AFSCME members this week demanded that the administration guarantee back pay for federal workers who have been furloughed as a result of the government shutdown.
In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), AFSCME argued that the law guaranteeing back pay to furloughed federal workers is absolutely clear: at the end of this federal shutdown, furloughed employees must receive back pay. In addition to AFSCME, the letter was signed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF).
The letter cites the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term. Section 2 of the law reads that “each employee of the United States Government” who is “furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations,” such as a government shutdown, “shall be paid for the period of the lapse.”
“We are sending this letter to demand that the administration follow the law and pay federal workers the wages they are legally owed,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders in a press release. “There is no ambiguity — furloughed federal workers are guaranteed back pay. Federal workers have enough to worry about, from rising costs to daily attacks on the essential work they do. They shouldn’t have the added anxiety of this billionaire-run administration threatening to steal their paychecks. It's time for the administration to stop treating patriotic federal workers as political pawns and affirm that they will follow the law.”
The letter comes in response to the administration’s announcement Tuesday that it may attempt to withhold back pay from federal workers once the government reopens. The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to agree on a funding bill.
Many AFSCME members work for the federal government, in agencies including the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Aviation Administration, AmeriCorps, the Library of Congress and more. Many are speaking out about the relentless attacks from the Trump administration.
AFSCME members are also fighting in court to prevent this administration from firing federal workers who are furloughed during the shutdown.
Through our union’s Get Organized campaign, AFSCME members are fighting back. Join our effort — it’s time to GO!