Court of Federal Claims Doubles the Back Pay due Federal Employees From Government Shutdown
On February 17, 2017, the Unites States Court of Federal Claims, issued a decision that doubles the back pay due federal employees from the October 2013 government shutdown. Donald Martin, Jr. v. United States, No. 13-843, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 2017). The class action case was brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act which requires employers, including the Federal government, to pay employees, at least the minimum wage and overtime. The FLSA further provides for a doubling of the back pay due where a violation has been found to be willful. The Court found that the FLSA had been violated and the violation was willful. Congress should recognize that laws that they had previously passed will be violated if they fail to authorize the funding needed to meet the obligations created by those laws.
