Yes, an employee may use government equipment for reasons such as:

• Accessing their personal employee records;
• Completing a background investigation;
• Checking the status of the shutdown furlough;
• Checking for any Reduction in Force (RIF) updates, or providing additional RIF information;
• Updating personal contact information;
• Completing or submitting Federal Employee Health Benefit changes; and
• Completing or submitting a retirement application.

In the context of shutdown furloughs, the term “excepted” is used broadly to refer to employees whose work is funded through annual appropriations but who are not furloughed because they are performing tasks that, by law, are allowed to continue during a lapse in appropriations. Those tasks are referred to as “excepted work.” Such tasks may include emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property or the performance of certain other types of “excepted work activities” as defined in DOJ and OMB guidance. In addition to emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, work performed “by necessary implication” as described in DOJ and OMB guidance is considered to be excepted work. For example, an employee’s performance of authorized orderly shutdown activities (as described in OMB and DOJ guidance) is considered excepted work. In addition, work necessary to implement a funded function, where the suspension of such work during the lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of the terms of the applicable statutory authorization or appropriation is considered “excepted work” (e.g., cutting the checks for a benefit program for which funding remains available during the lapse and from which the law requires payments to be made). Agency legal counsel, working with senior agency managers, determine which employees are designated to be handling “excepted” and “non-excepted” functions. (See Shutdown Furlough Guidance for copies of the applicable OMB and DOJ issuances, which provide guidance on the application of these criteria.) An employee may be required to perform excepted work activities during part of a lapse period and furloughed for the rest of the time. The use of paid leave is also permissible in certain situations, if taken pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(3). (See Questions D.1a. and F.2. for more information.) (Note: Presidential appointees who are not covered by the leave system in 5 U.S.C. chapter 63 are not “excepted” as discussed above. However, they are not subject to furlough because their salary is an obligation incurred by the year, without consideration of hours of duty required, so they cannot be placed in a nonduty, nonpay status.)

Employees are “exempt” from furlough if they are not affected by a lapse in appropriations. This includes employees whose functions are not funded by annually appropriated funds. Employees performing those functions will generally continue to be governed by the normal pay, leave, and other civil service rules.

Each agency will determine the method and timing of notifying employees of whether their work has been determined to be excepted.

No. Unless otherwise authorized by law, an agency may not accept the voluntary services of an employee. (See 31 U.S.C. 1342.)

While on furlough, an individual remains an employee of the Federal Government. Therefore, executive branch-wide standards of ethical conduct and rules regarding outside employment continue to apply when an individual is furloughed (specifically, the executive branch-wide standards of ethical conduct (the standards), at 5 CFR part 2635). In addition, there are specific statutes which prohibit certain outside activities, and agency-specific supplemental rules that require prior approval of, and sometimes prohibit, outside employment. Therefore, before engaging in outside employment, employees should review these regulations and then consult their agency ethics official to learn if there are any agency-specific supplemental rules governing the employee.

If so, when will excepted employees receive such payments? A. Yes. After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were required to perform excepted work during the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those work periods. (See 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2).) Retroactive pay is provided at the employee’s “standard rate of pay.” If the retroactive pay cannot be provided on the normal pay date for the given pay period, it must be provided at the earliest date possible after the lapse ends. (Note: Presidential appointees who are not covered by the leave system in 5 U.S.C. chapter 63 are not subject to furlough, but are also barred from receiving pay during a lapse in appropriations. These Presidential appointees will be paid after the lapse in appropriations has ended. See Question B.6.)

Yes. After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were furloughed as the result of the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those furlough periods. (See 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2).) Retroactive pay will be provided on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates. (See 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2).) If retroactive pay cannot be provided by the normal pay date for the given pay period, it will be provided as soon as possible thereafter. Retroactive pay is provided at the employee’s “standard rate of pay.” (See Question D.4. Note that retroactive pay may be zero if an employee was scheduled (before the lapse took effect) to be in a nonpay status during the period when the lapse was in effect.)

Yes. Although the payroll for the last pay period before the lapse will be processed potentially during the lapse, the minimum number of payroll staff necessary for this process will be excepted for the minimum time required to issue the checks, including checks for the last pay period before the lapse. (See OMB M-96-01, Planning for Agency Operations (Nov. 9, 1995); and OMB, Bulletin No. 80-14, Shutdown of Agency Operations Upon Failure by the Congress to Enact Appropriations (Aug. 28, 1980).)

Agencies will follow the guidance on the order of precedence for applying deductions from the pay of their civilian employees when gross pay is insufficient to cover all authorized deductions.

Employees should consult their agency or payroll provider for information on how missed allotment deductions will be handled. Employees may want to review their allotments to determine whether they need to make alternative arrangements (e.g., if using allotments to pay loans, alimony, etc.). Any allotment for dues to a labor organization previously designated by an employee and which was deferred by the agency or payroll provider during the lapse in appropriations because the employee’s pay was insufficient to cover the dues allotment deduction would be taken from retroactive pay when the lapse in appropriations ends.

No, a furloughed employee may not use previously approved paid time off during a lapse in appropriations. Consistent with the Constitution, the Antideficiency Act does not allow authorization of any expenditure before an appropriation is made. Also, the Antideficiency Act does not allow the Government to incur budgetary obligations before an appropriation is made—unless authorized by law (31 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1)(B)). Based on law and OMB and DOJ guidance, certain types of obligations (but not expenditures) are allowed during a lapse in appropriations. The use of previously approved paid time off during a lapse in appropriations would create an obligation or a debt owed by the Government that is not authorized by the Antideficiency Act or other law during a lapse (except under a special provision for excepted employees in 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(3)), and is thus prohibited. (See Question F.2. regarding paid time off for excepted employees.)

Agencies will continue to process FEHB and FEGLI transactions during a lapse in appropriations. Employees responsible for processing FEHB or FEGLI transactions must be excepted to perform this work because the law designates the processing of these transactions as emergency services that must continue under the Antideficiency Act. (See 5 U.S.C. 8702(d), 8905(i); 5 CFR 870.106, 890.113.) 30 Federal Employees Health Benefits Program—General 2.

No. Your coverage will not be impacted by the shutdown.

Yes. The employee’s FEHB coverage will continue even if an agency does not make the premium payments on time. Following the lapse, each employee who returns to pay status will automatically begin to repay their share of FEHB premium that accumulated during the lapse through payroll withholding. If FEHB premiums are not withheld from retroactive pay, one additional payment in addition to the current pay period amount will be withheld in each subsequent pay period until the employee’s accumulated share of premiums have been paid.

The employee can maintain their FEGLI coverage for up to 12 months in a nonpay status. When the lapse ends, the employee will receive retroactive pay under 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2) and retroactive FEGLI premiums may be withheld from that pay. If FEGLI premiums are not withheld from retroactive pay, no more than one additional payment will be withheld in each subsequent pay period until all premiums have been paid.

For employees who, on or before the requested retirement date, submitted some notice of their desire to retire, agencies should, when the lapse in appropriations ends, make the retirement effective as of the date requested. The retirement request may be informal (such as a letter requesting retirement), and can be either mailed or personally submitted to the agency. Any additional required paperwork, such as the formal retirement application form, may be completed when the agency reopens. No time spent by the retiree in such actions after the effective date of the retirement may be considered as duty time, since the individual would no longer be an employee of the agency.

No. The employee’s retirement would be retroactively applied to a date prior to the end of the leave year, and the employee would receive the full amount of accumulated and accrued annual leave in a lump-sum payment.