President Donald Trump suggests some federal workers might not get back pay after shutdown

WASHINGTON — Furloughed federal workers could find themselves without back pay once the current government shutdown ends, as outlined in a memo floated Tuesday by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The memo questions the reach of a 2019 law President Donald Trump signed during his first term that guarantees furloughed workers back pay once the government reopens, according to a senior White House official who described the document to Newsday on the condition of anonymity.

Asked Tuesday if he believes furloughed federal workers should receive back pay, Trump suggested that not all employees should be eligible.

"It really depends on who you're talking about, but for the most part we're going to take care of our people," Trump told reporters during an unrelated Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them in a different way."

There are 31,000 civilian federal workers living on Long Island, but it is not clear how many are furloughed. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the 750,000 federal employees who ultimately could be furloughed would accrue $400 million a day in unpaid compensation.

The draft OMB memo, first reported by Axios, questions the application of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act that Trump signed into law after a 35-day government shutdown that ended in January 2019.

New interpretation

The three-page memo contends that the law, known as GEFTA, does not create an "automatic" guarantee that all furloughed workers will be issued back pay. The memo also argues that the federal government is obligated to provide back pay only to so-called "excepted" workers, such as military and national security workers, who have been ordered to work through the shutdown without pay because their jobs are deemed essential to public safety.

The memo argues that Congress, currently at an impasse over a short-term spending bill, must include explicit language in a stopgap spending bill to appropriate funds for furloughed workers who were told to not report to work.

Trump, asked if he would be defying the 2019 law by not back paying furloughed workers, told reporters: "I follow the law, and what the law says is correct."

The president, who for days has threatened widespread layoffs and program closures should the shutdown continue, declined to go into detail about the number of layoffs he is considering or what programs may be on the chopping block.

"I'll be able to tell you in four or five days, if this keeps going on ... it'll be substantial," Trump said of the potential for layoffs.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), asked about the OMB memo, told reporters Tuesday: "I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion about that, but there are legal analysts who think that is not something the government should do," referring to guaranteeing back pay for furloughed workers.

But Johnson also said, "I hope that the furloughed workers receive back pay, of course." He added, "We have some extraordinary Americans who serve the federal government — they serve valiantly and they work hard and they serve in these various agencies doing really important work."

'Law is clear'

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), speaking to reporters about the memo, accused the president and his top aides of "torturing federal employees since the very beginning of this administration."

"The law is clear. Every single furloughed employee is entitled to full back pay," Jeffries said. "The law is clear, and we will make sure that law is followed."

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), asked by Newsday about the prospect of furloughed workers not receiving pay, said he was opposed to the idea.

"The law is clear, federal employees are to receive back pay following a government shutdown whether they were furloughed or forced to work without pay," Garbarino said in a statement. "We must uphold this obligation."

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) echoed in a statement that said, "The law is clear: Every furloughed federal worker is entitled to back pay."

Gillen took aim at the Trump administration and congressional Republicans for not engaging in negotiations with congressional Democrats, who are pushing for an extension of soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act subsidies in exchange for their support of a stopgap spending bill.

"The administration using the threat of not paying furloughed workers as a bargaining tactic is illegal and irresponsible," she said.