WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Aviation Administration officials say nearly 4,000 workers who were furloughed in a two-week partial shutdown of the aviation agency this summer will receive back pay.
The FAA confirmed the decision in a statement provided to The Associated Press on Friday.
The statement said the FAA is using authority provided in legislation passed by Congress in August that allowed the agency to return to normal operations. The agency was forced to partially shut down in late July and early August after Congress allowed its operating authority to lapse in a partisan dispute between the House and Senate.
The $20 million in back pay will come from an aviation trust fund that partially funds the FAA.
The shutdown cost FAA nearly $400 million in uncollected airline ticket taxes.
