File For Unemployment
Take Action
Sign Up for Updates

NOTE: 
Please do not view or share this webpage from a government email account, using a government computer,
on government work time, or while working at a government facility.

Shutdown Resources for Federal Employees

 

October 18, 2025

Day 18 of the Shutdown

Congress needs to pass a bipartisan government funding bill IMMEDIATELY.

This shutdown is entirely avoidable. A government funding bill agreed to by Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate is the only way to ensure there are enough votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate to stop the shutdown and end the lockout of federal workers.

The U.S. federal government shutdown is due to a lapse in funding, caused by Congress’s inability to pass legislation to keep the government funded in time for the start of the new fiscal year. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has put the House of Representatives into recess until October 20, which means it’s up to the Senate to find a bipartisan agreement on a continuing resolution (CR) to provide short-term funding and reopen the government. 

Here’s what a shutdown means for federal employees: 

  • Unless otherwise directed, 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 therefore 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 “excepted” from furlough.  

  • Each agency should have a “contingency plan” that indicates which federal employees are expected to be furloughed during the length of the shutdown, with the remainder reporting to work. Normally, these agency contingency plans are listed on the White House Office of Management and Budget  (OMB) website – but OMB is directing federal workers to find these plans on their agency’s websites.  

  • 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.  

____ 

Agency Contingency Plans – In normal years, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has maintained the latest federal agency contingency plans listed.  

However, the current OMB page for agency contingency plans (https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/guidance/miscellaneous/) directs visitors to find the agency contingency plan on the agency websites.

____ 

Analysis from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Understanding the Legal Framework Governing a Shutdown, by Sam Berger, former Associate Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs-OMB and former senior policy advisor at OMB 

This analysis includes information on the legal limits of the Executive Branch’s authority under a government shutdown caused by a lapse in government funding.  Topics include: 

Activities That Can Continue During a Government Shutdown 

Executive Branch Restrictions During a Government Shutdown 

____ 

Revised OPM Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs, Updated September 29, 2025 [PDF] — OPM has updated their previous guidance for federal agencies and employees.

Previous OPM Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs, Updated January 29, 2024 – This is the federal government’s guidance for federal agencies and employees and includes answers to frequently asked questions. This document contains 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 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) 

____ 

Current OMB Special Instructions for Agencies Affected by a Possible Lapse in Appropriations Starting on October 1, 2025  — This 10-page document provides agencies with information on the following topics:

  • General: Agencies are told to review OPM and OMB guidance

  • Payroll Implications

  • Leave

  • Holidays

  • Orderly Shutdown

  • Excepted Employees

  • Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Reduction-in-Force (RIF), and similar workforce realignment situations

  • Probationary Employees

  • Simultaneous Reduction in Force in Process

____

Current OMB Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations, Dated October 3, 2025 — This document, released by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) lists various principles of agency operations during a government shutdown.

NOTE: The current October 2025 version inexplicably removes language from section “VI. Entitlement to Payment for Excepted Work” and Answer (page 16) that was in the previous OMB Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations, dated September 22, 2023 [PDF]. The previous September 2023 version explains the Goverment Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) was enacted and provides back pay to federal employees who are excepted from furlough and working during a shutdown as well as for federal employees who are furloughed during the shutdown. The language that was included in the September 2023 document but removed in the October 2025 document reads:

“The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-1) provides that upon enactment of appropriations to end a lapse, both furloughed and excepted employees will be paid retroactively as soon as possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates. Additional guidance for agencies on implementing Public Law 116-1 and treatment of pay and leave is available from OPM.” (Page 16 of OMB Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations, dated September 22, 2023 [PDF])

IFPTE asserts that any attempt by the Administration to circumvent or deny payment of wages to federal workers who are furloughed or excepted and without pay during the shutdown is wholly illegal. See IFPTE’s statement here.

The following topics are covered in the current October 2025 and previous September 2023 17-page documents:  

  • 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 who 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.  

 
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!

AFL-CIO STATE RESOURCES FOR SHUTDOWN-IMPACTED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS

  • State-by-State Resources

  • National Resources

  • Background and Research

  • Pending Legislation

TELL CONGRESS TO GET TO WORK AND PASS BIPARTISAN GOVERNMENT FUNDING

Tell Congress to pass a bipartisan Continuing Resolution (CR) to Stop the Shutdown. A government funding bill that is agreed to by Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate is the only way to make sure there are enough votes in the House of Representatives to advance the bill, pass it in the Senate, and stop the shutdown:  

  • Call House Speaker Mike Johnson at 202-225-4000 and put forward a continuing resolution that has the bipartisan support of Congressional leadership. 

