CBP: Employees should receive back pay by the end of January
As hundreds of thousands of employees start their Monday back at work after a nearly five-week shutdown, Customs and Border Protection worked anxiously over the weekend to process approximately 300,000-time cards for fellow employees.
CPB is the first Department of Homeland Security agency to complete time entries with the hopes of distributing paychecks no later than Thursday, Jan. 31, according to a tweet from Kevin McAleenan, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
CBP Workforce: Good news. The team worked through the weekend and made sure that all the timecards have been processed. The Deputy Commissioner and I are working aggressively to make sure you are paid as soon as possible. Please standby for more updates. pic.twitter.com/ml2zeZMoPI
— Kevin McAleenan (@CBP_McAleenan) January 28, 2019
On Sunday, the United States Border Patrol Chief, Carla Provost, expressed the importance of getting all of the furloughed employed paid via Twitter.
Proud of our professional staff across the country who jumped into action this weekend to process time and attendance sheets. Getting everyone paid is priority #1. All furloughed employees have been recalled to commence work; welcome back! #HonorFirst https://t.co/20v8hJJ2uY
— USBPChief (@USBPChief) January 27, 2019
The partial government shutdown began Dec. 22, 2018. It became the longest partial shutdown in United States history after re-opening on Jan. 25, 2019.
Throughout the shutdown, Washington Federal, a smaller bank out of Seattle and disbursed throughout the nation, helped thousands of furloughed workers.
In Yuma, the branch assisted 25 people within the first week of offering a 90-day interest-free loan for up to six paychecks for anyone who has been furloughed and isn’t receiving pay during the partial shutdown.
“In our area, it is mostly Border Patrol, Customs, but the airport people are it too and some federal employees in the court system have been affected too,” said Gina Kutas, a banker with Washington Federal who helped a handful of furloughed employees.
