The White House has said that federal workers who have been suspended during the ongoing government shutdown are not entitled to back pay. The announcement has drawn criticisms from several senators.

Axios quoted the draft memo as stating that the White House’s office of management and budget (OMB) an amendment to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA) of 2019 would not guarantee furloughed workers back pay and that said funds must be set aside by Congress.

“The legislation that ends the current lapse in appropriations must include express language appropriating funds for back pay for furloughed employees, or such payments cannot be made," said Mark Paoletta, OMB’s general counsel, in a draft addressed to White House budget director Russell Vought, the Washington Post reporte

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