Gov. Inslee extends unemployment benefits to struggling federal workers

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that Washington state will extend unemployment benefits to federal employees working without pay or on furlough, including Coast Guardsmen, FBI agents, Border Patrol workers, food safety inspectors, and more.

RELATED: Inslee speaks out on shutdown, edges closer to 2020 run
RELATED: Durkan allows federal employees to defer utility payments

Washington joins California, Colorado, New Mexico and Vermont in offering unemployment relief to federal employees. Inslee said about 8,000 people deemed essential federal workers in Washington would be affected.

“It is unconscionable that the president of the United States has turned his federal workers into political pawns,” Inslee said. “It is wholly unacceptable, and Washington state will not stand by while our public servants work day after day while struggling to make ends meet. ”

The partial government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s wish to build a wall along the Mexican border has been going on for more than a month, and came to a head Thursday when a pair of bills that would have reopened the government did not pass in the Senate.

Authorities say federal workers getting unemployment would be required to pay back state benefits when back pay comes in post-shutdown.

Meanwhile, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan recently issued an executive order allowing impacted federal employees to defer utility payments, while Tacoma Public Utilities offered to extend payment due dates 60 days, will waive late fees on bills. Puget Sound Energy has said they will evaluate each case individually, but will generally allow customers in good standing to delay payments.

Impacted federal workers can file a claim by going to the Employment Security Department website here.

Additional reporting from The Associated Press

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