Chairman Ajit Pai and three FCC Commissioners will continue to be paid because their compensation is financed by a resource other than annual appropriations.
The partial government shutdown will hit the FCC on Thursday at mid-day when approximately 1,197 workers will be furloughed until further notice if the partial government shutdown isn’t resolved by today.
President Trump is expected to meet with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at the White House this afternoon to try to break the deadlock, but a successful outcome is reportedly slim.
About 17% of the agency’s 1,442 employees will be retained. Approximately 200 employees will continue to work since their salary and expenses are not funded out of annual appropriations and they will be supporting spectrum auction-related activities.
However, work required for the protection of life and property will continue, and the Office of the Inspector General will continue operations until further notice.
“Consumer complaint and inquiry phone lines cannot be answered; consumer protection and local competition enforcement must cease; licensing services, including broadcast, wireless, and wireline, must cease; management of radio spectrum and the creation of new opportunities for competitive technologies and services for the American public must be suspended; and equipment authorizations, including those bringing new electronic devices to American consumers, cannot be provided,” the FCC said.
The FCC’s overall shutdown plan is available here.
According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the average annual salary for the top 100 FCC employees is $169,057. The majority of those workers are attorneys.
Chairman Ajit Pai and the three FCC Commissioners are exempt from the furlough because their compensation is financed by a resource other than annual appropriations.
OPM does not identify the annual salaries of FCC Commissioners. The full list of salaries for government officials under President Trump’s administration isn’t available, however, a celebrity news site states, without sourcing, that Chairman Ajit Pai’s salary is $455,000 a year.
