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Federal Worker Union Sues Trump Over Shutdown

Tim Pearce on January 1, 2019

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) sued the Trump administration Monday for “essential” government employees being “forced” to work without pay.

Many federal employees designated as “essential” personnel are working through the government shutdown but might miss regular paychecks until Congress and President Donald Trump agree on a spending package.

The AFGE suit asserts “forcing” federal employees to work through the shutdown without regular paychecks is “inhumane” and illegal.

“Approximately 420,000 federal employees are continuing to work, but don’t know when they will get their next paychecks,” Heidi Burakiewicz, a partner at the law firm of Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, said in a statement. “These employees still need to pay childcare expenses, buy gas, and incur other expenses to go to work every day and yet, they are not getting paid. It is a blatant violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch is the law firm representing AFGE.

The federal government went into a partial shutdown Dec. 22, 2018, and continued into the new year. Republicans and Democrats are fighting over funding for Trump’s $5.7 billion wall along the border with Mexico, which the president says is necessary to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the U.S.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is leading the Democratic resistance to funding the border wall, called Trump’s proposal “expensive and ineffective” and promised to kill any bill that would fund it.

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DCwire features investigative reporting syndicated with permission from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

View Comments

  • These democrats make me sick, when they shut down the government it was all fine and dandy.
    They are vicious people, hypocrites, who will do anything to get back in power. Everything that President is putting out there the Democrats promised in there election and never came through with. They lied to get elected. The President said what he was going to do for the people and has kept his promises. And the Democrats want to cut him. They suck there is not one Democrat that could do what he has done in 2yrs. Jealous and a bunch of hypocrites. They would kill there on mother to get what they want.

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