Update: Jan. 16
President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday ensuring that federal employees at impacted agencies receive back pay once the partial government shutdown is over.
Original article:
The House passed legislation Jan. 11 that guarantees back pay for federal employees after the government reopens, which was approved by the Senate the day before.
President Donald Trump has already indicated that he would sign such legislation, making it very likely that feds will at least see repayment for missed paychecks after the shutdown ends.
🚨🚨Our bill to provide back pay to federal workers impacted by the shutdown just passed the House and is headed to the President’s desk. But as hundreds of thousands of federal employees get a paycheck for $0 today, they cannot afford to wait. Time to end the shutdown! https://t.co/3CiJPLpcmR
— Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) January 11, 2019
Jan. 11 marks the first day that over 800,000 federal employees will miss a full paycheck due to the partial government shutdown.
“With lawmakers admitting there is no end in sight to this shutdown, furloughed and unpaid working federal employees can take some comfort in knowing that Congress has passed legislation providing them with back pay once this political nightmare is over,” said National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association National President Ken Thomas in a statement.
“Yet, even that is not an immediate solution. Federal employees are scrambling to make arrangements for unpaid bills, including tapping their retirement accounts. Evictions are becoming a real possibility, medical issues go untended, local economies are suffering and services to citizens have ceased as workloads pile up.”
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The legislation does not help federal contractors, however, who may never receive compensation for the days they are unable to work during this government shutdown.
Jessie Bur covers federal IT and management.
