The Trump administration is sending notices to federal workers that say only those who work during the government shutdown will be paid after it ends, regardless of 2019. of the law, which also guarantees compensation for dismissed workers.
“Once the appropriation or continuing resolution is passed, exempt employees are eligible to receive pay,” said one message sent to parts of the government and obtained by The Washington Post. According to the employee, who, like others interviewed, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, the sentence, which excludes laid-off workers, was not included in the first notice of layoffs released last month.
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From October 1 the government was shut down and Democrats and Republicans were deadlocked over health care policy. Last weekend, as the shutdown passed the 30-day mark, officials began sending official notices to workers updating their employment status for the next 30 days, as required by law.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said Tuesday that the administration would negotiate pay as part of a possible deal with Democrats to end the shutdown.
“It’s something we’re very open to discussing with Democrats as we discuss the continuing resolution to keep the government open,” Leavitt said. “And that’s what the Republicans are talking to the Democrats about right now.
According to emails obtained by The Post letters, the first layoff notices at several agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Commerce, indicated that laid-off workers would receive back pay. However, the second round of announcements did not ensure that, the email shows. According to emails reviewed by The Post letters, the State Department’s announcements this month never guaranteed that the fired workers would be paid.
The White House referred a request for comment to the Office of Management and Budget, as did the State Department. Officials there did not immediately respond to questions; neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Commerce did.
More than 650,000 workers have been laid off or sent home without pay, while their colleagues continue to do their jobs, also without pay. A smaller number of workers, mostly active-duty military or law enforcement, continue to receive the benefits as the Trump administration finds different sources of money.
OMB officials released a draft legal opinion last month saying that furloughed workers would not receive back pay unless Congress specifically approved it, which appeared to conflict with the 2019 Act. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have said they hope all workers will be compensated once the shutdown ends, although legislation to pay workers immediately has stalled.
The overnight shutdown was set to break the record for the longest shutdown in US history, eclipsing the 34-day mark set by President Donald Trump’s first term.
During that period, the federal government paid $15.7 billion, according to Penn Wharton’s budget model. USD of employee salaries, ie 24 percent. More than half of the unpaid money would have gone to federal workers in the District of Columbia and eight states: California, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Civilian workers from the three departments — Defense, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs — account for more than half of the $3.8 billion. $ in reduced salary costs, Wharton analysis found.
The shutdown has already placed a heavy financial and personal burden on federal workers, who have now missed two paychecks. Many use credit cards to pay bills, take out loans and buy only the cheapest groceries.
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