Furloughed workers on Long Island headed back to work Thursday morning after the government ended its 16-day shutdown.

The shutdown left more than 8,000 local employees without pay. The last-minute bipartisan deal that reopened the government and raised the debt ceiling was approved by Congress minutes before its self-imposed midnight deadline.

News 12 Long Island spoke to an IRS employee in Hauppauge, who says he and his co-workers are happy to have their jobs again. Likewise, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally reopened the gates to the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley.

In Oyster Bay, workers at Sagamore Hill took down temporary barriers restricting access to the property once owned by former President Theodore Roosevelt.

The agreement reached late Wednesday night also authorizes retroactive pay for furloughed employees and allows the government to reimburse states for the costs of keeping federal programs up and running during the shutdown.