Congress passed a bill late Wednesday that opened the government and granted back pay to federal employees furloughed during the government shutdown.
Under the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014, “employees furloughed as a result of any lapse in appropriations which begins on or about October 1, 2013, shall be compensated at their standard rate of compensation, for the period of such lapse in appropriations, as soon as practicable after such lapse in appropriations ends.”
A state or another federal grantee that used state funds or any other non-federal funds to continue a federal program will also be reimbursed.
Furloughed state employees or a grantee's employees whose pay is normally reimbursed by the federal government will be paid retroactively at their standard rate.
The Republican-controlled House passed the continuing resolution late Wednesday 285-144 with every Democrat voting in favor of it. The measure, signed by Obama shortly after midnight, funds the government until January 15.
The original federal employee back pay bill called the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act passed the House on Oct. 5 but stalled in the Senate.
During the shutdown, credit unions offered assistance to their federal employee members including low interest loans and credited deposits.
“Due to the enactment of a continuing resolution, Federal government operations are open. Employees are expected to return for work on their next regularly scheduled work day (Thursday, October 17th for most employees), absent other instructions from their employing agencies,” said the White House Office of Management and Budget website on Thursday.
OMB encouraged federal agencies to use all available “workplace flexibilities” during the transition including “telework, work schedule flexibilities and excused absence for hardship situations.”
“We're proud of the work the credit unions did during the shutdown to offer assistance to their members. That assistance was well received on Capitol Hill,” said Brad Thaler, vice president of legislative affairs at the NAFCU told Credit Union Times on Thursday.
“We're pleased that federal employees will be receiving back pay and working with their credit unions on the terms of the programs that were put in place during the shutdown,” he added.
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