Still digging out from the last shutdown, DHS employees brace for more delayed pay

While the Homeland Security Department is shut down, the vast majority of employees—about 92%—are still reporting to work. In some cases, however, workers are finding creative solutions to get out of their regular duties and save money while their paychecks hang in the balance. 

“My unit is rotating voluntary furlough days,” said one DHS staffer. 

Workers in that office are taking turns to take time off work, which, during a shutdown, entails being placed in an unpaid furlough status. 

“[We] conserve finances by not commuting, since we're only allowed to telework in emergency situations,” the employee said, noting some employees in the unit commute 80 miles per day and are therefore seeing significant savings on gas when they do not go to work. The employees who accept the furloughs have used the time to schedule medical appointments, handle errands or tackle home projects. 

Funding for DHS lapsed Feb. 14 after congressional Democrats and the White House failed to reach an agreement on reforms to President Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown. Most of DHS is still working because their jobs are necessary to protect life or property, but their paychecks will be delayed until Congress approves appropriations for the department. Those accepting voluntary furloughs are taking a risk, as the White House has treated back pay for furloughed workers as non-guaranteed. Congress has approved retroactive compensation in both of the two shutdowns this fiscal year, however, reaffirming a guarantee it passed into law for all future shutdowns in 2019. 

The third shutdown of the year—which is impacting only DHS, as every other federal agency is funded through Septemeber—is taking its toll on the department’s employees. 

“I did not dig out from the last shutdown” before this one began, said a civilian U.S. Coast Guard employee who is once again working without pay. 

They received a no-interest loan from Coast Guard Mutual Assistance during last year’s 43-day funding lapse, without which “I wouldn’t have been able to make it.” The employee still has multiple payments left on the loan. 

“I’m struggling,” they said. “I’m not going to paint a picture that I’m OK financially.” 

Their biggest concerns, the Coast Guard worker said, was that they now know certain creditors will not be flexible, adding they will have to be vigilant with those institutions. In the previous shutdown, the before and after school care for the employee's child waived all fees. The facility does not plan to do so this time around, but is providing some flexibility on the payment schedule. 

Friends and family have already reached out to offer help with groceries and other necessities. In the office, however, longstanding and pervasive issues are harder to address. The employee’s office is still doling out contract funds under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But the trio of shutdowns is “killing diminishing morale” and that impact is making it difficult to get work done, they said. 

“We’re still working as if we’re not shut down,” the civilian worker said. “It’s very weird.”

The Trump administration has excoriated congressional Democrats for declining to approve DHS funding, suggesting it is having significant impacts on employees and agency operations alike. 

“Now we have [Federal Emergency Management Agency] workers, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard, the men and women of [the Transportation Security Administration], who keep our airports moving, who will be working without paychecks for no good reason other than the Democrats wanting to pick a fight with Donald Trump, and the president thinks that is irresponsible and despicable,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

FEMA is currently pursuing efforts to shed about half of its workforce. 

DHS officials told lawmakers at a hearing last week that a shutdown would hurt recruiting, damage morale and stymie long-term planning and projects. The Coast Guard is curtailing training and grounding some aircraft, while TSA’s leaders warned of delays at airports. FEMA will struggle to make payments for long-term recovery efforts, while the Secret Service is pausing reforms that are currently underway. Congress returns from recess next week, but negotiators have not announced any progress in reaching a deal to fund the department. 

Most DHS employees will not miss a full paycheck until the beginning of March. Craig Carter, president of the Federal Managers Association, said the impacts are already being felt across the DHS workforce. 

“Federal employees at the Department of Homeland Security are once again working without pay and must endure uncertainty on their budgets for the fiscal year,” Carter said. “This is an unacceptable way to treat these dedicated feds who do so much to provide for our fellow Americans.”

Lawmakers had reached a bipartisan agreement to fund DHS before department personnel fatally shot Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs Department nurse protesting Immigration and Customs and Enforcement actions in Minnesota, and Democrats made new demands to change the department’s policies. To the Coast Guard civilian, that makes their current sacrifice a worthy one. 

“If I have to go a month or a month and a half because more measures are put in place to ensure people aren’t murdered in the street, I’m ok with that,” they said. “What if it were my kid, or my relative, or my coworker?”