US EditionWhite House memo argues furloughed workers not guaranteed backpay
- On October 1, a government shutdown began after the Senate failed to pass either party's short-term spending bills and House Democrats opposed a bill that lacked continued Obamacare subsidies.
- Due to the continued impasse, the White House is considering an analysis from the budget office suggesting a limited interpretation of the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act’s requirements for providing back pay to federal workers.
- This memo maintains that Congress must specifically appropriate funds to pay furloughed workers for time missed during the shutdown, rather than providing automatic compensation.
- The White House’s decision could leave up to three-quarters of a million federal employees without back pay, indicating that their compensation depends on Congress passing legislation to fund the government and resolve the shutdown.
- If the deadlock persists, a large portion of federal employees are at risk of not receiving their initial paycheck by October 10, which heightens the urgency for Congress to reach a resolution.
369 Articles
369 Articles
IRS backtracks on back pay guarantee for furloughed employees
The IRS is walking back guidance it recently sent to furloughed employees that assured them that they are guaranteed back pay once the government shutdown ends. The agency, in its latest notice, is deferring to the Office of Management and Budget, which on Tuesday floated the possibility that furloughed federal employees would not be guaranteed back pay. Legislation that President Trump signed in January 2019, which ended a record 35-day governm…
WH Stands by 2019 OMB Memo Denying Back Pay for Furloughed Workers
A senior official at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2019 said the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) "does not create an entitlement for furloughed employees," bolstering the White House's view that furloughed workers are not guaranteed back pay during a government shutdown, reports Axios. An estimated 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed or forced to work without pay since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. Pres…
White House escalates shutdown consequences as Democrats show no signs of budging: ‘Kamikaze attack’
The Trump administration is ramping up the consequences of a lingering government shutdown as a lapse in appropriations enters its eighth day, with no signs of ending soon. Now, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has floated plans reviewed by Fox News Digital that would not guarantee that federal workers currently furloughed from the shutdown would receive backpay — upending a 2019 law from Trump’s first administration in th…
Trump Alludes to Withholding Back Pay to Some Furloughed Employees
Photo: Andrew Mullin ~ 760 WJR WASHINGTON D.C., Oct. 8, 2025 ~ President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that some furloughed federal workers don’t deserve back pay following the end of the ongoing government shutdown. As the shutdown enters its eighth day, word of a draft White House memo began circulating this week that claims a legal analysis determines the 750,000 employees currently furloughed are not guaranteed back pay when the government…
Trump, True To Form, Looks For Way To Stiff Federal Workers When Shutdown Ends
Donald Trump, the master of never paying his bills because smart businessmen never do if they can avoid it, really does want to run the government like one of his failing businesses, with a plan to not automatically give furloughed federal workers the back pay they’re entitled to when the government shutdown ends. A draft memo from the Office of Management and Budget argues that a 2019 law requiring that furloughed workers get back pay at the en…
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