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| Source: Politico |
A federal judge granted a legal win to federal employees who did not receive their payroll during the record-breaking 35-day government shutdown which lasted from 2018 to 2019.
The Shutdown That Ran From 2018 to 2019
The longest shutdown in the history of the United States of America resulted from an impasse over President Donald Trump's insistence that Congress allocate more than $5 billion to build the wall on the US southern border.
In retaliation on the 22nd of December, key parts of the US government shutdown. The Congress finally conceded to loan only $1.6 billion but with restrictions.
The shutdown had ended when President Trump surrendered his budget demand. Though he still used a series of legally controversial ploys to tap various bills to press on the wall for billions.
What Was the Court’s Verdict?
U.S. Federal Claims Court Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith rejected the Trump administration's proposal to drop the wage-and-hour lawsuit brought filed by rank-and-file government employees who had not been paid their regular hourly wages and overtime during the lengthy shutdown.
Employees were ultimately compensated, but the lawsuit alleges that workers are entitled to remuneration under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Depression-era law that defines minimum wages and mandates overtime for many workers.
Trump Administration’s Response
Trump's administration tried to argue that there had been no violation of the wage-and-hour laws because another federal law, the Anti-Deficiency Act, made it a felony to pay the workers in appropriations over a five-week period.
However, Campbell-Smith disagreed, asserting that the budget-focused law does not instantly suspend the government's commitment to pay timely payments to employees.
What the Shutdown Meant For Federal Workers
More than 800,000 government employees in nine separate departments and many federal agencies were affected by the shutdown.
This included the Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transport and Treasury departments.
Federal employees considered to be essential were forced to work without pay. Others were relieved of duty or on placed extended leave.
Federal workers have sued the US government on grounds that these workers were forced to work without pay.
After previous government shutdowns, Congress decided to pay back federal workers, but the American Federation of Government Employees, which initiated a new complaint, called the obligation to work without pay "inhumane."
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has discontinued several of its services, but officials had said that the Department would continue to issue tax refunds.
Immigration courts had also been impacted by the deterioration of the already existing backlog, which comprises more than 800,000 cases.
According to the newly elected Democratic Representative Sharice Davids, the closure has had a direct impact on the lives of Native Americans.
Davids said to the National Public Radio that he had spoken to one tribal leader who said that they had lost a tribal member because they were unable to plough the roads.
As the roads were not ploughed an emergency service vehicle could get to him in time.
Davids clarified that government aid for services to tribal communities, such as ploughing roads and health care, had run its course due to the shutdown.
The Smithsonian museums and National Zoo in Washington, DC, closed due to the shutdown on the 2nd of January. Some national parks had also remained closed or had limited services.
Anxiety Over Not Receiving Pay Checks
Many of the thousands of government employees that were impacted by the shutdown had expressed that they were anxious over not being able to receive their salaries.
Many were anxious about how they were going to pay their bills. Unions representing workers have organized protests around the nation, seeking an end to the shutdown.
Workers Yet To Prevail
In spite of the court's ruling to deny the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the workers have yet to prevail in the case.
Campbell-Smith said that it was always possible for the government to prove that it worked in "good faith" when it failed to fulfil payment to employees on time.
“The court declines to rule at this time on the issue of whether defendant can establish a good faith defence against liability for liquidated damages in this case,” wrote the judge.
If the workers did win the lawsuit, they will each be entitled to a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for the duration they had served, or around $1,160 if they worked the entire period of the shutdown plus overtime.
Heidi Burakiewicz, a lawyer representing the workers, said that about 32,000 workers had already agreed to opt-in to the case. Workers who do not file this month may forfeit their rights to compensation, she said.
Burakiewicz said she believed that the staff working at the Bureau of Prison, the National Weather Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service and other agencies would eventually win the lawsuit.
She said in an interview that for all intents and purposes, it is a finding that the government violated the law, the FLSA. She also added that they are “extremely confident” that they would win the case.
Although employees have already received the pay they earned, Burakiewicz has said that she does not see the attempt to secure compensation being double-dip.
She said that posthumously paying them their salaries doesn't really dispute the violation of the law that the money was not paid on time.
"In those 35 days, there was a lot of pain. People were worried about feeding their children, paying their bills, buying medicines. It was horrible to them... Paying people back does not make them whole."
The spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not respond immediately to a request for a comment on the verdict.
Written By- Christeena George
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