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Washington, D.C.—The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) expressed strong support today for Sen. Ben Cardin’s proposal to minimize the negative impact on thousands of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees who will be forced to perform unpaid work or be furloughed without pay in the event of a shutdown.

The Maryland Democrat’s bill, Federal Employees Retroactive Pay Fairness Act of 2015, would address pay and leave issues for DHS employees—including thousands of Customs and Border Protection employees represented by NTEU—of a potential shutdown, the NTEU leader said.

The Cardin bill is being co-sponsored by at least 14 senators. The proposal includes NTEU-backed language requiring that excepted and furloughed employees to be paid as soon as possible after Congress approves an appropriations bill, regardless of regular pay dates.

It also specifies that excepted employees required to work will not be barred from taking leave under regular leave rules during a shutdown, with compensation paid after the shutdown ends.

“NTEU applauds Sen. Cardin and other supporters for introducing this important bill. Thousands of DHS employees furloughed by the shutdown will not get paid unless Congress passes legislation such as this,” President Kelley said. “The best outcome is not having a shutdown, period, and NTEU is working hard to achieve that goal.

But if a shutdown does occur, this bill would soften the blow for thousands of employees who will suffer financial consequences through no fault of their own.”

Kelley has also asked CBP senior leadership to work with the union to make sure employees are paid soon after the shutdown ends and to press Congress to pay furloughed workers retroactively.

NTEU has also urged CBP to reassess its leave policy during shutdowns, particularly for excepted employees whose long-scheduled leave will be canceled and who will not to be able to take sick days for as long as the DHS remains shut down.

The union also continues to make the case on Capitol Hill for the immediate passage of a funding bill to avoid a shutdown on Feb. 27.

“The homeland security workers who protect us have bills and mortgages to pay and kids in college and elderly family members that need care. Our nation cannot let them down,” Kelley said. “This will be the second shutdown for DHS employees in less than two years and we know from the prior shutdown that working without pay places an extreme burden on DHS employees and their families.”

NTEU represents 25,000 CBP employees stationed at 329 land, sea and air ports of entry.

NTEU, the nation’s largest independent federal-employee union, represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.