Who works unpaid or gets furloughed in government shutdown

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – With a federal spending bill now approved by the House and headed to the Senate for votes, the possibility of a government shutdown that was slated to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET (8:01 p.m. Friday AKST) on Saturday now seems to have been averted, but the stopgap measure will only last for three months.

If and when the federal government shuts down, each federal agency determines its own plan for how to handle a shutdown, although government operations deemed nonessential will stop happening.

The last time Alaska faced a government shutdown, the governor’s office issued a news release on Sept 26, 2023, stating, “Approximately 4,700 state executive branch positions are at least partially federally funded. Employees in these positions would see no disruption in their pay and will continue to report to work. A small number of federal employees work within state departments. Their status would be determined by the guidance from the federal agency that employs them.”

Alaska’s News Source has emailed the governor’s office requesting an update.

The longest previous federal shutdown was 35 days.

According to labor stats from the state, as of November of this year, there were 15,100 people were listed as “federal government” employees in Alaska with 81,600 in “government” jobs.

Compared to this time last year, there were 15,000 “federal government” employees and 80,400 “government jobs.”

Nationally, if legislators can’t reach a deal, 1.5 million federal employees will be furloughed or told to work without pay.

Most national parks will close.

Air traffic controllers and food safety inspectors would continue to work, but without pay.

“The State of Alaska administers many programs on behalf of the federal government,” the 2023 news release from the governor’s office stated. ”Federal programs that are mandatory by law, authorized outside of the annual appropriations process and have existing carry-forward funds, or classified by the federal administration as ‘excepted’ due to life, health and safety implications would continue to operate during a shutdown. These categories include programs such as Medicaid and federal air traffic control.”

A list of frequently asked federal government furlough questions is also available on the State of Alaska website.

This story was updated with new information.

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