The administration of President Donald Trump has warned that some federal employees furloughed during the government shutdown might not receive retroactive pay, a stance some lawmakers call illegal.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) states that the 2019 law, signed by Trump guaranteeing back pay after a shutdown, does not apply to employees ordered not to report to work temporarily. According to the memo, the government is only obliged to pay essential workers, such as air traffic controllers, who continue to work.
Trump himself commented: “It depends on who we are talking about” and suggested some employees “don’t deserve to be taken care of.”
Around 750,000 federal employees are temporarily working without pay as the shutdown enters its first week. Democrats strongly oppose the administration’s interpretation, with Hakeem Jeffries stating: “The law is clear – every furloughed federal employee is entitled to back pay, period.”
The current shutdown began on October 1, with a political deadlock between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, as each side demands different conditions for reopening the government.
