Backpay Awarded to 25,000 Feds Who Worked During 2013 Shutdown

A federal judge has ruled that around 25,000 federal employees are eligible for compensation from the government for the time they spent working during the 2013 government shutdown, reports fedagent.com .

The shutdown lasted two weeks, but some employees were instructed to continue work due to the nature of their job – many for national security or public safety reasons. They were later paid in full, with most receiving proper compensation on the paycheck following the shutdown’s end.

Employees in this suit, Martin v. U.S., argued that, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the government must pay the minimum wage, in addition to any applicable overtime, to those who continued to work during the October shutdown.

Plaintiffs will receive the federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour, for normal hours worked between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5, 2013, and additional appropriate compensation for any overtime worked.