Court rules against feds getting monetary damages when they go unpaid in government shutdown

A federal appeals court ruled last week that feds who work without pay during government shutdowns are not entitled to monetary damages. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found the government is not actually in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act in government shutdown situations. That’s because another law, the Antideficiency Act, effectively makes it illegal to pay employees when their agencies don’t have appropriations. Or so the court majority’s reasoning went. Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with Heidi Burakiewicz, an attorney for some of the federal plaintiffs who have been fighting for damages ever since the 2013 government shutdown.