UPDATED: March 2024 

Federal Election Commission Plan for

Agency Operations in the Absence of the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriation

This plan is pursuant to the requirements defined by the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), Circular A-11, Section 124, “Agency Operations in the Absence of an Appropriation.”

Lapse Plan Summary Overview

Estimated time (to nearest half day) required to complete shutdown activities: 1 days

Total number of agency employees expected to be on board before implementation 

of the plan: 303 FTEs

Total number of employees to be retained under the plan for each of the following categories:

Compensation is financed by a resource other than annual appropriations: 0 FTEs

Necessary to perform activities expressly authorized by law: 6 FTEs

Necessary to perform activities necessarily implied by law: 7 FTEs

Necessary to the discharge of the President's constitutional duties and powers: 0 FTEs

Necessary to protect life and property: 18 FTEs

Brief summary of significant agency activities that will continue during a lapse:

Website will remain online but not updated. Electronic filing of campaign finance reports 

will continue; however, no user assistance available. Protection against imminent threats 

to Commission property, principally in electronic form. Management, legal, financial and 

HR functions related to continuation of permissible operations during furlough. Assistance 

to Office of the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, on Commission cases 

pending in U.S. Supreme Court. Ethics advice to employees considering outside 

employment during furlough.

Brief summary of significant agency activities that will cease during a lapse:

Virtually all core agency functions, including: review of campaign finance disclosure 

reports; enforcement of Federal Election Campaign Act; rendering of advisory opinions; 

rulemaking; all non-Supreme Court litigation (unless specifically ordered by court). 

Release of enforcement files to public record. Processing of Freedom of Information Act 

requests. All management, legal, HR, financial and IT functions not related to continuation 

of permissible operations during furlough. Assistance to campaign and political committee 

treasurers and members of the public regarding application of campaign finance laws.
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I. Introduction 

Legal opinions issued by the Attorney General and the Justice Department’s Office of Legal 

Counsel since 1980 have made clear that the Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341,

unambiguously prohibits Federal officials from incurring obligations in the absence of 

appropriations except in extremely limited circumstances. 

Based on these opinions, it is clear that in the absence of appropriations for the new fiscal year 

the Federal Election Commission (FEC) may neither expend any additional funds nor incur 

any additional obligations except for those that: 

• Are implicitly authorized by some other law. 

• Are necessary to the prevention of imminent threats to human life or property, 

including the government’s property. The government’s property includes 

electronically stored data. 

• Are necessary to the orderly termination of agency operations in the absence of 

appropriations. 

• Are necessary incident to execution of one of the President’s specified powers under 

Article II of the Constitution.

• Are funded by a multi-year, a “no-year” (i.e., remaining available until expended), or 

a permanent appropriation. 

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines a shutdown or “emergency furlough” as 

the placing of employees in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status due to the agency no longer 

having the necessary funds to operate. 

This plan outlines the process and the guidance for actions to be taken by the FEC when 

Congress fails to enact regular appropriations, a continuing resolution, or a needed 

supplemental, resulting in an interruption of fund availability. 

This section does not apply to specific appropriations action by the Congress to deny program 

funding. 

In the absence of appropriations: 

• Federal officers may not incur any obligations that cannot lawfully be funded from 

prior appropriations unless such obligations are otherwise authorized by law. 

• Federal officers may incur obligations as necessary for orderly termination of an 

agency's functions, but funds may not be disbursed. 
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• The FEC will be officially notified by the OMB in the event of a government 

shutdown. 

The FEC will closely monitor the progress of Congressional efforts to resolve any potential 

funding impasse. Based on that monitoring, FEC management may determine not to send, or 

to alter the timing of, the message referred to in part III.G of this plan, or may determine to 

inform employees that some or all of the activities described in part IV of this plan are not 

likely to be necessary, if Congress has made substantial progress towards a resolution. 

II. Affected Employees 

All FEC employees are covered by the furlough action, including temporary employees, unless 

otherwise identified in the Appendix. As of March 22, 2024, the FEC has 303 employees onboard prior to any furlough actions. After all shutdown activities are completed, the FEC 

expects to have 272 employees furloughed. 

