Verizon’s new offer gives federal workers relief amid pay freeze | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Verizon is granting relief to federal workers. Thousands remain unpaid due to the U.S. government’s partial shutdown, now in its sixth week.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shut down on Feb. 14 after lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement for the agency.

Democrats refused to back DHS funding as they demanded reforms for immigration enforcement, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

The U.S. Senate later agreed to pass a bill to fund most of the DHS (except ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection), which has been rejected by House Republican leaders.

“We’ve been clear from day one: Democrats will fund critical homeland security functions — but we will not give a blank check to Trump’s lawless and deadly immigration militia without reforms,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement.

The shutdown only impacts DHS employees, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), CBP, ICE, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA).

The DHS workforce consists of more than 260,000 employees, and over 90% are classified as essential personnel, meaning they are required to continue working during the shutdown without pay. However, they must receive back pay once funding for the department is restored.

ICE, CBP, and a few other DHS agencies have been receiving pay during the shutdown. President Donald Trump also recently ordered TSA workers to receive back pay. This move comes after hundreds of TSA workers resigned and thousands called out of work, leading to long lines at airports nationwide.

Federal employees get unexpected help from Verizon

As TSA workers finally receive payment, thousands of DHS employees across different federal agencies continue to work without compensation.

As the shutdown surpasses 45 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Verizon is giving federal employees one less thing to worry about: falling behind on bills.

The carrier is offering to waive late fees for federal workers and to provide flexible payment arrangements.

All customers have to do is call Verizon at 1-800-Verizon (1-800-922-0204) to request this relief, they will need to provide verification that they are a federal employee.

This isn’t the first time Verizon has extended relief to customers during emergency events that threatened to impact their ability to pay bills.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Verizon signed the Keep Americans Connected Pledge. This initiative asked broadband and telephone service providers not to terminate service for any residential or small business customers who were unable to pay bills due to pandemic disruptions.

Also, between March 25, 2020, and April 30, 2020, Verizon granted its consumer and small-business postpaid customers 15GB of free 4G LTE hotspot data added to their wireless plans.

Verizon prepaid customers and small-business postpaid metered customers also received 15GB of data added to their standalone or shared data plan, which was used for hotspot, smartphone, and other connected device use.

Verizon is extending relief to federal workers amid the partial government shutdown.

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Federal workers navigate financial strain amid shutdown and new relief

Verizon’s latest offer comes at a time when DHS employees have been struggling to pay bills due to the partial government shutdown.

On March 17, Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, sent a letter to the House and Senate urging a bipartisan solution. She said thousands of DHS employees have had to resort to visiting food banks and taking other drastic measures to make ends meet as they miss their paychecks.

“These frontline employees have had to wonder whether they’ll be able to pay their mortgage or buy groceries; a month of not knowing how long this shutdown will last,” wrote Greenwald in a recent letter to Congress.

“Yet even with such uncertainty hanging over their heads, they still come to work every day to keep our country safe,” she continued.

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Before Trump signed an executive order allowing TSA workers to begin receiving back pay, Aaron Barker, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 554, said during a March 16 press conference that many of these workers were struggling.

He added that they were “coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossession, empty refrigerators, and overdrawn bank accounts” during the shutdown.

Many called out sick because they couldn’t afford to commute to work, according to the AFGE. Some were even sleeping in their cars and at airports, while hundreds were forced to resign due to financial hardship.

After the president ordered TSA workers to receive payment, AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement on March 30 that while the union was grateful for the executive order to finally pay TSA workers, he stressed that all DHS employees need to be paid.

“Congress needs to continue working to pass a real, bipartisan appropriations deal that funds DHS, pays all DHS workers, and keeps these vital agencies running,” said Kelley. “And they must pass the Shutdown Fairness Act so that no politician, of either party, can ever hold a public servant’s paycheck hostage again.”