White House says furloughed federal workers not entitled to back pay amid shutdown | US federal government shutdown 2025

The White Home’s workplace of administration and price range (OMB) is arguing that federal staff who’re furloughed amid the continued authorities shutdown should not entitled to again pay.In a draft memo first obtained by Axios, OMB argued that an modification to the Authorities Worker Truthful Remedy Act (GEFTA) of 2019 wouldn’t assure furloughed staff again pay and that stated funds have to be put aside by Congress.“The laws that ends the present lapse in appropriations should embrace specific language appropriating funds for again pay for furloughed staff, or such funds can’t be made,” stated Mark Paoletta, OMB’s common counsel, in a draft addressed to White Home price range director Russell Vought, the Washington Submit reported.The OMB beforehand revised a shutdown steerage doc on Friday to take away reference to the GEFTA Act, reported Authorities Government, a media web site reporting on the US government department.Donald Trump beforehand signed GEFTA into legislation after the 2019 authorities shutdown, which lasted for 35 days. Whereas many understood the legislation to routinely assure pay for federal staff, the White Home’s OMB is arguing in opposition to that interpretation, suggesting that the legislation solely created the circumstances for again pay.Trump and different Republicans haven’t confirmed if staff could be paid when the federal government reopens. When requested in regards to the White Home’s stance on again fee for federal staff, Trump stated “it relies upon who we’re speaking about” throughout feedback within the Oval Workplace on TuesdayTrump additionally added that he deliberate to announce extra authorities packages that can be completely eradicated because the shutdown continues in addition to doable layoffs, CNN reported.Home speaker Mike Johnson stated that federal staff affected by the shutdown ought to obtain again pay, however famous that “some authorized analysts [are] saying that [back payments] might not be acceptable or needed, when it comes to the legislation requiring that again pay be supplied,” the Hill reported.A number of Republicans have stated that questions on again pay ought to put stress on congressional Democrats to help a unbroken decision to reopen the federal government.In the meantime, Democrats have slammed the reinterpretation of GEFTA as illegal. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, which is dwelling to hundreds of federal staff, stated any suggestion of withheld again pay is “extra worry mongering from a president who needs a clean test for lawlessness”.Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a high Democrat on the Senate appropriations committee, known as the newest reinterpretation “lawless”. “They’re plotting to attempt to rob furloughed federal staff of backpay on the finish of this shutdown,” stated Murray throughout Senate flooring remarks. “This flies within the face of the plain textual content of the legislation, which couldn’t be extra clear.”An estimated 750,000 federal staff have been furloughed through the federal authorities shutdown, now in its seventh day, the Submit reported citing congressional bookkeepers.