Contract Workers Don't Plan To See Back Wages After Govt. Shutdown: 'Income Is Gone'

[appalachiablue]

"That income is gone': shutdown pain lingers for unpaid contract workers." Unlike federal employees, contractors don’t expect Congress will vote to pay them back wages for work missed. The Guardian, Jan. 31, 19. EXCERPTS:

Thousands of US government contractors went back to work early this week but Tamela Worthen, who works as a security guard at the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC, wasn’t among them. Instead, she was at home recovering from an emergency room visit on Monday after a dangerously elevated blood pressure left her dizzy and feeling like she couldn’t breathe.
Worthen has hypertension and after a month of missed paychecks, she was unable to afford her medication this month, causing the flare-up. The cycle is vicious. She’s not getting back pay which causes even more financial strain, which leads to more emotional stress, which compounds hypertension.

Worthen’s struggles are not atypical according to Héctor Figueroa, the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) chapter 32BJ. About 3,000 of his chapter members are government contract workers who were furloughed. “It’s been a great hardship for them and people are living on the edge, not knowing if they’re going to be able to pay the rent, choosing between buying food and buying medicine,” Figueroa told the Guardian.

“These are entry-level jobs, many of our members are women – many are single mothers living paycheck to paycheck,” Figuroa added, describing the workers as “overwhelmingly” black and Hispanic. Black Americans are not only overrepresented in the federal workforce, but black-owned businesses also disproportionately contract with the federal government.

A bill introduced by Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat of Minnesota, on Tuesday would make back-pay available to low-wage workers employed by outside government contractors, including janitors, cafeteria workers and security guards.
A similar bill has been introduced in the House. “They clean office buildings and keep us safe and secure and serve millions of meals a year,” Smith said during a press conference at the Capitol. “Why should these hardworking people be forced to pay the price of the shutdown themselves?”...

More, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/30/government-contractors-shutdown-effects-back-pay
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Related:

End of Shutdown: Workers Left With Debt, Bad Credit and Shattered Trust
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/26/end-of-shutdown-federal-workers-debts-credit-shattered-trust

Federal Shutdown's Legacy May Be Brain Drain To Private Sector
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/30/government-shutdown-brain-drain-private-sector



Furloughed contract workers, including security officers & custodians who haven't been paid during the partial govt. shutdown, hold unpaid bills to present to the office of Senate Majority Leader McConnell on Capitol Hill, Jan. 16, 2019.

[MichMan]

1. Why weren't unemployment benefits available ?

Workers in the private sector are laid off occasionally and are all eligible for unemployment. Shouldn't be any different for government contractor employees.

According to this article, they are eligible....

"We also contacted the D.C. Department of Employment Services, Virginia Unemployment Commission and Maryland Labor Licensing and Regulation.

They all confirm, yes, furloughed government contractors CAN apply for unemployment.

The Department of Labor sent Verify researchers the following statement:

"Employees of government contractors who are furloughed during the partial government shutdown may be eligible to claim unemployment compensation under the same state requirements and conditions of other laid-off workers. Eligibility for unemployment insurance, benefit amounts, and the length of time benefits are available are determined by the state law under which unemployment insurance claims are established. Generally, workers should file claims in the state where they worked. Current data on government contractors claiming unemployment insurance compensation is not available; however, data on initial weekly claims, which may allow for comparisons over time and by state, are available here"

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/verify/verify-yes-furloughed-government-contractors-are-eligible-for-unemployment-during-the-government-shutdown/65-908e589f-2dcc-4ecd-b330-a3ce8593c68d

[KatyaR]

2. Wouldn't they be required to pay back any unemployment

they might receive? If they're not getting back pay, that could make things worse.

[MichMan]

3. It would only need to be paid back if you got back pay.

At this time they aren't getting any.

