1-25-2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington State will offer unemployment benefits to all federal employees affected by the shutdown.
Coast Guardsmen, FBI and Border Patrol agents, and other federal workers who are required to be on the job without pay during the federal government shutdown, will be able to apply.
Governor Jay Inslee made the announcement Thursday, saying Washington would join states like California, Colorado, New Mexico and Vermont in offering such relief to federal employees.
Authorities say the workers would be required to pay back state benefits once they receive back pay when the shutdown ends.
The report posted by the Governor estimates that Washington currently has 73,918 federal employees, with the great majority residing in the adjacent counties of King, Thurston, and Kitsap.
To see details from the agencies affected by the shutdown, including the average salaries of their 12,924 employees, go here.