Question: What happens to federal employees during a shutdown?
Answer: Well, despite the last-minute hysterics, Congress managed to avoid playing the Grinch by averting a government shutdown over the holidays. But these dramas are becoming an all-too common affair, and thus deserve a bit more explanation. Especially, since a shutdown most directly impacts the paychecks of millions of federal employees, including U.S. military.
The U.S. Government is funded by the taxpayers (and by borrowing) based on a series of appropriations (bills) passed by Congress each year. I have written about this process in the past, but the short version is that under the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Clause 7), “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” So, if no appropriations get passed, the federal government must, at least partially, shutdown.
There are 12 appropriations bills that must pass each year and since members of Congress are sharply divided, this is increasingly difficult. Our government is often funded by a continuing resolution, or CR, which basically maintains the current funding while kicking the proverbial can down the road. But, sometimes Congress becomes so divided that it cannot even pass a CR. That’s when a shutdown happens.
Opinion: Why we have government shutdowns
What happens during a shutdown is governed by the 1884 law titled the Anti-Deficiency Act, which has received a more modern interpretation. The implications and process of a shutdown are fairly complex, and much depends on how a particular government agency is funded and whether an employee or agency are characterized as “essential”. But for agencies that are funded normally through the appropriations process and are not otherwise exempt or excepted, they must stop most activities and services, close down non-essential operations, and furlough non-essential workers.
The government may only retain essential employees in departments covering the safety of human life or protection of property, or those which are otherwise “authorized by law.” So, what happens to federal workers can depend on the job, the agency and existing statutes. Each agency has a shutdown plan that is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which sets out the process and the rules for a shutdown. Each agency has a plan made by top management and legal counsel to determine what roles or jobs are essential, and which are not. Some government entities are entirely exempt from this process. The President and the Vice President cannot be furloughed, nor can the Senate, House of Representatives, congressional committees or the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.
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For workers who are not exempt or excepted, the process can be very difficult. Furloughed workers are not paid for the length of the shutdown and not entitled to retroactive pay, though Congress can and regularly does give back pay for the missing time. However, that does mean many federal workers will have to be without pay for the duration of the shutdown as well as live with the uncertainty about when, and even if their paycheck will come.
However, one federal employee has a particularly safe income. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution mandates that the President’s salary cannot be reduced while he or she is in office. This essentially means that the President must be paid, even during a shutdown.
Kevin Wagner
Kevin Wagner is a noted constitutional scholar, political science professor and Co-Director of the PolCom Lab at Florida Atlantic University. The answers provided do not necessarily represent the views of the university. If you have a question about how American government and politics work, email him at kwagne15@fau.edu or reach him on X (formerly Twitter) @kevinwagnerphd.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What happens to federal employees during a shutdown? | Opinion
