The federal government is poised to shut down on Oct. 1 after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding deal, triggering agency contingency plans that spell out who keeps working and what services stop.
The Office of Personnel Management has issued government-wide instructions ahead of the Oct. 1 funding deadline. Employees fall into three categories: furloughed, required to work without pay, or funded separately. Furloughed employees must stop work once shutdown preparations are complete. Required-to-work employees, what agencies officially call “excepted,” continue performing essential functions such as protecting life and property, but will not be paid until after the shutdown ends.
Recommended Stories
- DOJ sues LA over 'unreasonable' gun permit delays
- Suspect who allegedly lit Virginia councilman on fire says affair fueled attack
- Trump says the White House is close to a $500 million deal with Harvard
Payroll guidance makes clear that paychecks for the Sept. 7-20 pay period will be issued on time, but checks covering work on or after Oct. 1 may be delayed until appropriations are restored. All scheduled paid leave and holiday time off will be canceled for furloughed and required-to-work staff. Employees may perform only limited “orderly shutdown” tasks, generally up to four hours, to secure files and equipment before being sent home.
The OPM memo also notes that employees in special workforce situations, such as the Deferred Resignation Program or pending reductions-in-force, will be placed in furlough status rather than administrative leave.
White House layoff warnings
President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that “a lot” of federal workers could ultimately lose their jobs if the government shuts down, telling reporters outside the White House that reductions may be significant.
The Office of Management and Budget has also directed agencies to prepare not only furlough notices but possible reduction-in-force notices. In guidance circulated last week, OMB said a reduction in force should be considered for employees in programs that would lose funding on October 1, have no alternative financing, and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” Those layoff notices would be in addition to furloughs tied to the lapse in appropriations.
Agencies must submit layoff plans to OMB and revise them once appropriations are enacted, retaining only the “minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions.” The White House said these steps would not be needed if Congress approved stopgap funding, but officials stressed the importance of preparing for reductions.
Economic and workforce effects
The Congressional Budget Office warned in a Sept. 30 memo that a shutdown could furlough about 750,000 federal employees per day, at a daily compensation cost of roughly $400 million. Those workers are guaranteed back pay once Congress acts, but in the meantime, taxpayers end up covering the bill for work that doesn’t get done.
CBO also points out that not everything bounces back once the government reopens. During the five-week shutdown in 2018-2019, the economy never recovered about $3 billion in lost output, a small share overall but a loss in growth. The longer a shutdown drags on, the more it ripples: federal workers spend less, contractors lose income, and delayed projects can mean slower hiring or investment.
Some things won’t change: Members of Congress keep getting paid, and active-duty military must still report for duty, even if their paychecks are delayed. Decisions about national parks and monuments, such as whether gates stay open or closed, are left to the administration and have varied from one shutdown to another.
Agency-by-agency plans
Each federal department has developed its own playbook for operating during a funding lapse. While the details vary, the plans divide employees into three categories: furloughed, required to work without pay, or funded separately. They also spell out which public services will continue and which will pause.
As of now, the Departments of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Agriculture have not released updated contingency plans for this fiscal year and are therefore not included in the breakdown below.
Department of Commerce
The Commerce Department employs nearly 43,000 people. Roughly 34,700 would be furloughed, while about 8,300 are either required to work without pay or funded separately and paid as usual, according to a memo issued on Sept. 29, 2025.
Exempt staff include those funded through fees, such as at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, while required-to-work employees include weather forecasters, fisheries law enforcement officers, and personnel at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who maintain nautical charts and timing systems.
The National Weather Service will remain fully operational, providing around-the-clock weather and storm forecasts, warnings, and emergency decision support. Officials stress that this work is critical to protecting lives and property and will not be interrupted during a shutdown. Most of the department’s economic reporting, including at the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau, would halt.
Department of Education
The Department of Education employs 2,447 people. About 2,117 would be furloughed, while just 330 are retained either without pay or with funding from separate appropriations, according to agency guidance on Sept. 28, 2025.
Most policy and civil rights enforcement would pause. Pell Grants and student loans continue, supported by exempt funding, with about 115 staff retained at Federal Student Aid. At most, 122 staff, about 5%, would remain beyond the first week to manage exempted programs.
Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services employs 79,717 people. About 32,460 would be furloughed, while 47,257 would remain on duty, according to new contingency plans. Of those retained, 35,096 are funded separately and continue working with pay, 12,206 are required to work without pay, and nearly 8,000 are kept on to protect life and property.
At the National Institutes of Health, clinical care for current patients at the NIH Clinical Center continues, but no new patients are admitted, and most grant-making and research support will stop. The Food and Drug Administration will continue core functions such as drug and medical device reviews supported by user fees, along with high-priority public health surveillance, but routine inspections and many advisory activities will pause. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will keep operating its 24/7 emergency operations center, outbreak detection, laboratory testing, and critical health monitoring, though many research projects, grant programs, and communications functions will stop.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will keep processing Medicare claims and overseeing Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplace operations because those programs are funded through mandatory appropriations, but most policy development, program management, and survey work will pause. At the Administration for Children and Families, block grants and entitlements such as Head Start, TANF, and child welfare programs will continue, while oversight and discretionary grant activities will stop.
The Indian Health Service will keep its facilities open and continue providing care, though some administrative and support staff may be reduced. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will maintain crisis lines and treatment block grants, but program development and technical assistance will be suspended. Activities such as scientific meetings, data collection, and communications will largely halt across HHS, except for urgent health and safety matters.
Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security has 271,982 employees. Of those, 14,754 would be furloughed, while 169,173 are required to work without pay, and 88,055 are funded separately and continue with pay, according to plans issued on Sept. 27, 2025.
