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2019 United States federal law
The federal rules that define which employees are designated as , , or subject to during a lapse in appropriations rest on the Antideficiency Act, implementing guidance from the Office of Personnel Ma...
When Congress fails to pass appropriations, the Antideficiency Act forces agencies to stop most work but allows narrowly defined exceptions: activities necessary to protect human life or property, fun...
The Antideficiency Act bars federal agencies from obligating or spending funds absent congressional appropriations, forcing agencies to suspend non‑authorized activities and either furlough employees ...
Essential federal employees are required to continue performing duties during funding lapses, often working without immediate pay but protected by law to receive once appropriations resume; courts and...
Back pay for furloughed federal workers is governed by the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which furloughed and excepted employees to retroactive pay for time lost during an appropriat...
Essential federal employees who are classified as “excepted” can be required to work during a lapse in appropriations and have in practice worked , with the law guaranteeing rather than a statutory ca...
Active-duty military members are not absolutely guaranteed immediate pay during a federal government shutdown; federal law and past practice have produced a mix of automatic retroactive-pay rules and ...
There is no published, authoritative figure for the *average* back pay that ICE agents receive after a government shutdown; federal law guarantees retroactive pay but the amount varies by individual p...
A position is designated during a federal shutdown when the work it performs is legally permitted to continue despite a lapse in annual appropriations—most commonly tasks that involve the , or other s...
Federal employees furloughed during a lapse in appropriations are entitled to retroactive pay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has...
ICE agents are required to continue essential operations during a federal shutdown and, under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, are entitled to once appropriations resume, according ...
Yes — who are furloughed (prohibited from working during a lapse in appropriations) do not receive paychecks while the shutdown is underway, but by law and long-standing practice most are paid retroac...
Members of Congress generally continue to receive pay during a lapse in appropriations because a , while the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 requires retroactive pay for federal employe...
Federal law—the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019— for federal employees furloughed by a lapse in appropriations, but recent executive-branch actions and ambiguous implementation have pro...
Federal employees during the 2025 shutdown were either furloughed or ordered to work without pay; federal law—the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019—requires retroactive pay for both furlo...
A government shutdown directly affects congressional staff by forcing offices to designate employees as who continue working without immediate pay or to furlough others who are placed on unpaid leave ...
The 2018–2019 federal government shutdown forced active-duty military members to perform their duties without timely pay while retirees and Survivor Benefit Plan recipients continued to receive schedu...
Congressional practice and a 2019 law—the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act—have long been treated as the basis for retroactive pay to federal employees affected by shutdowns, covering both furlo...
IRS and other federal agencies have sent mixed signals during the 2025 shutdown about whether furloughed employees will receive guaranteed back pay; the IRS initially told employees they were statutor...
Federal employees are entitled to under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, and multiple news and agency analyses conclude that agencies will issue missed wages once funding is restore...