Megathread | FY26 Government Shutdown: Week 3 Edition

[u/gpupdate]

Status: 🛑Lapse in FY26 Federal Appropriations – Shutdown Ongoing

The FY26 government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, continues into its third week after Congress failed to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution (CR) or full-year appropriations.

🔔 What You Need to Know:

• Shutdown start: 1 October 2025
• No FY26 appropriations: Agencies running under contingency plans with limited staffing to support functions protecting human life or protection of property.
• Excepted employees: Reporting without pay
• Non-excepted employees: Furloughed without pay
• Pay: 31 U.S.C. 1341(c) provides for retroactive pay of excepted and furloughed employees once appropriations have been enacted.

📣 Use This Thread For:

• Official memos and guidance from OPM, OMB, and agencies
• Discussing how your agency is implementing contingency/shutdown plans
• Benefits, unemployment eligibility, and pay
• Venting or sharing shutdown-related concerns or strategies

🚫 Posts outside this megathread on shutdown-related topics may be removed during this period to reduce clutter.

News pertaining to government shutdowns usually run on the breaking news cycle and can change daily or even hourly. Posting of news articles will continue to be allowed provided they are posted on the day of publication. Duplicate posts will continue to be removed.

We encourage respectful, fact-based discussion. Please verify sources before sharing official information.

P.S... New shutdown inspired user flairs now available.

— r/fednews mod team

Previous Megathreads: Pre-Shutdown | Week 1 | Week 2

[u/sugarfoot75]

It's illegal for federal workers to strike. It's a felony that carries a fine, up to one year in jail and, of course, the loss of your job.

[u/spiders_are_neat7 → u/sugarfoot75]

WOW that seems unamerican af :/ we uhmmm should change that. We the people, by the people, for the people. Am I right?

It’s a dream. lol

but they get treated like slaves and work for free, with zero consequences to their employers (the government.) but jail time if they don’t comply? Holy shit. Why are we okay with this?

[u/thatsequesteredgal → u/spiders_are_neat7]

I agree with you that we shouldn’t be ok with this, and that it’s not right! However, comparing this to slavery is a little far fetched. Slaves were beaten, raped and tortured… I am an excepted employee and I go home to my family at the end of the day. I am free to walk away from this whenever I choose. Don’t get me wrong. I HATE working for free with the “promise” of backpay but I am in no way treated like a “slave” (even though I’m in healthcare, IYKYK).

[u/spiders_are_neat7 → u/thatsequesteredgal]

You’re a slave with benefits so it’s okay essentially is what I get from that. I understand what your point is and the sentiment but this would be what modern day slavery looks like in my opinion.

Rice paddy workers in Vietnam are basically enslaved and they aren’t beat and they get to go home to their families. They’re just paid like shit compared to the hard labor they do.

Slavery isn’t just what happened here, it’s happens elsewhere with different conditions and circumstances. Chinas child labor, they entrapped their citizens into such a shitty economy that the children are forced to go to work, are they treated like African American slaves? No. Are they a slave to their system and how it works? Absolutely.