The federal government has shut down as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday and federal workers are among the first to bear the brunt.

The current shutdown could look different from those of the past. President Donald Trump’s administration has directed federal agencies to prepare layoff plans separate from the temporary furloughs that typically take place when Congress fails to reach an agreement on how to fund the government.

The threat of a government shutdown has become a frequent occurrence in recent years, noted Philip Glover, national vice president for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) District 3, which represents federal employees in Philadelphia. Each time, as the funding deadline approaches, it leaves federal workers wondering whether they’ll be working and getting paid in the days ahead.

“Our members don’t deserve this,” Glover said. “And it certainly isn’t fair for law enforcement and our TSA folks to have to wonder if they’re gonna have to work for a month without paychecks. It’s not right.”

Pennsylvania had some 101,500 federal employees as of July. Here’s a look at what the shutdown means for them.

Who is working and who isn’t?

Leaders at each federal agency determine who will work and who will be told to stay home during a government shutdown, according to a contingency plan. Most federal employees are typically furloughed and told to stay home, according to guidance from the AFGE union.

But some, referred to as “excepted employees,” are not furloughed.

This includes people doing “emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,” according to the government’s human resource agency, the Office of Personnel Management.

VA medical centers and outpatient clinics will remain open and benefits will be processed. Social Security benefit payments will continue to be issued.

Air traffic controllers are expected to work, according to the Department of Transportation.

The National Park Service in Philadelphia typically closes completely during a shutdown, said Glover.

“That’s usually where we see a lot of the public get upset over a government shutdown,” Glover said. ”Independence (National Historical Park), obviously, is one of the jewels of the Park Service, and it usually gets a lot of attention when it closes down.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has said the majority of employees will not work during the shutdown. Some will stay on for functions such as emergency and disaster assistance.

IRS employees will continue to work for five days as normal, using funds from outside the appropriations process.

During shutdowns in 2013 and 2018, some 850,000 out of 2.1 million federal employees were furloughed, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan nonprofit.

Will I get paid if I’m working?

Federal workers who are furloughed are expected to be paid retroactively once a shutdown ends, along with those who continue working. They are not paid during the shutdown.

Many federal workers live paycheck to paycheck, said Brad Starnes, president of the union for local EPA employees, and the loss of income is disruptive.

“This is never something that’s looked forward to by a federal worker,” said Starnes.

One group of federal workers, deemed “exempt,” do work that is not funded by annual appropriations. According to OPM, those workers continue “to be governed by the normal pay, leave, and other civil service rules.”

Will I get back pay whether I’m working or not?

A law passed in 2019 requires that workers be paid back for unpaid time during a shutdown, including “excepted” and furloughed employees.

Regarding furloughed workers, Glover said, “it’s not their fault that they’re being forced to not work.”

“They want to do the things that they’re supposed to do for the government.” he said. “Congress can’t figure out how to do a funding formula in a bill — that’s not these people’s fault, and they shouldn’t go without pay.”

Do federal employees still have health benefits?

Federal workers keep their health benefits during a government shutdown, according to OPM.

Can federal employees take paid time off during a shutdown?

During a shutdown, federal employees cannot take paid time off, including pre-planned time off, whether they are furloughed or excepted (required to work).

That’s a problem for excepted workers who planned to take time off for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which begins at sundown Wednesday and ends at sundown Thursday, noted Alex Jay Berman, union leader at the National Treasurer Employees Union Chapter 71, whose members include Philly IRS workers.

Can federal workers apply for unemployment?

Furloughed federal employees may be eligible to apply for unemployment benefits with their state, depending on their state‘s requirements, according to OPM.

In Pennsylvania, workers who are furloughed during a shutdown may be eligible for unemployment benefits, while those who continue to work are not eligible to do so, according to a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Labor and Industry.

But the shutdown might be over before their claim is processed and paid, said Glover. Still, the union encourages eligible workers to apply.

However, once the shutdown ends and they are repaid by the federal government, workers must pay back any unemployment benefits they received. “They don’t get to double dip,” said Glover.

Will the government do any permanent federal worker layoffs?

On Sept. 24, President Donald Trump’s administration issued a memo directing agencies to make plans for a mass reduction in force if a shutdown came to fruition. This is separate from the typical furloughs that take place during a government shutdown.

The memo, from the Office of Management and Budget, said the layoffs should apply to programs that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities,” and that depend on discretionary funding that lapsed Wednesday.

In Philadelphia, union leaders say the threat of more layoffs is just the latest swipe at the federal worker. The federal workforce has gone through a shake-up this year as part of the Trump administration’s plan to shrink and reshape it.

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