Wexton signs on to legislation to protect benefits for furloughed federal employees

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) are co-leading new legislation to ensure that federal employees furloughed during a shutdown can continue to accrue annual and sick leave.

Current federal guidance allows for excepted employees to accrue leave during a shutdown, however furloughed employees do not accrue annual and sick leave once they have been in non-pay status for 80 days. This new legislation would codify into law the retroactive accrual of leave for both excepted and furloughed employees.

“I entered Congress in the middle of the longest government shutdown in history. Since my first day, I’ve made reopening the government and protecting our federal workers my top priority,” said Representative Wexton. “We passed legislation to provide back pay to all furloughed workers, and I am proud to co-sponsor this new legislation to help make federal workers whole.”