Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.), U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.-08) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.-05), and 160 other lawmakers in a bipartisan push urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to follow the law that requires furloughed federal employees to receive back pay after a government shutdown. The lawmakers underscored that the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which Trump signed into law during the last shutdown under his previous Administration, is clear that all federal employees are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends, regardless of whether they are excepted or furloughed.

The Senators raised serious concerns with OMB’s recent update to its Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations document and reports of a White House memo suggesting that federal workers furloughed during a government shutdown may be denied back pay. The new OMB guidance blatantly defies federal law and contradicts the Council of Economic Advisers and Office of Personnel Management, who have stated that furloughed workers should receive automatic back pay once the shutdown concludes.

The Trump Administration’s illegal threat to withhold back pay for as many as 750,000 federal workers is a clear attempt to force Democrats to pass Republicans’ partisan appropriations bill. Protecting legally required back pay for furloughed civil servants is essential to avoid unnecessary chaos and stress. Before President Trump began his mass firings of the federal workforce, California had more than 150,000 federal civilian workers last year.

“The law is clear: all impacted government employees, regardless of excepted or furloughed status, are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends, which is consistent with the guidance currently provided by federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management (OPM),” wrote the lawmakers. “OPM’s shutdown guidance from September 2025 still states that furloughed federal workers will be provided back pay once the government reopens.”

“The decision by OMB to remove critical guidance on federal employee back pay is causing unnecessary stress for the federal workforce comprised of nearly 2.2 million employees,” continued the lawmakers. “Thus, we request you immediately clarify and update the Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations Document and other relevant materials to affirm that furloughed employees will receive back pay, as is required by law.”

In addition to Padilla, Kaine, Murkowski, Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, and Warner, the letter is also signed by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with 136 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Senator Padilla is a longtime advocate for protecting federal workers’ rights. He has cosponsored several bills to help federal workers in the aftermath of the Republican shutdown, including legislation to ensure federal contract workers receive backpay, to let essential federal employees temporarily apply for unemployment insurance, to allow federal workers and contractors to withdraw funds from their savings or retirement accounts without penalties, and to provide timely relief for federal workers who are illegally fired. He also joined his colleagues in introducing the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act last week to protect federal workers, federal contractor employees, and their families from foreclosures, evictions, and loan defaults during a government shutdown. Last month, Padilla introduced the Protect America’s Workforce Act, which would repeal two union-busting executive orders and restore collective bargaining rights and workplace protections for federal workers.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Director Vought:

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) recent update to the Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations document implies that furloughed federal workers are not entitled to back pay. Additionally, a draft OMB memo stated the administration would deny back pay to furloughed federal workers for the current government shutdown. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, we worked with President Trump to enact the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) of 2019, the intent of which is clear – federal employees are entitled to retroactive pay in the event of a government shutdown. We applauded President Trump for signing this bipartisan bill into law.

On January 16, 2019, the Senate unanimously passed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act to guarantee back pay for all impacted federal workers once a government shutdown ends. This law was enacted during the longest government shutdown which lasted 35 days at the end of 2018, and into the beginning of 2019. Prior to the law’s passage, Congress had to pass specific legislation after each shutdown to ensure furloughed workers received back pay.

Explicitly, the law guarantees back pay for all federal employees in the event of a government shutdown. “Each employee of the United States Government or of a District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations, and each excepted employee who is required to perform work during a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for such work, at the employee’s standard rate of pay, at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates, and subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.” The law requires that retroactive pay be required in the event of any government shutdown after December 22, 2018.

The law is clear: all impacted government employees, regardless of excepted or furloughed status, are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends, which is consistent with the guidance currently provided by federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM’s shutdown guidance from September 2025 still states that furloughed federal workers will be provided back pay once the government reopens. The decision by OMB to remove critical guidance on federal employee back pay is causing unnecessary stress for the federal workforce comprised of nearly 2.2 million employees.

Thus, we request you immediately clarify and update the Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations Document and other relevant materials to affirm that furloughed employees will receive back pay, as is required by law.

Sincerely,

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