Republican pushes back on Trump proposal to dock pay from air traffic controllers who missed work during shutdown

Source: The Independent

Monday 01 December 2025 18:09 EST


A senior Republican congressman has pushed back against plans by Donald Trump to dock the pay of air traffic control workers who did not show up for work during the government shutdown.

During the historic shutdown, which ultimately lasted for 43 days, from October 1 to November 12, ATCs were expected to work without pay. Some were forced to take extra jobs and many reported being unable to afford essential costs like childcare or fuel to get to their shifts.

A number began calling out of work sick, leading to major disruption at airports – and prompting Trump to say their pay should be docked. However, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure pushed back on the idea.

Rep. Sam Graves told KFEQ: “The problem with something like that is you really don’t know the circumstances,” Sam Graves, who chairs the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. They may have actually been sick.”

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/sam-graves-air-traffic-controllers-pay-shutdown-b2876056.html

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ATCs are federal civil servants. This isn't some random "business" where you can make up rules. If they have a sick leave balance, which is EARNED (4 hours per pay period or ~1 day per month), then they can USE it. There is usually a requirement for a doctor's note for 3 or more consecutive SL days off and SL does not have a "use or lose" provision like annual leave (vacation/AL, where there is a max number of hours that can be held and carried over each calendar year, or the excess is "lost" (forfeited)). This means that SL can be accumulated for years.

I had coworkers (and it was mostly men) who had over 2000 hours of SL accumulated after decades on the job, and a few ended up with some serious medical condition during their later years (heart attack and/or need for bypass surgery, or a stroke, etc) requiring them to be out for months, and thankfully they had that leave.