'Essential' WA Federal Workers Can Get Unemployment Benefits

SEATTLE, WA - On Friday, about 16,000 federal workers in Washington reported to work without getting a paid, according to state figures. Gov. Jay Inslee is now allowing those workers to apply for unemployment benefits.

Initially, the state was only offering unemployment benefits to furloughed federal workers. But now "essential" federal workers - like FBI or TSA agents - who are working without pay can get the benefits.

The state estimates there is a total of 74,000 federal employees in the state affected by the shutdown. Those employees earn a combined $1.4 billion in wages per quarter, according to state data.

The bulk of federal employees in Washington work in King (19,715), Pierce (11,663), and Kitsap (19,291) counties. But every county has federal workers - including tiny Wahkiakum County in southwest Washington with 12 federal workers.

"It is unconscionable that the president is turning these public servants into his political pawns. We will take care of Washingtonians, even if the president won’t," Inslee said in a Medium post published Thursday.

AP Photo/Julio Cortez