From This Collection

A year after the shutdown, federal contractors still digging out of a financial hole

Jan 24, 2020
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has had lasting effects for workers.
Government workers protest the shutdown on Jan. 10, 2019, in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

For government contractors, shutdown debt can linger

Nov 18, 2019
Lila Johnson is still paying back the money she borrowed last shutdown.
Lila Johnson, a 72-year-old custodian at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said she would retire if she could afford it.
Jay Mallin/Service Employees International Union

Trump says he’s declaring emergency to build border wall

Feb 15, 2019
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will declare a national emergency to fulfill his pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
President Donald Trump, repeating his claim that 'walls work,' announced that he will declare a national emergency in order to build a barrier on the US-Mexico border without funding from Congress.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Congress moves ahead with deal to avoid shutdown

Feb 14, 2019
President Trump says he will sign the spending bill, and declare a “national emergency” to build a border wall.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

2 weeks after the shutdown ended, many federal employees still wait for pay

Feb 8, 2019
The partial government shutdown ended two weeks ago, but thousands of workers still haven’t received their back pay. Restarting an organization as immense as the federal government after an extended shutdown takes time and can be fraught with unexpected delays. Federal payroll processing has been delayed by email backlogs, software glitches and an overwhelming number […]
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

After the shutdown, debt may linger for federal employees

Feb 7, 2019
Missing two paychecks led many of them to take on debt to pay bills. Odds are they'll be paying it off for a while.
Furloughed federal workers and those aligned with them protest the partial government shutdown in the Hart Senate Office Building Jan. 23, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Coming back to work after the shutdown

Feb 6, 2019
It was a bittersweet return for one government contractor.
"Financially and emotionally, I can't shoulder another month, another 8 percent income reduction, for the government to get their act together," Sunny Blaylock says.
Courtesy of Sunny Blaylock

For public good, not for profit.

Federal contractors are cut out of shutdown back pay

Jan 31, 2019
We hear from two workers on how it's affected their lives and finances.
A sign outside the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 27.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Will the recent government shutdown show up in the jobs report?

Jan 31, 2019
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its January jobs report on Friday.
Recruiting companies are removing race and gender from résumés to eliminate bias.
John Moore/Getty Images

Federal workers owed back pay set to receive it this week

Jan 29, 2019
Government agencies responsible for payroll worked over the weekend to start issuing missed paychecks.