Civilian employees at several federal agencies miss their first full paycheck
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About 658,000 civilian employees at the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs missed their first full paycheck on Friday, marking the latest grim milestone of the government shutdown that has no end in sight.
Why it matters: In a year of mass layoffs, the shutdown's furloughs and now missed pay are another low for beleaguered federal workers.
- The Executive Office of the President and a few other agencies' civilian employees also missed Friday paychecks, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center report.
What's next: On Tuesday, about 686,000 civilian employees at most other agencies will miss an entire paycheck.
- On Thursday, 37,000 employees at the Departments of State and Education will miss entire checks.
Context: Civilian federal employees received partial paychecks on Oct. 10, 14 or 16 that were missing three days' worth of pay.
By the numbers: If the shutdown lasts through the end of October, nearly 1.8 million paychecks will be withheld from civilian employees of federal agencies, per the Bipartisan Policy Institute.
- If it lasts through Dec. 1, roughly 4.5 million paychecks will be withheld from civilian employees of federal agencies.
- Agency contingency plans as of Friday show about 670,000 workers are currently furloughed. An additional 730,000 are working without pay.
The big picture: The White House has threatened not to provide furloughed workers with backpay, but the the Internal Revenue Service said it's guaranteed.
- However, the Trump administration reallocated $8 billion to cover active duty military's Oct. 15 pay date. And the Defense Department accepted a $130 million anonymous donation on Thursday to pay service members during the shutdown, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed to Axios on Friday.
- Otherwise, Oct. 31 could be the first time in history that members of all military branches miss a paycheck due to a government shutdown, according to the Bipartisan Policy Institute.
Zoom in: About 20,000 unemployment insurance claims have been filed in the three weeks since the shutdown began, according to a Friday report from the Century Foundation.
- Several banks have offered assistance to federal employee customers like zero-interest loans. Chase, for example, is refunding monthly service and overdraft fees to customers with direct deposits tied to federal accounts.
Go deeper: How many federal workers your state has
