{"id":5498,"date":"2025-10-08T11:51:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T11:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/?p=5498"},"modified":"2025-10-08T11:51:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T11:51:26","slug":"white-house-memo-raises-doubt-on-automatic-back-pay-for-furloughed-federal-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/white-house-memo-raises-doubt-on-automatic-back-pay-for-furloughed-federal-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"White House Memo Raises Doubt on Automatic Back Pay for Furloughed Federal Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Key Points:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A draft White House memo suggests not all furloughed federal workers will automatically receive back pay following a shutdown.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new interpretation conflicts with the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which historically guaranteed back pay.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unions, lawmakers, and legal observers warn of legal challenges if the administration acts on the memo.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Memo Contradicts Earlier Guarantees<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Trump administration is signaling a major shift: federal workers furloughed during the current government shutdown may not be guaranteed automatic back pay, according to a circulating draft memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The memo argues that only \u201cexcepted\u201d or essential employees are entitled to automatic pay, while furloughed workers\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/shrm\/can-pizza-delivery-drivers-get-mileage-compensation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">compensation<\/a> would require explicit congressional appropriation.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/10\/07\/trump-memo-furloughed-federal-workers-backpay?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">President Trump, when asked, said it \u201cdepends on who you\u2019re talking about,\u201d adding that some employees \u201cdon\u2019t deserve\u201d back pay. The posture marks a departure from past administration statements and official guidance indicating that all furloughed employees would receive retroactive pay once the shutdown ends.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/7323960\/government-shutdown-trump-furlough-employees\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The memo\u2019s novel legal interpretation centers on a clause in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2019 law<\/a> stating that pay is \u201csubject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.\u201d The administration contends this means Congress must explicitly fund back pay, rather than it being automatic. Meanwhile, agencies like the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have maintained prior guidance that retroactive pay is required under law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Important Headlines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/shrm\/can-you-collect-unemployment-benefits-if-fired-due-to-attendance-issues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Can You Collect Unemployment Benefits If Fired Due to Attendance Issues<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/shrm\/do-you-have-to-pay-for-unapproved-overtime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Do You Have to Pay for Unapproved Overtime<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Outcry from Unions, Lawmakers, and Legal Experts<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers fiercely objected to the memo, calling it an abuse of power that punishes dedicated public servants. The American Federation of Government Employees labeled the argument \u201cfrivolous\u201d and a misinterpretation of the statute.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/785eb776d2312d1f68f7e91961d0a93a?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on Appropriations, denounced the memo as a baseless attempt to scare federal workers. \u201cThe letter of the law is as plain as can be \u2014 federal workers, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their back pay following a shutdown,\u201d she declared.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/government-shutdown-day-7-trump-administration-threatens-no-back-pay-federal-workers\/17958004\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some Republicans joined the backlash. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described back pay as \u201ca fairly standard practice,\u201d while Sen. John Kennedy asserted that the president cannot unilaterally deny pay that Congress has legislated.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.govexec.com\/pay-benefits\/2025\/10\/trump-says-he-can-pick-and-choose-which-feds-get-back-pay-republicans-congress-mostly-disagree\/408668\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legal analysts predict swift court challenges if the administration attempts to withhold pay. Critics argue the draft memo is inconsistent with the 2019 law\u2019s clear intent and with prior federal practice across dozens of past shutdowns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the shutdown lingers and debate intensifies, federal employees await clarity. Whether back pay becomes lever for political pressure, or whether courts will uphold federal workers\u2019 rights, remains uncertain\u2014but the stakes for hundreds of thousands of workers are enormous.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Also:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/shrm\/top-hr-jobs-you-can-get-with-shrm-certification\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top HR Jobs You Can Get with SHRM Certification<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points: A draft White House memo suggests not all furloughed federal workers will automatically receive back pay following a shutdown. The new interpretation conflicts with the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which historically guaranteed back pay. Unions, lawmakers, and legal observers warn of legal challenges if the administration acts on the memo. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hr-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v25.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>White House Memo Raises Doubt on Automatic Back Pay for Furloughed Federal Workers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"White House memo suggests not all furloughed federal workers will automatically receive back pay following a shutdown.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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