[appalachiablue]

4. Confusing info. but I leave it to the senators working

on legislation to straighten out back pay issues for federal govt. contract workers. The source of funds and the process of releasing them is part of the problem it appears. Some contract workers may be receiving unemployment benefits from state govt. services based on the Jan. 19 wusa9 article. It's complex, for sure.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/verify/verify-yes-furloughed-government-contractors-are-eligible-for-unemployment-during-the-government-shutdown/65-908e589f-2dcc-4ecd-b330-a3ce8593c68d

Jan. 4. wusa9. >Government contractors are particularly sidelined; they aren't guaranteed back-pay during a shutdown.
"In the last 22 government shutdowns back to 1974, not including this one, Congress has approved back-pay for government civilians who have been affected by the shutdown.
>>They have never approved back-pay for contractors," David Berteau, President and CEO for trade association Professional Services Council. "We think that's unfair and unequal treatment."
>A viewer reached out to the Verify team asking whether furloughed government contractors are eligible to apply for unemployment.
>Our experts agree, furloughed contractors WOULD be eligible to collect unemployment check.
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https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/federal-workers-contractors-continue-their-push-to-end-the-shutdown/65-14f7e1ac-8ee4-4010-bfad-c9e0de6ecbfc

Jan. 19. wusa9. When we came here to work in the federal government, we didn't come here to be rich, we came here to work in the federal government, because it was a calling."
>>Unlike federal employees, contractors do not receive back-pay.
Contractor Mike Sarzo said he needs the shutdown to come to an end as quickly as possible.
*"I'm still waiting on getting unemployment insurance," he said. "I've applied for food stamps hoping that I'll get them."
________________

Jan. 16. Vox. ">>A Democratic senator wants to protect federal contractors — the people most screwed over by the shutdown. A new bill from Sen. Tina Smith would guarantee them back pay.

>Federal contractors are among the workers hardest hit by the partial government shutdown:
>Not only are many not getting paid during it, they also won’t receive any back pay after the shutdown ends. Furloughed federal employees, meanwhile, are guaranteed back pay once the government is reopened — an assurance President Trump signed into law this week.
>>Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) wants to fix this. On Wednesday, Smith introduced legislation along with fellow Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown (OH), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Ben Cardin (MD), Mark Warner (VA), and Tim Kaine (VA), >to require federal agencies to work directly with companies that contract to them to provide back pay for the employees caught up in the shutdown.
>>Because of the way the system currently works, contractors are paid directly by companies that can’t bill the government for services when it’s shut down. Since these companies aren’t getting paid, they, in turn, aren’t able to pay their workers. >“In many cases, that money was already budgeted; it just hasn’t been spent.”

>Smith’s bill would create a special account in order to pay out these funds, she says, noting that the legislation expands a mechanism that already exists for reimbursing contractors for shutdown costs. It would give contractors up to $50,000 in back pay, with the aim of specifically addressing the shutdown’s effects on low-wage workers.
>>“In the past, [low-wage federal contractors] have never been reimbursed for the wages that they lost because of a federal shutdown,” Smith said. “That is wrong.” She added that they are still working to build support for the legislation among Republicans.
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/16/18185406/government-shutdown-contractors-backpay
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/425736-senate-dems-introduce-legislation-to-back-pay-low-wage-contractors

Jan. 16, The Hill. Senate Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would provide back pay to low-wage contractors affected by the government shutdown. “This bill is about helping a group of people who are often invisible—people who work in the cafeterias, who clean offices after everyone else goes home, security guards who keep our buildings safe overnight,” said Sen. Tina Smith. Democrats have been struggling to find legislative language to deal with the thorny issue of contractors affected by the partial shutdown.
>While Congress has overwhelmingly supported providing back pay to federal workers who are either furloughed or work without pay in the event of a government shutdown, contractors are more difficult.

Government agencies all contract with outside companies differently, and contracts can take hourly or lump sum forms. Some contracting companies are big, profitable companies that can shift workers around or continue paying them through a shutdown, while others are small operations that are forced to simply furlough their workers. The legislation would require contractors to submit evidence of their relevant salary costs to the specific agency’s contracting officer. It would only apply to the set of contractors defined in existing legislation setting guidelines for federal contractors: the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act.