Dear john,
This week, the Trump administration's budget office claimed in a new memo that a law Donald Trump signed in 2019 that guaranteed back pay to furloughed workers no longer applies.
Furloughed employees include civilian employees at the Department of Defense, DHS, Department of Justice, State Department, and many more agencies.
As the Washington Post notes, a frequently asked questions document on the White House’s website had said as of Sept. 30 that “both furloughed and excepted employees will be paid retroactively.” However, the document was quietly amended Friday to take out the reference to the 2019 law. The trade publication Government Executive first reported the change Tuesday.
Speaker Johnson's website also said that “under federal law, employees are entitled to backpay upon the government reopening.” On Tuesday, though, the House speaker signaled OMB’s new analysis may alter that stance.
“It is true that in previous shutdowns, many or most of them have been paid for the time that they were furloughed,” Johnson said. He added that “some legal analysts that are saying that might not be appropriate or necessary, in terms of the law requiring that back pay be provided.”
Yet the only prominent voice I've seen argue this is White House Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought.
I personally believe that our government should always guarantee back pay to our furloughed workers. I myself voted in favor of the law President Trump signed in 2019.
