Colorado outlines unemployment options for federal workers during shutdown

COLORADO — For many federal workers in Colorado, the ongoing government shutdown means an unexpected hit to their paychecks. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is laying out how furloughed employees can seek financial relief.

Colorado is home to more than 54,000 federal employees, though not all are impacted. State officials say many furloughed workers may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Those claims can be filed online at coloradoui.gov, but workers are urged to wait until their last day on the job before applying.

Unlike most claimants, furloughed federal employees are considered “job attached,” meaning they do not have to complete weekly work search activities while out of work.

“There will be an indicator checkbox that will say, ‘Is your unemployment a result of the federal shutdown?’ You indicate yes, and then it grays out everything else,” said Cher Haavind, deputy executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. “That’s a very cut and dry and clearly presented way to indicate that this is a result of the shutdown.”

While unemployment benefits may offer short-term relief, the Federal Employee Fair Treatment Act requires agencies to provide back pay after the shutdown ends. That means furloughed workers who collect unemployment must repay any benefits once their regular paychecks are restored.

The department also noted that regular unemployment claims unrelated to the shutdown will continue to be processed as usual. Claimants in those cases must still complete their work search requirements and request payments weekly. Current claims will not be interrupted despite the federal closure.

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