Governor Gretchen Whitmer says the federal government needs to let Michigan help federal employees who are still working but aren’t being paid.
Thousands of Michigan residents are currently furloughed without pay because of the partial government shutdown. Those that aren’t working can apply for state benefits. But there’s some confusion about whether the state can help people that are still working but not getting paid.
Whitmer says she and two other governors were told by the labor department that they can’t offer unemployment benefits to working employees. Now they want a second opinion – or a change of the law.
“Because we don’t want our hands tied when there are people struggling.”
This is the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history.