Wed Oct 08 11:00:00 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Trump Administration Signals Potential Back Pay Delay for Furloughed Federal Workers, Sparking Outrage**
**Washington D.C.** – President Trump has cast doubt on whether hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers will automatically receive back pay once the government reopens, raising concerns of a potential violation of federal law. The move follows a draft White House memo suggesting only essential workers will be immediately entitled to compensation after the shutdown ends.
Trump’s comments contradict previous administration guidance stating all furloughed employees would receive retroactive pay upon a funding agreement. In 2019, following the longest shutdown in history, Congress passed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, guaranteeing back pay for federal workers affected by funding lapses. Trump signed the measure into law.
However, the administration now appears to be interpreting the law differently. The draft memo argues Congress must explicitly approve funding for payments to furloughed workers.
When questioned about the issue, Trump stated that it “depends on who you’re talking about,” adding, “there were some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers are condemning the move as an attempt to use federal workers as pawns in the shutdown battle. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, called the White House’s argument “frivolous.”
Senator Patty Murray, top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, stated the law clearly entitles all federal workers to back pay following a shutdown.
The situation adds to the uncertainty facing federal employees, many of whom are already struggling financially due to the ongoing shutdown.
**Summary of Text:**
President Trump has signaled that furloughed federal workers may not automatically receive back pay once the government reopens, contradicting previous guidance and raising concerns about a potential violation of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, a law passed in 2019 guaranteeing back pay for federal workers affected by shutdowns. A draft White House memo suggests only essential workers will be immediately entitled to compensation, with the administration arguing that Congress must explicitly approve funding for payments to furloughed workers. Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers are criticizing the move as an attempt to use federal workers as bargaining chips in the shutdown battle.
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