5 months ago
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(NewsNation) — The national authorities shut down for the archetypal clip since 2019 connected Wednesday morning, leaving galore employees moving without wage until backing is restored.
TSA agents and aerial postulation controllers volition enactment connected the job, on with thousands of different indispensable workers, including those who support Social Security running.
The catch: Many indispensable employees won't get paid until backing resumes, meaning they could miss 1 oregon much paychecks depending connected however agelong the shutdown lasts.
Hundreds of thousands of different national employees find themselves furloughed. But similar those inactive moving without pay, they are guaranteed backmost wage acknowledgment to a 2019 law.
Members of Congress, however, proceed to beryllium paid during a shutdown, arsenic bash postal workers, since USPS is simply a self-funded, autarkic agency.
For national contractors who aren't straight employed by the government, the concern is acold little certain.
Will furloughed national workers get paid?
Yes, eventually. The "Government Employee Fair Treatment Act" of 2019 requires each national employees to person retroactive wage erstwhile operations resume.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that astir 750,000 employees could beryllium furloughed each time of the shutdown astatine a full regular outgo of astir $400 million. Each bureau decides who to furlough and for however long, truthful the fig could vary.
For example, the Social Security Administration expects to furlough 6,197 retired of 51,825 employees, astir 12%, according to its contingency plan. The Transportation Department plans to furlough 12,213 employees retired of its full workforce of 53,717, astir 23%.
Those who support moving during the shutdown will besides person backmost pay, arsenic volition work members whose wage is delayed, erstwhile backing resumes.
The instrumentality requires employees to beryllium compensated "on the earliest day possible" aft a lapse ends, careless of payroll schedules.
Depending connected the magnitude of the shutdown, furloughed and moving employees alike could miss 1 oregon much of their regular paychecks.
Since 1981, determination person been 10 backing gaps of 3 days oregon fewer, mostly implicit a play erstwhile authorities operations were lone minimally affected, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group.
But shutdowns tin resistance on: A partial shutdown successful President Donald Trump's archetypal word lasted 35 days.
In 2013, a 16-day shutdown yet resulted successful $2.5 cardinal successful wage and benefits going to furloughed workers for hours they did not work.
Will Congress beryllium paid during a shutdown?
Yes. Members of Congress volition still cod paychecks due to the fact that their salaries are considered mandatory spending and required by the Constitution.
Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution states: "The Senators and Representatives shall person a Compensation for their Services, to beryllium ascertained by Law, and paid retired of the Treasury of the United States."
Since 1983, lawmakers' wage has travel from a imperishable appropriations account, meaning it does not beryllium connected yearly backing bills, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Most senators and representatives are paid $174,000 a year, a complaint unchanged since 2009. The exceptions are the talker of the House ($223,500) and the president pro tempore of the Senate and the bulk and number leaders successful the House and Senate ($193,400).
The president besides gets paid during a backing lapse, though Trump has antecedently said helium donates his authorities salary.
Some lawmakers successful some parties person asked for their wage to beryllium withheld during the shutdown.
"If our subject isn't being paid, neither should members of Congress," Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., wrote successful a missive shared connected X.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., besides said helium would refuse his pay: "Government leaders shouldn’t beryllium playing with different people’s chips."
Federal contractors are not guaranteed pay
Federal employees are guaranteed backmost pay, but contractors are not.
"Federal contractors person historically not received backmost pay," CRFB noted successful a caller report, adding that "federal contractors sometimes see premiums successful their bids to relationship for uncertainty successful being paid."
In practice, outcomes volition apt vary. Some backstage employers whitethorn proceed paying their workers, and declaration presumption disagree from bureau to agency.
As PolitiFact enactment it: "Some backstage employers with national contracts whitethorn find ways to wage their employees, but determination is thing successful national instrumentality that requires it."
Jim Malatras, main strategy serviceman astatine The Fedcap Group — a nonprofit with national janitorial and custodial contracts employing radical with disabilities — told PolitiFact his institution volition support paying workers "while we person the backing to bash so."
The full fig of contractors is hard to pin down, but Brookings estimates they present outnumber national employees much than 2 to one.
As of March 31, 2025, determination were nearly 2.3 million national civilian employees — a fig that excludes postal workers, employees of assorted quality agencies, and subject personnel. For reference, the 5 largest U.S. defence contractors employ immoderate 690,000 people — underscoring however millions of declaration workers could beryllium affected by a prolonged shutdown.
