The IRS recently pulled back on its earlier statement regarding back pay for employees affected by the government shutdown. In a Thursday announcement, the agency indicated that it would offer more detailed information soon, explaining the situation related to furloughed workers.
The IRS noted that prior communications about furloughs didn’t accurately reflect the stipulations of the Public Employees Fair Treatment Act of 2019 concerning compensation for non-working employees. An update posted on social media emphasized, “OMB will provide further guidance on this issue and updates will be provided accordingly.”
Requests for comments from both the IRS and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) went unanswered.
This development was highlighted by Federal News Network, with reports circulating that a draft memo from the OMB suggested furloughed employees might not have the right to back pay during mandatory leave due to a shutdown.
The memo, which was first reported by Axios, noted that the 2019 act does not guarantee automatic compensation for furloughed federal workers. Instead, it indicates that any back pay is dependent on the approval of appropriations legislation that would end the furloughs.
Interestingly, on Wednesday, the IRS published guidance that contradicted this draft memo, asserting that the law “requires” pay for federal employees during furloughs or when they are compelled to work amid a shutdown. It stated that although employees would be unpaid while on furlough, they should be compensated after the lapse, regardless of the usual pay schedule. Moreover, it clarified that those who work during that period could utilize vacation time.
An anonymous IRS employee shared that the memo circulated on Wednesday had been automatically deleted from inboxes by Thursday morning.
The Public Employees Fair Treatment Act was enacted during the first Trump administration, following a significant 35-day shutdown that took place from late 2018 into early 2019.
After the initial guidance was released, President Trump mentioned that while some workers would be compensated, others might not, suggesting a level of inconsistency. “But for the most part, we’re going to take care of our people,” he stated, adding that “some people really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we take care of them in other ways.”
