Timeline: These Deadlines Could Affect Your Pay, Job Security

A number of crucial government deadlines that could affect federal employees’ pay and job security are fast approaching, and lawmakers will have their work cut out for them when they return from recess on Sept. 5.

Contentious battles over fiscal 2018 spending bills and the debt ceiling hike will likely last through most of September, and their outcomes could have significant repercussions for the federal workforce. If there is a gap in agency funding at the end of the fiscal year, employees deemed non-essential will be furloughed and won’t be guaranteed a paycheck when they return to work. Even essential employees won’t be paid on time.

Even off of Capitol Hill, decisions will be made that affect federal employees’ livelihoods. Agencies must, for instance, finalize plans for cutting their workforces and improving efficiency by Sept. 30.

Here’s a timeline detailing the crucial dates and events federal employees should keep an eye on in the coming weeks.