President Trump has signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 into law that will provide compensation for wages lost, work performed or leave used by federal workers as their agencies closed on Dec. 22, the White House said Wednesday. The bill also allows selected employees to use leave during a lapse in appropriations.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., author of the bill, said the decision guarantees pay to hundreds of thousands of workers affected by the shutdown. However, he still calls for the Trump administration to reopen the government, highlighting the back pay will not provide a permanent relief to employees.Â
“Let’s reopen the government and get them all back to work so American taxpayers can receive the services they need and are paying for,†Cardin said. “This needless shutdown is having a painful effect on hundreds of thousands of workers, their families and their communities.â€
Affected federal employees will be paid once the administration ends the shutdown.
