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which federal workers are affected by the shutdown

A partial federal government shutdown does not hit all federal workers the same way—some are furloughed at home, others must keep working (often without pay), and some are barely affected at all.

Which federal workers are affected by the shutdown?

Big picture: who’s hit

During a modern shutdown (like those in late 2025 and the 2026 funding fights), roughly 40–50% of the 2.2 million civilian federal workers can be directly affected through furloughs or delayed paychecks.

The exact mix depends on which agencies lose funding, but impacts generally fall into three buckets: “excepted” (must work, usually unpaid until later), “non‑excepted” (furloughed, no work allowed), and those funded separately who continue mostly as normal.

1. Workers who usually must still work (often without pay)

These are “excepted” or “essential” workers whose jobs protect life, safety, or property.

Typical groups include:

  • Active‑duty military and many Defense civilians involved in operations, readiness, and critical logistics (even if some of their support staff are furloughed).
  • TSA screeners and air traffic controllers , who keep airports and the airspace running, though shutdowns can cause staffing strain and delays.
  • Border Patrol agents, key immigration and customs officers, and some DHS law enforcement and emergency management staff (FEMA disaster response, certain port-of-entry functions).
  • FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, federal prison staff, and prosecutors supporting criminal cases, who maintain core public safety and security operations.
  • Many public health and safety employees, such as those handling high‑risk lab work, food safety inspections deemed critical, and some emergency health services.
  • Certain staff supporting critical infrastructure and national security: nuclear stockpile security, grid reliability functions, and key cybersecurity roles.

These workers usually:

  • Keep reporting to work.
  • Do not receive paychecks during the shutdown, but are legally guaranteed back pay once funding is restored.

2. Workers likely to be furloughed (sent home, no work allowed)

“Non‑excepted” employees are barred from working during the lapse in funding, even voluntarily.

This group can be very large—hundreds of thousands across civil agencies in a broad shutdown.

They often include:

  • Many staff at the Department of Education (processing new grants, some support and program staff) and related student aid administration not tied to mandatory funding.
  • Large portions of EPA , Interior, and related environmental and land‑management agencies, including: national park rangers for visitor services, some wildlife refuge staff, and non‑emergency inspections.
  • Administrative and policy staff at agencies like HUD, Labor, Commerce, and parts of HHS who don’t perform immediate life‑safety functions.
  • Many IRS employees handling routine audits, customer service, and some regulatory or guidance work (though core tax processing often continues, especially early in a shutdown).
  • Workers supporting non‑urgent research projects at NIH, some energy and science labs, and non‑emergency field offices.

Key points for furloughed workers:

  • They stay home and cannot log into government systems or “volunteer” work.
  • They don’t get paid during the shutdown but are guaranteed back pay by law once it ends.
  • Paid leave (annual/sick) generally can’t be used during the lapse; most leave is effectively frozen.

3. Workers whose pay is mostly not disrupted

Some federal workers are insulated because their agencies or specific functions are funded differently (mandatory funding, multi‑year appropriations, or special accounts).

These often include:

  • Social Security Administration staff handling ongoing benefits, since Social Security benefits are mandatory spending, though some customer‑service or new claims functions can still slow down.
  • Medicare and Medicaid claim processors and core benefit operations (though support services like card replacement and some outreach can be strained).
  • Certain Defense and homeland security employees funded under special mandatory or advance appropriations—recent laws have specifically protected some immigration and border personnel.
  • Agencies funded through user fees or separate trust funds, like parts of the U.S. Postal Service or some consular services abroad, as long as those revenue streams remain sufficient.

These workers may see:

  • Fewer immediate pay disruptions if their funding source isn’t tied to the lapsed appropriations.
  • Operational headaches because they rely on other agencies whose staff are furloughed, leading to delays and bottlenecks.

4. Federal contractors: heavily affected, but different rules

Federal contractors aren’t federal employees, but many work side‑by‑side with them and are hit even harder financially.

