Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown

As of Tuesday, lawmakers and the White House had just three days to reach a deal to avert a government shutdown, with the current continuing resolution set to expire Friday at midnight.

The House passed a measure in a 217-213 vote Tuesday that would fund the government through September. But the bill is unlikely to attract Democratic support in the Senate, due to provisions that could grant the Trump administration flexibility to continue its efforts to unilaterally revoke and redirect money for federal programs, increasing the likelihood of a lapse in appropriations this weekend.

Here’s what federal employees can expect in terms of pay and benefits if the government shutters, based on guidance from the Office of Personnel Management last updated in 2021 to incorporate changes signed into law following the 35-day partial government shutdown that began in late 2018.

Salaries: Neither furloughed federal workers nor those deemed essential and forced to work during a shutdown will be paid during a shutdown. But thanks to a 2019 law signed as part of the deal to end the 35-day shutdown during President Trump’s first term, all federal workers will be automatically granted back pay once funding has been restored. In previous lapses in appropriations, Congress needed to approve back pay for furloughed workers following each shutdown.

Similarly, employees who worked overtime during the shutdown will be granted premium pay, though not until after the government reopens.

According to the General Services Administration’s calendar of pay periods, the most recent biweekly pay period ended March 8, meaning federal workers should receive their paychecks this week as scheduled. The first date on which most feds feel the effects of the shutdown on their pocketbook would be during the week of March 24, when the next biweekly paycheck is slated to go out.

Bonuses: Agencies may award performance bonuses during a shutdown, but those awards will not be paid until after funding is restored.

Unemployment: Federal employees who are furloughed are eligible to file for unemployment benefits in some states, but in many cases, they must return the money once they receive back pay after the lapse in appropriations has ended.

Health care: Furloughed federal workers will maintain their coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program during a lapse in appropriations. Premiums will accrue over the course of a shutdown, but will then be deducted from employees’ first paychecks after agency funding has been restored.

Additionally, Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program enrollees also will maintain their coverage, with premiums similarly being automatically deducted from their first post-shutdown paychecks. Prior to the 2018-2019 shutdown, these benefits were at risk of lapsing for nonpayment under an extended lapse in appropriations.

Another change stemming from the shutdown during Trump’s first term is OPM’s 2020 designation of federal HR workers essential for the purposes of processing FEHBP enrollment decisions. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, federal workers who had qualifying life events, such as getting married or having a child, found themselves unable to add those new family members to their insurance coverage.

Retirement benefits: Federal retirees enrolled in both the Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System will still receive their scheduled annuity payments during a shutdown. Contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan will be halted until the government reopens, though the agency that administers the program, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, is funded through employee contributions, not appropriations, and will remain on the job during any lapse.

Leave: Federal workers cannot substitute leave or unpaid furloughs when the government shuts down. Previously scheduled leave that occurs during a lapse in appropriations will be cancelled, though agencies may excuse excepted employees from duty and place them in a furlough status for the time they planned to be out.