The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), like various other federal agencies, has been navigating the challenges brought on by a government shutdown by utilizing its existing budget to keep employees on duty. However, by Wednesday morning, the allocated funds were depleted, leading the agency to issue furlough notices to tens of thousands of its workers. Effective immediately, these employees were instructed to stay home and would remain in this status for as long as the government remains closed.
The furlough notices distributed to employees primarily contained standard language, but one particular excerpt stood out: “Although you will be placed in non-pay and non-duty status during the furlough, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 requires employees of the federal government who are furloughed or required to work during a lapse in appropriations to be compensated for the period of the lapse,” the messages indicated, as reported by multiple copies obtained by Government Executive.
This specific language is significant because the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has recently removed any mention of the 2019 law or back pay provisions for furloughed federal workers from its guidance. This information was first highlighted by Government Executive. Following disclosures by Axios on Tuesday regarding the Trump administration's unconventional interpretation of the back pay law—asserting it only applied to the 2019 shutdown—the OMB subsequently issued new legal guidance supporting this interpretation.
The 2019 measure, which was signed into law by former President Trump during the record-setting 35-day shutdown that year, clearly stated that it applied to any employee furloughed during “any lapse in appropriations that begins on or after December 22, 2018.” Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress dismissed the Trump administration's newly proposed legal argument, asserting that the matter was settled and that federal workers are entitled to retroactive pay.
Legal experts have noted that a straightforward reading of the law, along with its legislative history, indicated that Congress intended to guarantee back pay for employees furloughed in all future shutdowns. Furthermore, the Trump administration's own guidance from 2019 suggested that the law was meant to apply indefinitely.
IRS employees expressed relief upon finding the back pay guarantee included in their furlough notices, a detail that was also communicated to employees at other federal agencies last week. According to a Bloomberg report, the IRS was set to furlough approximately 35,000 employees, which accounts for nearly half of its workforce. One furloughed IRS employee remarked, “It says we get paid, in writing! This will be extremely helpful to the union when Trump tries to not pay us.”
This situation highlights the ongoing complexities surrounding government shutdowns and the rights of federal employees, particularly regarding their compensation during such periods. As the shutdown continues, the implications for IRS operations and federal employee morale remain significant.
Erich Wagner contributed to this report.
