Shutdown Threatens Thousands In Burlington Co. Who Work For The Federal Government

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Thousands of federal employees in Burlington County are bracing for impacts as the government shutdown continues.

Roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day during the shutdown, with the total daily cost of their compensation at around $400 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Burlington County has New Jersey's largest share of civilian federal workers, both by total (5,459) and share of the employed population (2.3 percent).

Most federal employees don't get paid during a government shutdown. Some get furloughed — placed on unpaid leave — while others must work without pay until normal operations resume.

• Related: Federal Government Shuts Down: What To Know In NJ

There are also about 33,000 members of the military living in New Jersey, including personnel at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which is partially in Burlington County. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces are working without pay during the shutdown.

Federal workers who are furloughed or working without pay will receive backpay once normal government operations presume, thanks to a law passed in 2019. But they won't receive lost wages until Congress restores funding for their compensation.

Impacted federal employees assigned to work in New Jersey can qualify for state unemployment benefits.

However, some of the cuts could be permanent, as President Donald Trump threatened mass firings of workers and suggesting "irreversible cuts" to Democratic priorities.

Congress will reconvene Friday to vote again on a Republican measure to extend federal funding for seven weeks.

With reporting from the Associated Press.