Hundreds of thousands of workers may be impacted by furloughs if government shutdown occurs

The likelihood of a government shutdown continues to loom as Sunday's deadline for Congress to agree on a federal budget draws closer.

Facing the possibility of the first shutdown since 2019, millions of Americans are bracing for disruptions in services ranging from TSA and air traffic control to delays in WIC and SNAP benefits.

Among those poised to take the hardest hits are employees of the federal government itself, a workforce over four million people. If politicians fail to reach an agreement by 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, hundreds of thousands of these employees may either find themselves out of work for an unknown amount of time or may be expected to continue reporting to duty without pay.

During the last shutdown, roughly 800,000 employees were affected by furloughs of some kind, causing hardship for many. This time around, the ripple effect may extend even further, resulting in an even larger number of furloughed workers.

What exactly is a furlough and how does it differ from other forms of leave? Are furloughed workers ever paid? Here's a brief look at what the government shutdown would entail for federal employees.

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What is a furlough?

A furlough is a temporary leave of absence imposed by an employer, typically due to economic hardship, company expenses outpacing revenue or a lack of work. Affected employees are required to take time off work on a temporary basis, sometimes without pay.

Furloughs can come in the form of reduced hours of work per day, fewer days of work per week or month or no work at all for extended periods of time. Furloughed employees are technically still employed and therefore do not qualify for things like severance pay but may be able to get temporary work elsewhere during their leave, depending on state rules and company policies.

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How are furloughs different from layoffs?

A furlough is a form of temporary leave, meaning employees keep their positions and are eventually expected to return to work. Furloughed employees often keep their benefits during the leave period.

A layoff refers to the permanent termination of an employee or employees for economic or business reasons. Generally, layoffs happen with groups of workers for reasons such as downsizing, cost cutting or lack of work.

Losing work temporarily by a furlough or permanently by layoff both differ from being fired, which entails employee wrongdoing as cause for termination. Furloughs and layoffs occur with no fault of the employees but are instead imposed by employers.

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What government workers would be furloughed?

Employees working for agencies funded by appropriations determined by Congress will be impacted. Those who have not already had a budget approved when the shutdown occurs are required to close, though some services and workers considered to be essential will continue operating.

Agencies that may close or reduce services include:

• TSA and air traffic control
• Federal law enforcement and active-duty military
• National parks and visitor centers
• Smithsonian museums, zoos and other attractions
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and other government assistance programs such as Head Start and federally funded preschools, though Social Security and Medicare benefits will not be disrupted
• Federal student loan servicers

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Do furloughed employees get paid?

While some furloughed employees do continue to receive pay depending on state and company policy, federal employees do not receive pay during a government shutdown.

During a shutdown, agencies that receive funding from the federal government who have not yet had budgets approved by Congress are required to close, placing employees on “shutdown furlough." They are not entitled to use vacation days or other paid time off to supplement the unpaid time.

Employees who are considered essential continue to work, though without pay. Likewise, federal contractors, or people not employed full time by the federal government but who make an agreement to do a specific job, will also not be paid.

The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act passed in 2019 requires impacted federal employees receive backpay and leave accrued during a shutdown. It also ensures employees who are required to continue working during the shutdown are able to take already scheduled leave without penalty. However, these protections do not extend to contractors.

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When was the last government shutdown and how many workers were furloughed then?

The last shutdown happened in Late December 2018 and lasted 35 days into January 2019, impacting roughly 800,000 of the 2.1 million workers employed by the federal government at the time. Of the 800,000 affected, 380,000 were furloughed while the rest continued to report for work.

When that shutdown occurred, Congress had already appropriated funds for some agencies, which allowed those agencies to continue operating as normal.

Do furloughed workers get benefits?

Yes, benefits including health insurance remain active for furloughed employees, even during the shutdown.

Those who have employee contributions to their health coverage automatically deducted from paychecks will be charged for the unpaid amount accumulated during the shutdown for up to a year. This total is subtracted from their backpay when they are once again receiving paychecks.

Retroactive payments also apply to retirement benefits and are also pulled from backpay issued to the employee upon returning to paid status.