Empire Loan Owner & CEO Michael Goldstein today announced that his company will offer furloughed federal workers interest free, no fee loans for the duration of the government shutdown

Boston, MA – Empire Loan, the “one stop money shop” for Greater Boston and Providence, Rhode Island consumers, has a solution to help local area federal workers survive the historic government shutdown. Today Empire Loan announced that they are offering no interest, no fee loans to qualified furloughed employees.

This past Friday, roughly 800,000 federal employees missed their first paycheck. About 380,000 employees have been furloughed and another 420,000 are currently working without pay. Congress has already passed a bill that guarantees all federal employees will receive back pay once the shutdown is over, but that does little to help them while it drags into its fourth week.

“I hate to think that there are so many federal workers out there with little or no financial options to ensure their bills are paid and they have food on their table to feed their families,” said Michael Goldstein, owner and CEO of Empire Loan.  “So we decided to offer them what we’re calling an FDT Loan … a loan that they can access Fast, Direct, Today.”

An Empire loan uses a customer’s personal property as collateral instead of their credit. What individuals can borrow is based on the value of the item they bring in to Empire Loan for appraisal.  For example, jewelry, coins, electronics, musical instruments and tools can all be used as collateral for a loan. Based on the value of that item, Empire Loan will lend furloughed federal employees cash on the spot with no fees, no interest, no credit check, paperwork or spiraling debt.  Once they are back to work – no matter how long it takes for the government shut down to end –  furloughed employees can pay back the interest free loan and get their collateral back without compounding interest or lingering debt.

“We want these federal employees to know that we are in this with them for the long haul,” said Goldstein. “Obviously we all want this government shutdown to end as quickly as possible, but if it continues indefinitely, our offer stands for the duration … interest free loans with no fees involved for all qualified furloughed federal employees.”

About the December 2018 Shutdown

The second shutdown of the United States federal government in 2018 – which has continued into January 2019 – began at midnight EST on Saturday, December 22nd, making it the longest U.S. government shutdown in which federal workers have been furloughed in history. The shutdown occurred when the United States Congress and President Donald Trump could not agree on an appropriations bill to fund the operations of the federal government for the 2019 fiscal year, or a temporary continuing resolution that would extend the deadline for passing a bill. The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal departments or agencies from conducting non-essential operations without appropriations legislation in place. As a result, nine executive departments with around 800,000 employees had to shut down partially or in full, affecting about one-fourth of government activities.

About Empire Loan

First established in 1985 by Michael Goldstein, Empire Loan is New England’s leading pawn shop with 8 locations in Boston, Providence, New Bedford, Worcester, Stoughton, Lowell and Lynn.  Empire Loan is more than just a pawn shop, it’s a local, community-focused business that strives to change the image of pawn shops. Empire Loan enthusiastically supports the communities where they operate, providing donations to organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc., Health Centers, and local Arts & Entertainment organizations. In 2011, Goldstein created the Empire Loan Charitable Foundation which supports a wide range of programs in the communities where Empire Loan operates.