TSA workers should begin getting paid as soon as today, official says

Transportation Security Administration workers who have gone without pay for work during a partial government shutdown will start seeing paychecks on Monday, March 30, a Homeland Security official said.

Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told USA TODAY on March 30 that TSA has "immediately begun the process of paying its workforce" and that TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks "as early as today."

"TSA officers are grateful to the President and Secretary for their leadership to put money back into the pockets of TSA employees," said Bis. "Working without pay forced more than 500 officers to leave TSA and thousands were forced to call out."

Bis said that the previous day, March 29, saw 10.59% (3,101) of TSA workers call out of work nationwide. The highest rate of callouts occurred days prior on March 27, when 12.35% of workers did not report for duty, she said.

DHS has been shut down since Feb. 13, when Senate Democrats and Republicans came to a funding impasse over immigration enforcement.