With a partial authorities shutdown underway, the Workplace of Personnel Administration has up to date its shutdown steering to take away references to the assure of again pay for furloughed federal staff as soon as a funding lapse ends.
OPM’s earlier shutdown steering from September 2025 acknowledged that furloughed staff will receives a commission as soon as a lapse in appropriations ends, on the earliest date potential. The September steering additionally referenced the 2019 Authorities Worker Truthful Therapy Act (GEFTA), a legislation meant to make sure retroactive compensation for each excepted and furloughed federal staff throughout authorities shutdowns.
After President Donald Trump signed GEFTA into legislation in 2019 throughout his first time period, each OPM and the Workplace of Administration and Funds affirmed that excepted and furloughed staff can be given again pay as quickly as potential, as soon as any present or future shutdown ends.
However throughout final fall’s authorities shutdown, OMB officers backtracked on the assure of again pay for furloughed staff. Nonetheless, the spending deal that Congress handed to finish the earlier shutdown in November 2025 ensured that each furloughed and excepted federal staff can be retroactively compensated.
OPM’s newer replace to its shutdown steering in January, nevertheless, revised a number of sections to take away references to again pay for furloughed staff, together with in sections on federal retirement, medical health insurance and unemployment advantages. OPM’s steering now states that “Congress will decide by way of laws whether or not furloughed staff obtain pay for furlough durations.”
The newly revised shutdown steering additionally eliminated sections explaining the pay charges for each furloughed and intermittent federal staff. Language stating that “an worker is entitled to obtain his or her price of primary pay for the furlough time to the extent that she or he would have been in a primary pay standing however for the lapse in appropriations” not seems within the OPM doc.
Moreover, steering beforehand clarifying that there might be no impact on the accrual of annual and sick go away for furloughed staff was eliminated as a part of OPM’s replace. The brand new steering additionally not accommodates references to reductions in power (RIFs), which have been initially added throughout the shutdown final fall.
An OPM spokesperson referred all questions on the modifications to the shutdown steering to OMB. OMB didn’t instantly reply to Federal Information Community’s request for remark.
OMB lately made some modifications to its personal shutdown steering, which now states that furloughed staff will obtain retroactive pay “when particular appropriations for such funds are enacted.”
Together with the revisions concerning furloughed staff, OPM added a brand new part on “efficiency and conduct” to its steering, telling businesses they’re allowed to take performance-based opposed actions towards staff throughout a shutdown, so long as the motion is set to be exempt or excepted. OPM stated deciding whether or not to take opposed actions throughout a shutdown ought to be made on a case-by-case foundation.
“Businesses ought to take into account the distinctive circumstances surrounding every state of affairs, presidential priorities, the company’s mission, and Workplace of Administration and Funds shutdown furlough steering,” OPM wrote within the January steering. “An opposed motion may probably be an excepted exercise the place an worker’s efficiency or conduct instantly threatens life, property, or an ongoing exempt or excepted exercise. In different circumstances — for instance, the place the topic worker has demonstrated a protracted sample of poor efficiency that’s not impacting or stopping the company from finishing up excepted actions — it’s much less doubtless that taking such an motion would qualify as an excepted exercise.”
A partial authorities shutdown started final week, impacting staff at some govt department businesses. The Senate on Friday authorized a spending bundle based mostly on a compromise reached between Trump and congressional Democrats over funding for the Division of Homeland Safety. The Home is predicted to vote on the group of appropriations payments on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) stated Home Republicans mustn’t depend on Home Democrats to move the spending deal. However Home Appropriations Committee Rating Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) stated Monday that she plans to vote in favor of the spending bundle.
“We have to take these subsequent 10 days to work to radically reform ICE,” DeLauro stated at a Home Guidelines Committee listening to on the spending deal.
Home Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) stated throughout the listening to that “funding these missions isn’t elective.”
“We are able to take the amended invoice, or we are able to go away it. My view is that we should always take it,” Cole stated.
Impacted staff notified of furlough standing
Federal staff at businesses impacted by the partial shutdown have been notified of their furlough standing. Federal staff impacted by a authorities shutdown are sometimes given as much as 4 hours to hold out commonplace shutdown actions.
The State Division notified staff about their standing final Friday, however instructed all staff to indicate as much as work on Monday, no matter their designation.
“At this time, you need to have obtained a message offering you together with your particular person standing, noting whether or not you might be in an excepted or non-excepted place. Nevertheless, right now, I’m directing all personnel, no matter whether or not you might be excepted or not, to report back to work in your subsequent scheduled workday as regular,” the division’s Beneath Secretary for Administration Jason Evans informed staff in a Jan. 31 memo.
A majority of State Division personnel — about 62% of its workforce — are “excepted,” that means they work with out pay throughout a authorities shutdown, however sometimes obtain again pay as soon as the shutdown ends.
Evans informed staff that the Trump administration “continues to work intently with Congress on appropriations for FY 2026,” and that his workplace would offer one other replace on Monday concerning “orderly shutdown plans, if wanted.”
A State Division worker informed Federal Information Community that company management is directing administration “to be liberal about figuring out what work ought to proceed.” The worker stated the division, against this, “very strictly construed” what work was allowed to proceed throughout final 12 months’s document shutdown.
Throughout final 12 months’s 43-day shutdown, the State Division directed passport providers staff to maintain working with out pay, though this a part of the company is fee-funded and may usually pay employees on time throughout a lapse in congressional funding.
A State Division spokesperson declined to remark.
The Training Division has furloughed about 87% of its workforce, in line with its contingency plans from final 12 months.
Rachel Gittleman, president of American Federation of Authorities Workers Native 252, stated in a press release that the division’s work is now largely “on maintain,” and that staff are both furloughed or working with out pay.
“The hardworking public servants on the Division will as soon as once more not obtain paychecks as a result of they’re both furloughed or working with out pay,” Gittleman stated. “This comes practically three months after the top of the historic 43-day shutdown, which compelled a few of our members to borrow cash or use public help to place meals on the desk.”
If you want to contact these reporters about latest modifications within the federal authorities, please e-mail drew.friedman@federalnewsnetwork.com and jheckman@federalnewsnetwork.com. They may also be reached on Sign at drewfriedman.11 and jheckman.29
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