The House has passed the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act that will provide back pay for furloughed employees and enable workers to take previously scheduled leaves without consequence, Government Executive reported Friday.
The bill, introduced by Maryland’s Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, was created to guarantee back pay for furloughed federal workers in future shutdowns.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., introduced a similar legislation called the 2019 Low-Wage Federal Contractor Employee Back Pay Act which will provide compensation to retail, custodial, food and security personnel working during the shutdown.
Thirty-three Democratic senators sent a letter to Russ Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, requesting him to mandate agencies to coordinate with contractors to ensure that the firms’ workers receive back pay when the partial government shutdown ends.
President Donald Trump has previously stated that federal workers will have to “make an adjustment†and take actions such as asking their landlords for payment relief.