The Washington Post newspaper Saturday reported that nearly all of the 350,000 federal civilian employees furloughed by the Pentagon will be recalled in the coming days.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the announcement of the move which could ease the impact of the government shutdown on the federal workforce.

The decision by Hagel is based on  a liberal interpetation of the Pay Our Military Act passed by Congress and signed by the President. It includes broad language exempting Defense Department civilians from furlough if they provide direct support to the military.

The Pentagon comptroller Robert Hale estimated more than 90 percent of about 350,000 furloughed Department of Defense employees would return to work, some as soon as Monday. He told reporters officials hope to move quickly.

Hale couldn’t confirm precisely how many employees would return to work because officials were still determining which employees qualified under the new law. He was hopeful only a “few tens of thousands will remain on furlough,” and perhaps even fewer than that.

The Post story is being disseminated to Kansas news media by Katie Niederee, Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas.