Shutdown furlough definition
A shutdown furlough happens when Congress doesn’t pass funding, forcing agencies to stop non‑excepted work. Staff funded elsewhere may keep working.
A shutdown furlough happens when there is a lapse in annual appropriations — funding approved by Congress. Shutdown furloughs can happen at the beginning of a fiscal year if no funds have been appropriated, or after expiration of a continuing resolution (CR), if Congress has not passed a new CR or appropriations law.
In a shutdown furlough, the affected agency has to stop any activities funded by annual appropriations that are not excepted by law. Employees paid by other non-lapsed sources of funding may be exempt from a shutdown furlough.
Who authorizes a shutdown furlough?
Shutdown furloughs generally are triggered by the Antideficiency Act. This law prohibits agencies from accepting voluntary services and employing people during a funding lapse, "except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property."
Are government employees still paid during a shutdown furlough?
The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act requires retroactive pay for furloughed employees after the end of a lapse in appropriations. Excepted employees — those whose duties meet the emergency criteria — must keep working without pay during the lapse.
