Judge refuses to order workers get paid in shutdown

WASHINGTON — A federal judge Tuesday refused to force the government to pay federal employees who have been working without compensation during the partial government shutdown, rejecting arguments from labor unions that unpaid work violates labor laws and the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said it would be “profoundly irresponsible” to issue an order that would result in thousands of employees staying home from work.

“At best it would create chaos and confusion,” Leon said. “At worst it could be catastrophic ... I’m not going to put people’s lives at risk.”

Leon ruled against a consolidated claim that the National Treasury Employees Union and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association filed against the government, alleging that employees should not be forced to work without pay. The list of unionized employees who have had to work with pay during the shutdown include the Internal Revenue Service, Customs and Border Protection, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, the Agriculture Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission.

The American Federation of Government Employees is among three unions, along with a number of government employees, that have filed suit against the Trump administration, alleging that employees should not be forced to work without being paid.

Leon ruled from the bench during the hearing in Washington, declining to issue a temporary restraining order compelling the government to pay its employees. His move keeps the status quo, allowing the shutdown to continue with no end in sight.

Daniel Schwei, a Justice Department attorney defending the government, acknowledged the strain on employees working without pay, but urged the judge not to insert himself in a political dispute between Congress and the president.

Even as he denied the unions’ request, the judge was sympathetic to the individual stories of federal workers struggling to pay for child care and household expenses during the government shutdown.

But Leon said he could not overstep his role as a judge to intervene in a political problem. Congress, not the judiciary, he noted, controls federal government spending.

“There is no doubt that real hardship is being felt,” Leon said.

But “the judiciary is not and cannot be another source of leverage” in resolving political “squabbles.”