Required-to-work staff include Border Patrol agents, Transportation Security Administration screeners, Coast Guard personnel, Secret Service officers, and Federal Emergency Management Agency responders. Funded-separately staff are supported through multi-year appropriations. Headquarters functions, like policy development and training, will stop.
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice employs 115,131 people. About 12,840 would be furloughed, while 102,291 continue on duty, most of them required to work without pay and a smaller share funded separately, according to guidance issued on Sept. 29, 2025.
All 36,755 employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 7,581 at the Drug Enforcement Administration, 4,050 at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and nearly all 36,019 in the Bureau of Prisons are considered essential and will remain working. Civil litigation mostly halts unless the delay risks life or property. Some grant programs continue because they are supported by funds that do not expire at the end of the fiscal year, though staffing will be reduced.
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor has 12,916 employees, according to recent contingency plans released on Sept. 26, 2025. About 9,775 would be furloughed, while 3,141 would stay on duty.
Nearly 900 staff at the Mine Safety and Health Administration and 460 at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would remain working without pay to handle urgent workplace hazards. Others would continue because they are funded separately, including staff who administer Black Lung benefits and federal workers’ compensation programs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics would furlough more than 2,000 employees, halting economic data reporting.
Department of State
The Department of State employs 26,995 people. About 16,651 would be furloughed, while 10,344 are required to keep working without pay, according to new agency guidance released Sept. 29, 2025.
Shutdown prep is expected to take half a day. Embassies and consulates remain open, consular services like passports and visas continue, and foreign policy work tied to national security proceeds. Policy development, hiring, representational travel, and most outreach are paused.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Corps has nearly 36,610 employees. Of those, about 1,119 would be furloughed, while 35,491 would remain on duty because their work is funded through multi-year appropriations, foreign military sales, host nation support, or is deemed essential to protect life and property, according to new guidance.
Shutdown preparations are expected to take only half a day across the Corps’ divisions. Essential operations that continue include manning emergency operations centers, running locks and hydropower plants to prevent flooding, operating the Washington Aqueduct, flood control projects, and environmental remediation work where a lapse could pose threats to health or safety. Non-essential civil works, permitting, and regulatory operations are suspended until funding resumes.
Department of Transportation
The Department of Transportation employs 53,717 people. About 12,213 would be furloughed, while 41,504 continue either because they are required to work without pay or funded separately, according to new agency guidelines issued on Sept. 30, 2025.
At the Federal Aviation Administration, more than 25,000 staff, including 13,294 air traffic controllers, will keep working without pay to maintain the airspace system. FAA safety inspectors, accident investigators, and personnel overseeing medical certifications and commercial space launches also remain on duty. Some training and airport programs funded by multi-year appropriations will continue.
Other major transportation agencies, including the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Transit Administration, remain largely unaffected because they are financed through the Highway Trust Fund or other multi-year appropriations. The Federal Railroad Administration would furlough about 239 of its 1,023 employees, though inspectors and safety investigators stay on duty to ensure compliance and respond to incidents.
Department of the Treasury
The Departmental Offices employ 2,714 staff. Of these, 859 would be furloughed, while 1,855 are retained either without pay or with separate funding, according to agency guidelines from September. High-level policy, debt management, and sanctions enforcement continue, while routine oversight and domestic finance policy work stop.
The Internal Revenue Service is fully funded separately, with all 74,300 employees continuing to work thanks to Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act funding through 2031.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has 459 employees. Of these, 398 would be furloughed, while 61 remain either required to work without pay or funded separately, according to guidance. Routine audits, lab services, and permits will halt.
Treasury’s Office of Inspector General has 152 employees, with 122 of whom would be furloughed, 30 staying on duty, some funded separately, others required to work without pay. Oversight and audits largely pause, but some criminal inquiries and IT functions continue. A small portion of this work is supported by funds that do not expire at the end of the fiscal year.
Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs employs 461,499 people. Only 14,874 would be furloughed. Nearly 417,500 are funded separately and continue with pay, primarily because of advance appropriations, and about 29,000 are required to keep working without pay, according to agency contingency plans.
Medical care, benefits processing, burials, and crisis hotlines continue. Transition counseling, GI Bill hotlines, cemetery grounds maintenance, and public affairs are suspended.
Department of War (Pentagon)
The Department of War employs 2.81 million people, 2.07 million uniformed service members, and 741,477 civilians. Active-duty military personnel are required to serve but may see delayed paychecks, according to new guidance on Sept. 27, 2025.
Among civilians, about 330,000 would be furloughed, 224,000 would be required to work without pay, and 183,000 would be funded separately and continue with pay. Military operations, intelligence collection, border security, and depot maintenance continue, while non-essential civilian support functions pause.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA employs 18,218 people. About 15,094 would be furloughed, while the rest continue either because they are required to work without pay or funded separately, according to agency guidance on Sept. 29. 2025.
Operations tied to astronaut safety and mission protection, including the International Space Station, satellite control, and Artemis program activities, will run. Public outreach, educational programs, and most research projects will pause until funding is restored.
Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration employs 51,825 staff. About 6,197 would be furloughed, while 45,628 remain on duty, according to contingency plans issued on Sept. 24, 2025.
Most continue working because their pay comes from trust funds, while others are required to work without pay. Retirement, survivor, and disability claims will continue to be processed, along with hearings, appeals, fraud prevention, and cybersecurity. FOIA requests, training, overpayment processing, and quality reviews will stop. State-run Disability Determination Services may or may not operate, depending on state choices.