Flickr user M. Trubee/NCPA Photos

See Who Would Get Furloughed in a 2017 Shutdown

This chart details the updated furlough rates at each federal agency.

A slew of federal agencies for the first time since 2015 have updated their shutdown contingency plans, noting who would continue to work and who would get sent home in the event Congress fails to reach a budget deal just before Christmas.

Before President Trump on Dec. 8 signed a stopgap measure to stave off a shutdown for two additional weeks, White House officials warned agencies during a phone call led by the Office of Management and Budget they should begin preparing for a lapse in appropriations. Lawmakers now have through Dec. 22 to pass a measure to keep agencies open. Another OMB-led phone call will likely take place before the new deadline. 

An update to OMB guidance during the Obama administration required agencies to refresh their shutdown plans at least every two years starting in 2015. Nearly all agencies updated their documents spelling out who would or would not be furloughed in September of that year, but—until recently—agencies had not updated their plans this year. As of Monday, 56 agencies submitted their updated shutdown guidance to OMB detailing who they would furlough under a 2017 appropriations lapse.

The plans vary significantly from agency to agency. The Veterans Affairs Department, for example, would furlough just 4.2 percent of 377,000 employees, while the Housing and Urban Development Department would furlough more than 96 percent of its 7,800-person workforce. The National Labor Relations Board would require just 10 of its 1,600 employees to work through a shutdown.

Some agencies would experience a shutdown in vastly different ways among their components. At the Commerce Department, the Census Bureau would furlough 99.9 percent of its workers, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would have more than half of its employees working. Agency overseers would also have varying roles. The Interior Department would furlough its entire inspector general’s office, while the Treasury Department would retain 15 percent of its watchdog employees.

Most agencies’ guidance differed little from their 2015 plans. The Federal Communications Commission would see the biggest jump, furloughing nearly 6 percent fewer employees this year. The Small Business Administration would send home an additional 3 percent of its workforce without pay. Some agencies, such as the State Department, have updated their plans but have not spelled out exactly who would be furloughed. During the 16-day shutdown in 2013, State sent home just a few hundred of its 70,000 employees, but warned it would have had to add thousands to that list if the government had remained closed much longer.

Below is a chart detailing the furlough rates of every agency with more than 1,000 employees that has so far submitted updated shutdown plans. This story will be updated as more plans come in.

Under the Anti-Deficiency Act, guidance from the Reagan administration’s Justice Department and subsequent instructions from OMB, agencies can keep employees on board during a shutdown for a few reasons. Those employees by and large must either be necessary to protect human life or property or receive a salary from sources other than annual appropriations. Employees working during a shutdown do not receive their normal paychecks but are guaranteed back pay. Furloughed employees are sent home without any promise of pay, but Congress has historically acted to pay federal workers for the time they were forced to miss.

It is still unclear what the total furlough rate would be if the government were to shut down this year. All told, the Obama administration planned to furlough about 860,000 federal employees in 2015, or about 40 percent of the workforce. An OMB spokesman previously declined to comment on whether the Trump administration has pushed for the updated agency plans required by the guidance, saying only that it would post the plans as it receives them.

Sign up for GovExec newsletters and alerts and download our app to stay informed.

(Image via Flickr user M. Trubee/NCPA Photos)

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.