White House Memo Casts Doubt on Shutdown Back Pay

A new draft memo from the White House's budget office says furloughed federal workers aren't automatically entitled to back pay after the current government shutdown—contradicting widespread assumptions and prior guidance from other parts of the administration. The memo obtained by the Washington Post argues that the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, passed in 2019 during the last shutdown, doesn't guarantee post-shutdown compensation unless Congress specifically provides the funds.

• The White House points to a tweak made to the law nine days after President Trump signed it, which added language stating furloughed workers shall be compensated "subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse." The Office of Management and Budget's interpretation is that whatever legislation Congress passes to end the shutdown must also contain language appropriating money for furloughed workers' backpay.

• If adopted, the legal interpretation would up the ante in Trump's standoff with Senate Democrats, potentially leaving up to 750,000 workers without pay for the shutdown period, Axios reports. The move marks a shift from earlier guidance by the Council of Economic Advisers and the Office of Personnel Management, both of which previously assured workers that back pay was automatic.
• House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that there "will be a lot of discussion" about the memo, Politico reports. "I hope that the furloughed workers receive back pay," he said, though he added: "There are legal analysts who think that that is not something that government should do."

• Unions and advocates for federal workers are pushing back hard, arguing the memo is at odds with the law's plain meaning. "There is no legal authority to support that interpretation," labor attorney Nekeisha Campbell tells Axios. Some experts say the amendment simply acknowledges how appropriations work, not a new barrier to worker compensation.
• The White House maintains that workers currently reporting to their jobs without pay would still receive back pay, but furloughed employees are not automatically covered.
• Trump said Tuesday that it's not clear whether all workers will receive back pay, the Post reports. "I would say it depends on who we're talking about," he told reporters. "I can tell you this: The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you're talking about. But for the most part, we're going to take care of our people. 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."