III. Preliminary Activities

A. Prior to a lapse in appropriations or upon notification by OMB that the agency should 

review its shutdown plan, the Shutdown Team1 will review this plan.

B. If any changes to this plan are deemed necessary, they will be shared with OMB pursuant 

to OMB Circular A-11.

C. If any changes to this plan are deemed necessary, and the changes would affect the working 

conditions of bargaining unit employees, the Staff Director or his/her designee will notify 

NTEU and, if necessary and if practical given the time involved, will conduct bargaining 

over the impact and implementation of the changes.

D. The Staff Director, the General Counsel, and the Chief Financial Officer shall ensure that 

their subordinate employees holding positions listed in the Appendix, Part II, are reminded 

or notified that they hold such positions, and that they should begin preparations to carry 

out the functions for which they would be retained on duty during a shutdown.

E. The FEC Shutdown Team, in consultation with the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the 

Office of Compliance, and the Commission, will prepare notifications for the public 

concerning Commission operating status and the effect of a shutdown on filing 

requirements for disclosure reports, Matters Under Review, administrative fines matters, 

and alternative dispute resolution matters. These notifications will be held ready for use in 

the event a shutdown actually occurs. Other divisions should make plans for directly 

contacting outside stakeholders to advise them of the shutdown. 

1 The FEC Shutdown Team consists of the Staff Director, General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Staff 

Director for Management & Administration, Deputy General Counsel for Administration, Assistant General Counsel 

for Administrative Law, Director of Human Resources, Director of Congressional Affairs, Director of Budget, 

Director of Procurement, Special Counsel to the General Counsel, Management & Program Analyst to the Staff 

Director, and anyone added for specific reasons as necessary. 
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F. The Administrative Services Manager will coordinate with the General Services 

Administration (GSA), the Federal Protective Service (FPS), and the building manager to 

determine all necessary arrangements for the physical security of the FEC headquarters 

building in the event of a funding lapse.

G. Not later than the third business day before funding is to lapse, the Staff Director will 

provide a notice to all employees via email that a funding lapse is possible. This message 

should, at a minimum:

1. Provide information about the likelihood of a shutdown, to the extent information 

is known.

2. Inform all employees that, except as noted below, they should carefully monitor 

news media accounts of the government’s operating status and should not report to 

work or offsite or online training, or engage in telework, in the event of a shutdown. 

3. Inform all employees that if the funding lapse is not resolved, they will receive a 

furlough notice the morning of the first business day of the shutdown. 

4. Inform all employees that if they wish to receive updates of important information 

from FEC management via personal email during the furlough, they should ensure 

they have provided their personal email addresses to the Management and Program 

Analyst in the immediate office of the Staff Director. See part III.I below.

5. Encourage all employees who are certain that, within 30 days of the anticipated 

furlough, they will have a “qualifying life event” that permits an out-of-season 

change to FEHBP (health insurance) coverage, to immediately submit the change 

to FEHBP for processing. 

6. Remind all employees that those who are furloughed during a lapse in funding are 

prohibited from using their agency-provided transit subsidy (“TRANServe”) 

benefits during a government shutdown.2

H. Contracts 

1. The Contracting Officer (CO) will be responsible for contacting all Contracting 

Officer’s Representatives (CORs). Employees assigned as a COR must 

immediately provide by return email to the Contracting Officer and their own 

supervisors: the most current status of the contracts for which they are responsible; 

the last identifiable deliverables, including dates and any other pertinent 

information regarding the status of the contract; and any outstanding or expected 

invoices for work already performed.

2 On the last business day before funding is to lapse, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) will also send a 

standalone email reminder to all employees regarding the prohibition on furloughed employees using TRANServe 

benefits during a government shutdown. 
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2. Using the information provided by the CORs to the CO, the Staff Director, CFO, 

CO, and key CORs will hold a pre-shutdown meeting to 1) identify those contracts 

that are necessary to continuation of the agency’s excepted functions during the 

shutdown, and make sure all actions necessary are taken to ensure continued 

performance of those contracts during the shutdown (subject to the availability of 

funds); and 2) identify all contracts near expiration, whether or not they are for 

excepted services, with an eye towards taking all practicable actions towards

renewal of those contracts as may be possible in the time remaining before 

shutdown; and 3) ensure that the Staff Director, as Furlough Manager, has copies 

of all directions to contractors to continue work during the lapse, stop work 

immediately upon the lapse, or to stop work once they need to interact with a 

furloughed FEC employee.

