If taxpayers have to pay the government interest for being late on their taxes, then the government should tack on interest to back pay for federal workers furloughed during the government shutdown.
That’s the logic behind a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., Thursday night.
“If the federal government can charge you interest for being late on your taxes, then it should be paying interest on late paychecks,” Jones said in a statement. “The more than 5,500 federal workers in Alabama didn’t ask for a shutdown and shouldn’t be punished for it. It’s only fair that the government pays them back with interest for putting them out of work indefinitely or forcing them to work without pay.”
The Back Pay Fairness Act would add 3.625 percent interest to the paychecks of federal workers who missed out on two paychecks during the shutdown and would be applicable for any future shutdowns. That interest rate is the same rate federal agencies have to add to late payments to vendors.
Supporters of Jones’ bill include the nation’s largest union for federal workers.
“Federal workers are experiencing serious financial hardship from the shutdown,” said J. David Cox, Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government “When it ends, employees will not only have to pay more than a month’s worth of overdue bills, but they will also have to pay late fees and penalties, overdraft fees and interest charges. AFGE thanks Senator Jones for introducing the ‘Backpay Fairness Act’ to help federal employees recover financially when the shutdown ends.”
President Trump announced an agreement to end the partial government shutdown on Friday afternoon for at least three weeks; the Senate quickly passed legislation to fund the government as negotiations over Trump’s insistence on a border wall continues.