The Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, with just days to go before federal money runs out with the end of the fiscal year on Tuesday, Sept. 30. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (7News) — A draft White House memo argued that the federal government is not obligated to back pay furloughed employees who are working during the government shutdown.
The draft memo obtained by 7News was provided by a senior White House official on the condition that it only be paraphrased. The memo sent to the director of the Office of Management and Budget said the Government Employee Fair Treatment Amendment Act (GEFTA) from 2019 did not require the government to pay furloughed employees, but instead created a conditional obligation that requires a Congressional act to work.
Back payments can only be made to furloughed employees if the legislation that ends the current government shutdown includes language appropriating those payments, the memo said.
The federal government is obligated to backpay excepted employees; however, because they are required to work during a lapse, the memo read.
“This was an act passed by Congress, which is a coequal branch of government to the executive branch, to the president,” said partner at Alan Lescht & Associates Katie Watson, who has specialized in employment law for 16 years.
“The executive branch can't simply say the law doesn't mean what it says it means and have that carry the day. That is not how the law works in this country...
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