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Some federal employees at FAA and TSA were awarded bonuses for their work during the recent government shutdown. Watch to learn the details.
Related articles
Some TSA Agents Will Receive Bonuses After the Shutdown
https://www.fedsmith.com/2025/11/14/some-tsa-agents-will-receive-bonuses-after-the-shutdown/
More Federal Employees Awarded Bonuses After the Government Shutdown
https://www.fedsmith.com/2025/11/21/more-federal-employees-awarded-bonuses-after-the-government-shutdown/
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:14 FAA Bonuses
2:45 DHS Bonuses
4:08 Controversy
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
bonuses for some federal employees. This
0:04
is a story that's been in the news
0:05
recently. I wanted to talk to you about
0:07
it today. U interesting story and some
0:10
of you might have missed it. So, I was
0:12
going to go over the details here. The
0:15
most recent announcement on this came
0:18
from the transportation department,
0:20
which gave um bonuses to some federal
0:24
employees at the Federal Aviation
0:25
Administration
0:27
$10,000 bonuses for having a perfect
0:29
attendance record during the recent
0:31
government shutdown. despite working
0:33
without pay while it was going on.
0:35
Although federal employees did of course
0:37
ultimately get back pay once the
0:38
shutdown concluded. The $10,000 bonuses
0:41
were given to a total of 776 air traffic
0:45
controllers and technicians.
0:48
And the recipients of those bonuses will
0:51
receive an automated notification during
0:54
the week of November 24th. That's this
0:56
week because I'm recording this on
0:58
November 24th. and get the payments no
1:01
later than December 9th, 2025.
1:05
And again, these are being given out
1:06
because there were a lot of federal
1:08
employees who had to work during the
1:09
recent government shutdown.
1:12
And um in this case, uh these FAA
1:16
employees had perfect attendance records
1:18
during the shutdown and undoubtedly very
1:20
hectic, stressful work. Transportation
1:23
Secretary Shawn Duffy said in a
1:25
statement, quote, "These patriotic men
1:28
and women never missed a beat and kept
1:29
the flying public safe throughout the
1:31
shutdown. This award is an
1:33
acknowledgement of their dedication and
1:34
heartfelt appreciation for going above
1:37
and beyond in service to the nation,"
1:39
unquote.
1:41
And just some background on this. Um,
1:44
one of the most visible problems that
1:46
stemmed from the recent government
1:48
shutdown was chaos at the airports um
1:51
with air traffic problems. And um on
1:56
November 6, the FAA ordered air traffic
1:58
to be reduced by 10% at 40 major
2:01
airports because of the government
2:03
shutdown. It was fueling problems among
2:06
federal transportation workers who had
2:08
to work without pay. And according to
2:11
Transportation Secretary Duffy, he said
2:14
that the move was essential to ensure
2:16
the safety of air travel during the
2:19
shutdown. Um because of the ongoing days
2:23
and and then weeks of uh unpaid wages to
2:28
to these employees, some air traffic
2:30
controllers and TSA officers resorted to
2:34
taking side jobs or calling out of work
2:36
because longest government shutdown in
2:38
history. But those restrictions were
2:40
lifted once the shutdown ended.
2:43
Fortunately, just in time for
2:44
Thanksgiving. Also, uh the Department of
2:47
Homeland Security, there were bonuses
2:49
paid out to some Transportation
2:52
uh Security Administration officers, TSA
2:55
officers there.
2:57
On November 13th, DHS Secretary Christy
3:00
Noom announced the $10,000 bonuses were
3:03
being given to TS TSA officers who went
3:07
quote above and beyond in their duties
3:09
during the shutdown. TSA officers again
3:12
were some federal employees who were
3:14
required to work without pay during the
3:16
shutdown, although they did get back pay
3:19
once it was over.
3:21
Um, at Boston's Logan Airport, there
3:24
were over 270 TSA officers who had
3:27
perfect attendance
3:29
uh were eligible for these bonuses. And
3:32
when Noah made this announcement, she
3:34
mentioned two officers by name for their
3:36
perfect attendance records. Um TSA
3:39
officer Reiko Walker, an officer of 20
3:42
years and part of TSA's National
3:45
Deployment Force, had perfect attendance
3:46
during the shutdown and filled in on
3:49
extra shifts. At the end of six weeks,
3:51
he willingly worked double of what he
3:54
was originally scheduled for. And TSA
3:57
officer Ashley Richardson is another
3:59
officer with perfect attendance. After
4:01
months of excelling at her work, she
4:03
planned on moving into her own place,
4:05
but had to cancel those plans because of
4:07
the government shutdown. Now, this story
4:09
isn't without some controversy, at least
4:11
based on some of the comments I've seen
4:13
on articles I've written on this topic
4:15
from other federal employees. They make
4:17
the point, I had to work during the
4:19
government shutdown. I wasn't getting
4:21
paid during that time either, and I
4:23
didn't get a bonus. So, why is it fair
4:25
that these employees got a bonus and I
4:27
didn't? I'd be curious to know what your
4:29
opinion is. So, feel free to weigh in on
4:31
in the comments on this video and and
4:34
share your thoughts about it. Thank you
4:36
for watching and listening today and
4:37
we'll see you next time.
#Government
#Politics
#Executive Branch
#Public Policy