FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 08, 2025
October 08, 2025
Contacts:
Democracy Forward: [email protected]
AFGE: Tim Kauffman, [email protected]
AFSCME: Nick Voutsinos, [email protected]
Democracy Defenders Fund & Federal Employee Unions Call on OMB to Uphold Federal Law and Guarantee Back Pay for Furloughed Employees
Government’s obligation to pay furloughed workers is not optional, groups say
WASHINGTON – Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) today demanded that the Office of Management and Budget confirm that every federal employee furloughed during the shutdown will receive back pay guaranteed by law. Recent reports suggest the administration is considering withholding this pay. Doing so would be illegal and further compound the harm already being done to hundreds of thousands of public servants.
In a formal letter sent to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, DDF cited specific sections of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which President Trump signed into law during his previous term. The letter makes clear that under the statute, the government’s obligation to pay furloughed employees is not optional. The Act explicitly states that each affected federal employee “shall be paid” for the duration of any lapse in appropriations, leaving no legal room for discretion or delay.
“Federal employees don’t choose when the government shuts down. Regardless of politics or party, government employees are our fellow citizens who have chosen to dedicate their lives to serving our nation. They are not bargaining chips, and any attempt by the Administration to disavow its legal obligations represents an extraordinary degree of bad faith,” said Virginia Canter, Chief Counsel and Director of Ethics and Anti-Corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund. “These threats are a cynical attempt to use innocent workers as pawns in a political power play. If the Trump administration defies the law or tries to sidestep its obligations, we will take every appropriate step necessary to ensure these public servants receive the pay they are owed.”
“On behalf of the 820,000 federal employees AFGE represents, we are demanding that the Trump administration abide by the law and pay its workers. Federal employees are patriotic Americans, who did not ask to be dragged in the middle of this political fight,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “Over the past nine months, the Trump administration has been determined on traumatizing the federal workers who provide vital services to the American people. The threat to not pay federal employees is cruel, anti-worker, and illegal, and it wouldn't be tolerated in any other workplace.”
“We are sending this letter to demand that the administration follow the law and pay federal workers the wages they are legally owed,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “There is no ambiguity – furloughed federal workers are guaranteed back pay. Federal workers have enough to worry about, from rising costs to daily attacks on the essential work they do. They shouldn’t have the added anxiety of this billionaire-run administration threatening to steal their paychecks. It's time for the administration to stop treating patriotic federal workers as political pawns and affirm that they will follow the law.”
The letter can be found HERE.
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The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing more than 820,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center.
Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
AFSCME's 1.4 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and freedom and opportunity for all working families.
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Click here to Donate to the AFGE Federal Employee Defense Fund.
For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center.
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