WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and 21 of their colleagues introduced legislation to secure back pay for the federal contractor employees impacted by the government shutdown.
The bill—the Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act—would provide back pay up to $600 per paycheck for employees of federal contractor employees who were furloughed or had their hours reduced due to the government shutdown. The bill aims to help low-wage federal contractor employees, including janitorial, food, and security services workers.
“Federal contract workers perform important services across Hawaii and don’t deserve to suffer financially because of Donald Trump’s government shutdown,” Senator Hirono said. “While the President has signed a bill passed by Congress to repay federal workers who have been furloughed or required to work without pay during the shutdown, federal contract workers have been assured of no such protections. This bill aims to make things right with federal contract workers who often work long hours at low wages.”
“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,” Senator Smith said. “These low- and mid-wage federal contract workers have had to go without pay for weeks now, and in past shutdowns, haven’t received back pay. That’s wrong and that’s what my bill is trying to fix.”
The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act would:
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