Back Pay Fairness Act of 2019

Back Pay Fairness Act of 2019

This bill requires interest to be added to the back pay of federal employees who were not paid during a lapse in appropriations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 222 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 222

   To amend section 1341 of title 31, United States Code, to require 
 payment of interest on back pay for employees affected by a lapse in 
                            appropriations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 24, 2019

  Mr. Jones (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. 
   Hirono, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mrs. Shaheen) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend section 1341 of title 31, United States Code, to require 
 payment of interest on back pay for employees affected by a lapse in 
                            appropriations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Back Pay Fairness Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. INTEREST ON BACK PAY FOR EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A LAPSE IN 
              APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1341(c) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
    ``(3)(A) If a payment under paragraph (2) to an employee furloughed 
as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations or to an excepted 
employee is made after the regularly scheduled pay date for such 
payment in the absence of a lapse in appropriations, the payment shall 
include an interest payment prorated daily which shall accrue from such 
regularly scheduled pay date.
    ``(B) An interest payment under subparagraph (A)--
            ``(i) shall be computed at the rate of interest established 
        by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 3902 that is in 
        effect on the first day of the covered lapse in appropriations; 
        and
            ``(ii) shall be in addition to any other remedy available 
        under any other law, rule, or regulation.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
with respect to any covered lapse in appropriations (as defined in 
section 1341(c) of title 31, United States Code) that begins before, 
on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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