  • Write a letter-to-the-editor to a newspaper or local online outlet such as patch.com and share your story with the public. 

Congress Needs Language in Funding Bills to Protect Government Funding from Unlawful Overreach

Without enforceable legislative safeguards, any 2026 funding deal risks being ignored or overturned, increasing the likelihood of a government shutdown. 

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.

Members can sign up here.

Timeline of Events Leading to Shutdown: 

Monday, September 15: President Trump tells Congressional Republicans, “don’t even bother dealing with them,” meaning Republicans should not negotiate with Democrats to craft a bipartisan CR (see Politico, “‘Don't even bother dealing with them,’ Trump says of Democrats’ shutdown demands,” 15 Sept 2025). 

While the House can pass a CR with a simple majority of Republicans, the Senate cannot pass a CR with just 53 Republicans and needs Democrats to get to 60 votes to advance the bill to the Senate floor.  

Tuesday, September 16: Republican leadership in the House of Representatives introduces H.R. 5371, “the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026,” on the House floor for a vote (Govexec, House GOP unveils 7-week stopgap funding bill, Dems say it makes shutdown more likely). 

This CR funds the federal government until November 21, 2025. 

House and Senate Republicans did not negotiate with their Democratic counterparts on the CR, despite repeated calls from Democratic leadership for a bipartisan CR. 

Wednesday, September 17: The Democrats’ short-term funding bill, H.R. 5450 and S .2882, "Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026,” is introduced. The legislation, sponsored by House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray, includes the following provisions that IFPTE has asked for and supports (House Appropriations Dems, “DeLauro, Murray Introduce Bill to Prevent a Republican Shutdown”). The bill includes: 

Language to limit the President and the Office of Management and Budget’s ability to implement unilateral budget cuts by implementing the President’s Budget Request.  

Language to prohibit mass terminations or furloughs while the government is funded under the CR. 

Provisions to protect NASA Science missions and NOAA funding and activities, as well as protections and restoration of other federal scientific research spending.  

Several provisions related to extending enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire on December 31, and reverse massive cuts to Medicaid that were included in the Republican budget reconciliation bill enacted in July 2025.  

Friday, September 19: House Republicans refuse to negotiate a bipartisan CR, H.R. 5371, and instead pass their CR in the morning on an almost completely party-line vote. The Republican CR is sent to the Senate and fail to receive the bipartisan support need to clear the 60 votes to proceed to a floor vote in the Senate. The Senate version of the Democratic CR also failed to receive 60 votes to proceed to a floor, making clear that negotiation is needed to reach a bipartisan CR. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson extends the Rosh Hashanah recess into Sept. 29 and 30, leaving the House with no time to work on a bipartisan CR in order to pressure Senate Democrats to accept their bill (CBS News, House-passed GOP funding bill fails in Senate, leaving path to avoid shutdown unclear). 

Saturday, September 20:  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) request a meeting with President Trump after efforts to engage with their Republican leadership counterparts, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, are met with silence (NPR, Top Democrats ask for a meeting with Trump ahead of government shutdown).  

Tuesday, September 23: Soon after President Trump announced that he would meet with Senate Minority Leader Schumer and House Minority Leader Jeffries to discuss a path to avoiding a shutdown and negotiating a bipartisan short-term funding bill, the President canceled the meeting. The meeting with the President and Congressional Democratic leadership was a critical step to avoiding a shutdown because House Speaker Mike Johnson is taking directions from the President. (Axios, Trump cancels meeting with top Democrats as shutdown looms) 

Wednesday, September 24: Russel Vought, Director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and one of the lead architects of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, issued a memo telling “agencies are directed to use this opportunity to consider Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs) that satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) discretionary funding lapses on October 1, 2025; (2) another source of funding, such as H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) is not currently available; and (3) the PPA is not consistent with the President’s priorities.” This threat to wreck the federal government during a shutdown has been widely condemned by IFPTE and other labor unions, by lawmakers, and by good governance organizations, While RIFs in the federal government are governed by rules and processes that takes 30 to 60 days to initiate, the threat reveals the need for Congressional legislation to affirm that the President, OMB, and federal agencies must not overstep Congress’s authority and intent (GovExec, Agencies should prep for mass layoffs if shutdown occurs, White House says).  Read OMB Director Vought’s memo to federal agencies[PDF].

Monday, September 29: With less than 18 hours left to avoid a government shutdown, President Trump met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. With no progrss towards an agreement, Vice President Vance tells reporters that “we’re headed to a shutdown.”