FAA Employees Awarded Back Pay for Furlough

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding back pay to almost 4,000 workers that were involved in a furlough this summer, according to the Associated Press. The agency was put on a thirteen day furlough in July when the House and Senate could not agree on an extension of the agency’s funding. The last long-term funding bill for the FAA ended in 2007, forcing it to run on 22 temporary extensions since then. 

The furlough ended up costing the federal government around $30 million per day in uncollected airline ticket taxes, amounting to almost $400 million total. Though the furlough did not affect air traffic controllers and most safety inspectors, many workers at the technical and research center in South Jersey and those who handle airport grants were momentarily put out of work. In addition to the FAA employees that were temporarily out of work, it is estimated that the halting of 200 airport projects also left 70,000 construction workers unpaid.

Federal Aviation Administration Managers Association (FAAMA) President David Conley remarked, "This is a great outcome for our FAA employees. We congratulate and commend Secretary LaHood and Administrator Babbitt for discovering the legal mechanisms to bring the back pay issue to a close. It is the right thing to do." Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), who introduced a bill to provide reimbursements to workers, commented that he appreciated that workers “were not held at fault for Washington’s dysfunction.”

Due to sometimes questionable practices by companies and a general lack of knowledge of labor laws, many workers are unfairly withheld deserved pay and benefits. If you believe that you or a loved one may have been unfairly treated by an employer and possibly owed back pay, contact a committed overtime attorney to determine if you are eligible to file a lawsuit to recover incorrectly withheld compensation.