""The law is simply not on the side of Trump's threats to withhold pay from federal employees that he somehow disfavors," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Axios in a phone interview. Driving the news: The memo points to amended language in the "Government Employee Fair Treatment Act" of 2019, or GEFTA, that says compensation for furloughed employees is "subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.""
"Labor attorney Nekeisha Campbell pushed back on that reading of the law, telling Axios' Marc Caputo that "there is no legal authority" to support OMB's interpretation of the statute and that it would only be upheld in court if Congress passed a new law contradicting that provision. "The law here is quite clear," said Sam Berger, senior fellow at the Center for Policy and Budget Priorities. "The caveat is, if you follow the law.""
""Every single furloughed federal employee is entitled to backpay. Period, full stop. The law is clear. We will make sure that law is followed," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said at a press conference. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) said in a statement the White House is "throwing attention grabbing headlines out there to distract from the fact that they shut down the government.""
The White House Office of Management and Budget argues that amended GEFTA language conditions compensation for furloughed federal employees on enactment of appropriations ending the lapse. OMB's legal analysis interprets the statute to guarantee backpay only if Congress passes specific funding legislation. Labor law experts counter that no legal authority supports withholding backpay and that courts would not uphold the OMB interpretation absent a new contradictory law. Policy analysts emphasize the statute entitles furloughed workers to backpay if the law is followed. Political leaders across parties characterized withholding threats as hollow and said Congress will determine funding outcomes.
Read at Axios
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