GovernmentEconomy
October 7, 2025OMB memo questions automatic back pay for furloughed federal workers
Unpaid controllers manage record traffic during labor shortage
The federal funding lapse began on Oct. 1, 2025.
A draft OMB memo dated Oct. 7, 2025 argued the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 does not by itself create automatic retroactive pay for furloughed workers.
Reporting shows up to 700,000 federal workers could be furloughed or otherwise idled by the lapse in appropriations.
More than 13,000 air traffic controllers have continued to work without pay during the shutdown, and federal officials have linked controller absences to a sharp rise in flight delays.
AFGE and AFSCME filed suit on Sept. 30 to try to stop planned reductions in force that OMB had asked agencies to prepare before the lapse in appropriations.
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