As the shutdown has extended into its seventh day, questions persist regarding the potential long-term impacts of service interruptions and budget reductions.
President Donald Trump has addressed programs and some of the roughly federal employees set to be , or temporarily suspended without pay, during the shutdown, though that strategy has already encountered difficulties. Some services have stopped, while others that remain operational might experience disruptions due to a reduced workforce.
Here’s what you need to know about how the government shutdown impacts the federal workforce.
Who works and who gets furloughed?
During the shutdown, each federal agency determines which of its employees are “” or “excepted,” individuals who must continue working throughout the shutdown but will not receive payment until government funding is restored. Essential workers can include active-duty military personnel, law enforcement officers, and other public safety officials.
The National Guard, which has been deployed in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago, Ill., will remain on duty. However, new non-essential deployments or orders cannot be issued during the shutdown. The Department of Veterans Affairs indicated that it allows nearly all of its employees to continue working thanks to advanced appropriations, although it would close regional offices and pause some services, including certain cemetery operations. The U.S. and said they would only provide “limited updates” during the shutdown, while the and said their websites were “not being updated.”
Some services with permanent funding also continue to operate. , for example, are considered mandatory by law and persist, although some services may be delayed if some workers are furloughed. Medicare, which is housed under the Department of Health and Human Services, will also continue, as will services related to pandemic, flu, and hurricane response. HHS expects it expects to furlough around 32,500 of its 80,000-person workforce if the shutdown continues. The will also continue ongoing research and clinical services deemed essential but has paused issuance of new contracts and grants to external organizations, as well as training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and the admission of new patients to its research hospital unless deemed medically necessary.
Air traffic control services also continue, although Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday stated there has been a “slight tick up in sick calls” from air traffic controllers in some places, noting that that could lead to delays.
“If we have additional sick calls, we will reduce the flow consistent with a rate that’s safe for the American people,” Duffy said, adding that funding from a government program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports could stop as soon as Sunday.
Workers deemed non-essential are often furloughed, affecting the , , and the , among others. Furloughed workers typically return to their jobs once a government shutdown ends, although the Trump Administration has suggested permanent staffing cuts.
Who gets paid?
The President and members of Congress continue to receive payment during a shutdown, as outlined in the Constitution. Congressional offices, similar to agencies, must decide which of their staffers are considered essential and required to keep working.
Most other federal workers, however, do not get paid, even if they are deemed essential and required to work. All federal employees who are not paid during the shutdown, whether they were furloughed or remained working, are entitled by law to back pay once the shutdown ends. Both furloughed and essential workers receive back pay “at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates,” according to the .
Some workers, whose programs have alternative funding sources, continue to be paid on time. These include postal workers, because the U.S. Postal Service is considered an “independent establishment of the executive branch” and is largely , as opposed to being funded by congressional appropriations.
What about contracted workers?
Over a million private sector workers on federal grants and contracts could also be affected by the shutdown, according to the , the national trade association for government technology and professional services. The think-tank Brookings Institution offers a more of over seven million Americans whose work is directly supported by federal contracts or grants. Businesses supported by fully funded federal contracts may continue to be paid during the shutdown, but may face some delays in having their invoices processed. In other cases, however, federal agencies can choose to terminate contracts that aren’t fully funded or are incrementally funded, and contracted workers are not guaranteed back pay.
Can furloughed workers be fired?
The Trump Administration has made statements regarding furloughed workers. The Office of Management and Budget indicated in a September memo that agencies should consider laying off workers for programs whose funding has expired due to the shutdown, that do not have alternative funding sources, and that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced last week that layoffs were “imminent.”
On Thursday, Trump said he and OMB Director Russel Vought, who co-authored conservative policy plan , would decide which “Democrat Agencies” should be cut and “whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.”
A group of federal employee unions took action shortly before the shutdown, arguing that the Trump Administration’s plan to fire federal workers during the shutdown is illegal.
“These actions are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious, and the cynical use of federal employees as a pawn in Congressional deliberations should be declared unlawful and enjoined by this Court,” the said.
This week, the White House appeared to backtrack on its most acute threats. Leavitt clarified on Monday that Trump’s claim that workers were already being fired was in reference to “hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed” but have not yet been fired.
“Of course,” she added, “the Office of Management and Budget is continuing to work with agencies on who, unfortunately, is going to have to be laid off if this shutdown continues.”