Key differences:

  • Contractors on stopped or delayed projects are often laid off or told not to work until funding returns, especially in facility support, IT services, and research support roles.
  • Unlike federal employees, contractors are not guaranteed back pay once the shutdown ends; whether they are compensated depends on contract terms, agency decisions, or later legislation.
  • This can hit lower‑wage workers—custodial staff, cafeteria workers, security guards—particularly hard.

5. Recent / “latest news” angle

The shutdown fights stretching from October 2025 into fiscal year 2026 have shown how uneven the pain is.

  • In the record‑length 2025 shutdown, at least 600,000–800,000 workers across multiple agencies were furloughed or working without pay at various points, with defense, homeland security, and justice‑related staff heavily classified as excepted.
  • The partial 2026 shutdown has focused especially on funding fights around Homeland Security and related programs, while some immigration and border personnel continue to be paid under the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
  • Public‑facing services like national parks access, visa and passport processing, and certain safety inspections have seen slowdowns or pauses, reflecting furloughs in Interior, State, and Labor staff.

6. Quick HTML table: examples of who’s affected

Below is an HTML table summarizing major categories of federal workers and how they are typically affected.

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Category</th>
      <th>Typical status in a shutdown</th>
      <th>Example workers / agencies</th>
      <th>Pay during shutdown</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Public safety & national security</td>
      <td>Excepted, must work</td>
      <td>Military, FBI, federal prison staff, U.S. Marshals, Border Patrol, many DHS law enforcement</td>
      <td>Work without pay, receive back pay later</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Transportation & air safety</td>
      <td>Excepted, must work</td>
      <td>TSA officers, air traffic controllers, key FAA operations staff</td>
      <td>Work without pay, receive back pay later</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Health & safety support</td>
      <td>Mix of excepted and furloughed</td>
      <td>High‑risk NIH lab staff, some CDC roles, critical food and drug safety inspectors</td>
      <td>Excepted staff work without pay; furloughed staff stay home, all eligible for back pay</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>National parks & environmental</td>
      <td>Large share furloughed</td>
      <td>Park rangers for visitor services, many Interior and EPA program staff</td>
      <td>Furloughed with delayed back pay once shutdown ends</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Education & research administration</td>
      <td>Often furloughed</td>
      <td>Education Department program staff, some grant administrators, non‑emergency research support</td>
      <td>Furloughed with delayed back pay once shutdown ends</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Benefits administration (Social Security, Medicare)</td>
      <td>Mostly continue</td>
      <td>SSA claims processors, Medicare claims operations</td>
      <td>Often continue to be paid via mandatory funding, though some services slow</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Tax and revenue operations</td>
      <td>Core functions continue; others furloughed</td>
      <td>IRS processing staff vs. audit and customer‑service staff</td>
      <td>Some paid, some furloughed with back pay later</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Federal contractors</td>
      <td>Work paused or cut back on many contracts</td>
      <td>IT support, custodial workers, cafeteria staff, research contractors</td>
      <td>Often not paid during shutdown; no guaranteed back pay afterward</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

7. If you’re asking “am I affected?”

Because shutdown rules are agency‑ and job‑specific, the most practical steps for an individual worker are:

  1. Check your agency’s shutdown contingency plan
    • Most agencies post these publicly and spell out which positions are excepted vs. furloughed.
  1. Ask your supervisor or HR about your status code
    • Agencies pre‑label positions before a shutdown (excepted, non‑excepted, funded from other sources).
  2. Review pay and benefits guidance
    • Federal employees are guaranteed back pay by statute; your FEHB health insurance continues even if pay is delayed.
  1. If you are a contractor
    • Talk to your employer (not the agency) about whether work will continue and whether they plan any compensation for idle time.

Bottom line: The federal workers most affected by a shutdown are those either forced to keep working with no current paycheck (public safety, national security, transportation, some health and safety) or those furloughed entirely (parks, many civil agencies, research and admin staff), while workers funded by mandatory or special accounts and many contractors experience very different, often uneven, impacts.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.