White House questions back pay for furloughed workers amid government shutdown

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — A draft White House memo suggests that furloughed federal employees need not be paid for time they didn’t work during the government shutdown, an administration official told CNN.

Such a move would represent a new interpretation of the law that is likely to generate significant controversy on Capitol Hill and among government workers.

CNN has not reviewed the memo itself, and it is not clear how seriously the idea was being considered. AXIOS was first to report on the draft memo.

The updated memo from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget contends that the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) has either been misinterpreted or is “deficient,” the official confirmed to CNN.

GEFTA has commonly been understood to guarantee that furloughed workers would receive back pay at the conclusion of any future shutdowns.

President Donald Trump signed it into law during his first term amid what was then the most recent government shutdown, which ended in late January 2019 after a record 35 days.

Before the law was passed, Congress traditionally approved measures to provide back pay for federal workers affected by shutdowns once lawmakers approved a funding package to reopen the government. But the lack of a guarantee often left workers on edge.

Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed during this shutdown, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis. More staffers will continue having to do their jobs but without pay until the impasse is resolved.

Many government employees will start feeling the effects of the shutdown later this week, when their paychecks are a bit smaller since they won’t be paid for the first few days of October. The partial paycheck will be, for many, their last until the shutdown ends.

The existence of the draft memo contrasts with Trump’s comments over the weekend as he told members of the military not to worry about delayed paychecks while visiting one of the largest Naval installations in the world to celebrate the US Navy’s 250th birthday.

“I want you to know that despite the current Democrat-induced shutdown, we will get our service members every last penny,” Trump told a large crowd of sailors in Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday. “Do not worry about it. It’s all coming, it’s coming, and even more.”

The president also announced support for “across-the-board pay raises for every sailor and service member in the United States Armed Forces.”

Asked for comment on the draft memo, the American Federation of Government Employees said it was inconsistent with guidance that the White House Office of Personnel Management released in late September.

“After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were furloughed as the result of the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those furlough periods,” the guidance said. “Retroactive pay will be provided on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates.”

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