Suit filed over shutdown employment

WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. government can't order its employees to work during a shutdown without promise of payment, a lawsuit filed by the largest federal employee union said.

The lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia contends the Obama administration is violating the Constitution's Appropriations Clause and 13th Amendment by requiring federal civilian employees to work without pay during a period of "lapsed federal appropriations," the union said Friday in a release.

Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry were named as defendants.

The federal government could shut down at midnight Friday if congressional negotiators fail to reach an agreement on a budget bill for the remainder of the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

"Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be required to work during a shutdown, and there's no guarantee that Congress will keep the administration's promise to pay those employees once the shutdown is over," AFGE National President John Gage said.

The administration said it can require certain employees to work during a shutdown under a section of the U.S. Code that includes a clause covering "emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property."

The union's lawsuit contends this section isn't applicable because it isn't an appropriations law and doesn't empower federal agencies to force Congress to pay for debts incurred during a shutdown.

"The Constitution requires an appropriation by Congress before federal dollars can be spent, no exceptions," Gage said. "Without an appropriation, the agencies simply can't spend money or incur debts by forcing employees to work."