Senator Collins Joins Effort to Ensure Back Pay for Federal Contractors

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) joined an effort to secure back pay for the federal contractor employees who went without pay during the recent government shutdown.  The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act aims to help low-wage federal contractor employees who were furloughed or forced to accept reduced work hours as a result of the recent government shutdown.

“Government shutdowns represent a failure to govern and harm not only those who need to interact with the closed agencies, but also federal workers, federal contractors, and their families,” said Senator Collins. “Last month, Congress passed and the President signed into law legislation I co-authored to guarantee that federal employees would be paid retroactively once the shutdown ended. Congress should now take the next step to ensure that federal contractors—particularly low-wage employees such as janitorial staff, food service workers, and others—are given back pay to help offset the financial injury they experienced due to furloughs and reduced hours.”

The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act would:

• Ensure federal contractors get reimbursed for providing back pay, up to 200% of the federal poverty level for a family of four;

• Provide accountability in the equitable adjustment process by including ways for protection of taxpayer funds;

• Cover employees employed under the Davis-Bacon Act (which governs federally-funded construction projects) and the Service Contract Act (which governs federal service contracts).

The Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act was introduced by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).  This legislation is supported by 35 additional Senators and more than 50 members of the House of Representatives.

Senator Collins has long opposed government shutdowns and has worked to mitigate their impacts.  Last month, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act was signed into law, legislation Senator Collins authored with Senator Cardin to guarantee that furloughed federal employees would be paid retroactively as soon as the shutdown ends.   In addition, Senators Collins and Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced the Shutdown Fairness Act, legislation to ensure federal workers that are deemed “excepted” and required to come to work each day are paid on time.