Worry remains as furloughed government employees return to work

BRACKEN COUNTY, Ky. (WKRC) - Furloughed government workers will be back on the job Monday after President Trump signed a bill ending the country’s longest government shutdown.

While many are elated the shutdown is over, some workers are still worried. Pam Sprandlin, a 20-year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service, is one of them.

“I’m glad to be going back to work, I was bored out of my mind and I’m going back with pay,” Sprandlin said.

The Bracken County resident is one of 3,000 IRS employees in the Tri-State that will return to work on Monday. Many of them will report to the IRS Service Center in Covington. That’s where Sprandlin works. She’s elated but nervous.

“I missed two paychecks," Sprandlin said. "I was worried but a lot of my co-workers had it a lot worse than I did.”

She was one of the lucky few who could receive unemployment benefits but now she must pay it back and catch up on all the bills she’s behind on. Still, Sprandlin’s grateful. It’s the kindness of strangers that have helped her get by.

“It was nice to see that people were stepping up and I’ll tell you that I was glad to see the businesses that had to work without pay,” Sprandlin said. “You know, to be able to go out and get lunch, people don’t think about that.”

But the worry for Sprandlin and her co-workers is not over.

The newest government funding measure keeps the government running until Feb. 15th.

“I’m really worried because if I’m considered essential after that then how am I going to get to work and then no unemployment to pay anything,” Sprandlin said.

She’s hoping lawmakers compromise over the next three weeks - not only to keep the government running but to also unify the country.

“I don’t think it’s about what they’re fighting about,” Sprandlin said. “It’s about how we’re standing together and I think we failed. I think some of us have failed to stand together and I think that’s sad.”