Employees Who Worked Through Government Shutdown Demand Double Time

The government shutdown that took place in October has spurred a lawsuit filed by “essential employees” who claim that they were required to work during the shutdown, yet were not paid on their scheduled payday. The plaintiffs claim that by withholding pay for the week starting October 1, 2013, the United States violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and they are seeking wages for that week, as well as overtime pay for eligible employees.

Plaintiffs are seeking the amount they would have received for the workweek starting October 1, 2013.

Five essential employees who work for the Bureau of Prisons within the Department of Justice were the first ones to file a lawsuit against the United States government, and hundreds of others have since joined them in taking legal action. Plaintiffs allege that the wages they earned between October 1, 2013 and October 5, 2013 were not paid to them on their expected bi-weekly payday, but were held until the end of October. Although employees received pay for time worked during the shutdown retroactively, some reported that they incurred debts and interest costs as a result of the deferred payments, as they were forced to delay payments for credit cards and bills.

Under the FLSA, an employee must receive minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, amounting to $290 for a minimum-wage, 40-hour workweek. Since essential employees had their paychecks withheld past their scheduled payday, they were technically paid less than minimum wage for the hours they worked during the week starting October 1, 2013. Plaintiffs are seeking the amount they would have received for the workweek starting October 1, 2013, in addition to overtime pay for those who worked more than 40 hours that week.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs estimate that 1.3 million essential employees worked during the government shutdown, and plaintiffs are asking that all essential employees be notified about the lawsuit through their work email addresses.