When Congress fails to pass appropriations or a continuing resolution, parts of the federal government must shut down operations that are funded by discretionary spending. In practice, this means many federal jobs are disrupted—some workers are furloughed (put on temporary unpaid leave), others must keep working without pay, and a small number continue to be paid because their roles are funded outside the appropriations process.
Jobs affected during a shutdown
A wide variety of federal roles can be affected, depending on each agency’s contingency plan:
Non-essential (non-excepted) staff across many agencies are typically furloughed. These include administrative staff, regulatory inspectors, grant program officers, research staff in discretionary programs, many regional and field offices of federal agencies, and support services.
Contractors working for the government are often cut off: many contract tasks pause, and contractors generally are not guaranteed back pay.
In some agencies, essential services continue—such as law enforcement, border security, air traffic control, TSA, FBI agents, certain health and safety functions. Those workers are classified as “excepted” or “essential” and must remain on duty, often without pay until funding is restored.
Military personnel continue to serve during a shutdown, but their pay may be delayed unless covered by special provisions.
Courts will often try to maintain operations supporting constitutionally required functions. Some court staff are excepted and must work; others are furloughed.
Members of Congress have constitutional protections for their pay (so they continue to be paid), but many of their staff may face furloughs depending on whether funding for legislative branch operations is available.
During a shutdown, thousands of federal positions across agencies like the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Education, EPA, and Transportation are often curtailed or suspended. In recent forecasts, agencies expect furloughing large shares of their workforce.
Aviation and airport operations are particularly stressed. While air traffic controllers and TSA agents must continue working, many supporting functions may be suspended.
Who gets paid (and when)
Pay during a shutdown depends on the classification of the employee and on special legal protections:
Furloughed employees: those who are non-essential and told not to report to work receive no pay during the shutdown. However, under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, these employees are guaranteed retroactive pay once the shutdown ends.
Excepted (essential) employees: these workers must continue working during the shutdown (because their roles protect life or property, or are otherwise critical). But they also do not receive pay during the shutdown; they get paid retroactively after the shutdown concludes.
Exempt employees: In rare cases, some federal roles are funded by sources other than annual appropriations (for example, special trust funds or user fees). These roles may continue to be paid as usual, since they don’t rely on the appropriations Congress must pass.
Members of Congress, the President, and Federal judges: their pay is protected by other parts of the Constitution and by law. Congressional salaries do not derive from annual appropriations subject to shutdowns, so lawmakers keep getting paid even when many federal employees do not.
Contractors: generally, private-sector contractors working under federal contracts are not covered by the back-pay guarantees. Whether they are paid during or after depends on the terms of their contracts and decisions by their employer or agency.