3. All FEC contracts shall be divided into the following four groups:

a. Contracts that are necessary to continuation of the agency’s excepted 

functions during shutdown (subject to availability of funds). Notices shall 

be prepared for these contractors directing them to continue work during the 

shutdown.

b. Contracts for which funds have already been obligated and for which the 

agency receives some benefit from continued performance during the 

shutdown, but which are not necessary for continuation of excepted 

functions. Notices shall be prepared for these contractors indicating that 

they may continue to work during the shutdown up until the point at which 

they need to communicate with a furloughed FEC employee, at which point 

they should suspend performance.

c. Contracts for which funds have already been obligated, but for which the 

agency receives no benefit from continued performance during the 

shutdown. (Example: IT support for the Office of Compliance and the 

Office of General Counsel’s Enforcement Division.) Suspend work notices 

shall be prepared for these contractors.

d. Contracts for which funds have not yet been obligated for continued 

performance during the shutdown, and which are not necessary for 

continuation of excepted functions. Suspend work notices shall be 

prepared for these contractors.

4. Copies of each notice prepared pursuant to part III.H.3. shall be provided to the 

Staff Director.

5. OCFO shall endeavor to pay as many pending invoices as practicable prior to the 

funding lapse.
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I. All employees are responsible for ensuring up-to-date personal contact information 

(preferably an email address) has been provided to their supervisors. During a shutdown, 

FEC employees may receive periodic updates from the Staff Director or his/her designee 

on their personal email accounts. Updates will also be posted on the FEC website. See part 

III.G.4 above. 

IV. Activities on the Business Day Before a Possible Funding Lapse

A. All employees must update their hours worked and leave taken in GovTA, for a period 

through the last day prior to the potential furlough. 

B. All employees will be responsible for taking the necessary steps, under supervisory 

direction, to cancel meetings, hearings, and other previously arranged business, and 

appropriately notifying parties such as other Federal agencies, State governments, and 

private entities involved in agency matters of the cessation of normal business. 

C. The Office of Human Resources will ensure all employees are provided information 

regarding the eligibility and application procedures for furloughed employees for 

unemployment compensation. This message must also advise employees that any 

unemployment compensation received will have to be paid back once the furlough ends. 

D. All employees will be responsible for securing agency property for which they have 

custody, securing all files and records in their possession – both paper and electronic – in 

the same manner as if they were to be on leave for several days. This particularly includes 

the duty to secure personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive information. 

In order to avoid insect and rodent infestations during the shutdown, all employees are 

responsible for ensuring that all food and beverages are removed from their offices or 

workstations. 

V. Activities on the First Day of the Funding Lapse

A. Notice to Furloughed Employees. At 7 a.m. on the first business day of the funding lapse, 

the Staff Director will issue a “Furlough Decision Notice Due to Lapse of Appropriations” 

(5 C.F.R. Part 752). Notice by agency-wide email will be sufficient. Staff receiving their 

notice by email must respond to the email acknowledging that they have received and read 

it. 

This notice must at a minimum:

1. Inform recipients that, unless they have been notified otherwise, they are in a 

furlough (non-pay, non-duty) status effective upon the completion of their duties 

related to the orderly shutdown of the agency, and at that time must engage in no 

further work, including telework, until recalled to duty; and that recipients who are 

on site at 1050 First Street, N.E. must depart the premises at the time their furlough 

is effective. 
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2. Inform recipients that the furlough is not expected to last in excess of 30 days.

3. Inform recipients that the furlough action is being taken because of a sudden 

emergency requiring immediate curtailment of the agency’s activities, and that 

therefore, the customary 30-day advance notice period and opportunity to answer 

are suspended under the provisions of 5 C.F.R. 752.404(d)(2). 

4. Inform recipients, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. 752.404(b)(2), that if any employees of their 

same grade and job title are not furloughed, the reason is that those employees are 

required to complete orderly suspension of agency operations, will be performing 

functions essential to the protection of life or property, or will be performing 

functions the continuation of which is otherwise authorized by law. 

