Shutdown Resources for Federal Employees
February 2024 — The Republican and Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives and the Senate have been working on an agreement to fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 (FY24, which runs though September 2024). However, Congress must pass a FY24 funding bill with little time to waist, as a partial government shutdown deadline looming on March 1 and another funding deadline on March 8 that threatens to shut down the remainder of federal agencies. This FY24 funding agreement largely follows the funding levels agreed to by Congress in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
Although members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee fully understand that they must past FY24 government funding legislation and do so urgently, a small group of House Republicans are insisting that harmful and controversial “policy riders,” policy provisions that do not have broad bipartisan support in the House nor the Senate, be included in the funding legislation. IFPTE is joining other federal unions and
For now, we advise all IFPTE-represented federal employees to prepare for a likely government shutdown. The federal government is currently funding and operating on a continuing resolution (or CR) that funds some agencies through March 1, 2024 and other agencies through March 8, 2024.
If Congress fails to pass a government funding by March 1, 2024, the following agencies will be shutdown and operating minimally: Army Corps of Engineers, activities funded through the Military Construction budget, Dept. of Transportation, Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. These are agencies funded through the following appropriations bills: Agriculture and Rural Development; Energy and Water Development; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.
If Congress fails to pass government funding byMarch 8, 2024, agencies funded through the following appropriations bills will be shutdown and operating minimally: Commerce, Justice, and Science (includes NASA, DOJ-EOIR, NOAA); Defense; Financial Services; Homeland Security; Interior and Environment (includes EPA); Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education; Legislative Branch (includes GAO and CRS); and State and Foreign Operations.
If there is a shutdown, here’s what it means for federal employees:
Unless directed otherwise, federal employees will report to work as scheduled. Employees may be assigned work necessary to conduct an orderly shutdown of their agency. Employees will also be informed if they are furloughed (assigned a leave of absence from work), or if they are “excepted” from furlough and ordered to report to work during the shutdown.
Both furloughed and excepted federal employees will not be paid during the shutdown. Federal employees will be paid as soon as possible once government funding is restored and the shutdown ends, per the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA).
While federal agencies cannot incur expenses without prior approval of funding (or “appropriations”) from Congress, the federal government does have a legal right to maintain emergency operations to meet its obligations to the safety of life and the protection of property. To meet those obligations, agencies will designate some federal employees as exempted from furlough.
Each agency has issued a contingency plan or will issue an updated plan that indicates which federal employees are expected to be furloughed during the length of the shutdown, with the remainder reporting to work. See your agency’s shutdown contingency plan here.
Employees who are furloughed at the start of the shutdown may be recalled to work under excepted status at any point during the shutdown. Conversely, excepted employees may be moved to furlough status during the shutdown if an agency deems it appropriate.
Employees whose activities are funded by non-appropriated funds – i.e. mandatory spending, activities funded by user fees, or operations paid through trust funds – may be “exempt” from the furlough and work through the lapse in appropriations.
OPM Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs (Updated December 2021):
This is the federal government’s guidance for federal agencies and employees and includes answers to frequently asked questions [PDF]. This document has been updated to include the statutory requirements of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) which, among other provisions, requires all federal employees to be paid after a shutdown ends and government funding is restored.
Some pertinent information addressed in this guidance includes:
General guidelines for excepted employees (Section A, starting on page 1)
How excepted employees with previously approved leave can maintain their requested time off (Section F, starting on page 10)
Employees taking second jobs during the shutdown and ethics considerations (Section C, question 3, on page 4)
Access to federal employee benefits and impacts to benefits (Section H, starting on page 21)
Impact on retirement (Section L, starting on page 27)
Agencies’ obligation to bargain with unions (Section Q, question 2, on page 37)
Sample of an agency notice of furlough due to the lapse in appropriations (page 40)
Agency Contingency Plans:
Government Operations and Obligations Principles During Shutdown – OMB Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations (Updated September 27, 2023):
The following topics are covered in this 17-page document:
Basic Principles of Agency Operations during a Lapse in Appropriations
Contracts and Grants
Information Technology
Orderly Shutdown
Travel
Entitlement to Payment for Excepted Work
Carryover Funds
Use of Charge Cards
Federal Household Shutdown Checklist
Furloughed Employees Can File for Unemployment Insurance:
Federal employees how are furloughed and not reporting to work during the shutdown are eligible for state unemployment insurance (UI). Once the shutdown ends, UI benefits will be considered “overpayment” and will have to be paid back.
For more information on how to file for you state UI, see the Department of Labor’s website for federal employees.
Check Your Finances:
Call your landlord, bank, credit union, mortgage lender or other loan provider to let them know you are a furloughed federal worker and ask if you can delay payments until the government is funded again.
Your credit union or bank may offer a short-term low-interest loan for federal employees.
Log onto your credit card and bank accounts to check for recurring expenses, such as online subscription services or memberships, and put them on pause.
Check your local government to see if they are offering free services, such as memberships to recreation facilities, to federal workers and their families.
Mind Your Wellness:
Call 211 or log onto 211.org for mental health and other services that you and your loved ones may need during the shutdown.
Make a list of places you’ve been meaning to visit or friends you’ve been meaning to see, and schedule at least one activity a day.
Keep in touch with your co-workers and make sure you have contact information for your steward or local union leaders.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Congress can avert the shutdown by passing a short-term funding bill by March 1:
Call Speaker Mike Johnson at 202-225-4000 and tell him to stop playing politics with federal workers and their families.
Write a letter-to-the-editor to a newspaper or local online outlet such as patch.com and share your story with the public.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Tell Congress to pass a 2024 funding bill in time to avoid a partial government shutdown. Remind them that Congress and President Biden have already agreed to FY24 spending levels in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
You can contact your Congressional Representative and Senators to urge them to do so here.
Call House Speaker Mike Johnson at 202-225-4000 and urge him to “Schedule a vote on a bill to fund the government for fiscal year 2024 at the spending levels that Republicans, Democrats, and the President already agreed to in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.”
Write a letter-to-the-editor to a newspaper or local online outlet such as patch.com and share your story with the public.
Sign Up Here to Receive Shutdown Messages
If the shutdown occurs, IFPTE will keep members updated through our messaging tool, Action Network.
Members are highly encouraged to send IFPTE their personal email address to receive updated messages, alerts, and any other pertinent shutdown information. This is also necessary if you are currently receiving IFPTE messages and alerts through your work email address.