Government shutdown: Who will be furloughed and who will work unpaid

September 28, 2023 05:24 PM

As the government appears headed for a shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are looking at furloughs and late paychecks.

If the House of Representatives and Senate are unable to pass appropriations or a stopgap bill to fund the government, the federal government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1. Here is a look at which federal workers will be furloughed, which ones will still work through the shutdown, and when workers will get paid.

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Who will be furloughed?

All “non-essential” federal workers will be furloughed once government funding lapses. The Office of Personnel Management defines a shutdown furlough as a time when a federal agency needs “to shut down any activities funded by annual appropriations that are not excepted by law.”

Each federal agency has its own contingency plan for if the government shuts down, and it lists which employees would be furloughed in a shutdown. The most visible sign of the furloughs would be the shutdown or public closure of the Smithsonian Museums, along with other facilities like the National Gallery of Art.

The State Department anticipates nearly 21,000 employees being furloughed, the Justice Department anticipates more than 17,000 employees being furloughed, and the Department of Homeland Security anticipates more than 30,000 employees being furloughed.

During the most recent shutdown, from December 2018 through January 2019, an estimated 380,000 employees were furloughed, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Government Shutdown Explainer — FILE – A sign reading “Because of the Federal Government SHUTDOWN All National Parks are Closed” is posted on a barricade in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Oct. 1, 2013. The federal government is heading toward a shutdown at month’s end that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics. It comes as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Who will remain working unpaid?

Although federal agencies will be without their annual funds, several employees will be expected to report to work without knowing when their paychecks will arrive.

The Office of Personnel Management says that some employees continue their work, despite a lack of appropriations, because “they are performing tasks that, by law, are allowed to continue during a lapse in appropriations.” Some of these tasks include those relating to the safety of human life and the protection of property, among others.

The State Department lists 7,315 employees as holding an exempted position, the Justice Department lists 96,666 employees as holding an exempted position, and the Department of Homeland Security lists more than 226,000 employees as holding an exempted position.

The last government shutdown saw roughly 420,000 employees report to work without pay, per the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Who will still get paid during the shutdown?

Members of Congress and the president will still be paid during the shutdown because of constitutional stipulations about their pay, and some other federal workers will receive a paycheck during the shutdown.

Will workers get back pay?

All workers who were furloughed and remained working through the shutdown will get back pay once the government is funded.

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Prior to 2019, furloughed workers were not guaranteed to get back pay for the time they were temporarily let go from their federal agencies.

With the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which was signed into law by then-President Donald Trump in the middle of a government shutdown, furloughed employees are given retroactive pay and leave accrual for the shutdown period.