necessary to pass a bill to restore funding, have opposed the idea of depriving workers of back pay.