5. Inform recipients of their rights to appeal the furlough to the Merit Systems 

Protection Board or, if they are bargaining unit employees, their right to grieve the 

furlough pursuant to the FEC-NTEU Labor Management Agreement.

6. Inform recipients that they are prohibited from performing voluntary services for 

the federal government and therefore, until specifically recalled to work, they are 

prohibited from performing any work functions while on furlough status, even on 

a voluntary basis. 

7. Inform recipients that while the agency will make its best efforts to formally notify 

them when they are recalled to work, they are instructed to monitor developments 

in the news media. Absent contrary guidance from OMB or OPM, employees will 

be expected to resume work on the first business day after the President has signed 

legislation resolving the funding lapse or after Congress has overridden a 

Presidential veto of funding legislation. 

8. Inform recipients that they are not to attempt to access the FEC building during the 

furlough without the prior approval of the Furlough Manager (Staff Director). 

For employees not listed on the attached Appendix, Part II, the completion of shutdown 

functions entails only completing any activities listed in Section IV above, and 

receiving, reading, and replying to the furlough notice. 

Furlough notices will be sent to employees through their FEC email accounts. In the 

event that a second furlough notice is required, it will be sent to personal email 

addresses from the emergency contact list. Employees will be instructed to receive their 

furlough notices remotely by logging into their FEC email accounts using VPN, an 

FEC-provided mobile device, or Outlook (Cloud), at the hour when their normal tour 

of duty begins. Employees who cannot receive their furlough notices remotely will 

coordinate with their supervisors to receive the notice. 
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Employees with remaining on-site shutdown functions must report to the work site the 

first day of the furlough – regardless of whether it is a scheduled telework day or 

not – to complete those functions and receive their furlough notice, unless alternative 

arrangements have been made. Any such employees must depart the premises 

immediately upon receiving their furlough notice and completing shutdown functions. 

There is no entitlement to a half day’s work, or pay, on the first day of a furlough.

B. The CFO will contact OMB immediately upon initiation of shutdown operations.

C. The Administrative Services Manager or her designee will inform GSA, FPS and the 

building manager that the agency has initiated shutdown operations and will coordinate the 

execution of any necessary actions determined according to III.F above. 

D. The Litigation Division of OGC will ensure that notices are filed with appropriate courts 

in which the Commission has pending litigation matters informing the courts that 

Commission employees have been furloughed and that the Agency is closed for the 

duration of the funding lapse. The amount of time necessary for this function may vary 

depending on the Commission’s litigation docket at the time of the lapse but is not 

anticipated to take longer than the close of business on the first business day following the 

funding lapse. Employees carrying out this function will be furloughed upon its 

completion. 

E. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) will perform the fiscal and accounting 

tasks required to maintain accountability and report obligations and expenditures of all 

funds. It is anticipated that the amount of time necessary for this function may be up to a 

full business day. Employees carrying out this function will be furloughed once the 

excepted functions are completed. 

F. The Contracting Officer (or designee) will disseminate the notices to contractors described 

in part III.H.3. above. The amount of time necessary for the Contracting Officer to issue 

these notices may be more than one business day depending on when the funding lapse 

begins. The Contracting Officer may be recalled to work, on either a full-time or 

intermittent basis, if necessary.

G. The Office of Human Resources (OHR) will ensure any HR actions necessary to shut down 

the agency are completed, including the delivery of hard copy furlough notices to 

employees who are unable or unwilling to receive their furlough notices by email or other 

arrangements. The amount of time necessary for this function is estimated to be no more 

than a full business day. The OHR personnel necessary to this function will be furloughed 

upon its completion. Currently, per guidance from the OPM, it is anticipated that all 

furlough actions to be processed through the National Finance Center will be retroactively 

conducted at the end of the furlough.

H. The Administrative Services Manager (or designee) will be responsible for notifying all 

appropriate Federal and non-Federal parties who have roles relating to the physical security 

of the FEC building that the agency is shut down. The Administrative Services Manager 
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or their delegate shall also remain on site throughout the completion of all other activities 

on the first day of the shutdown in order to be available to resolve building issues that arise 

while those activities are being completed. 

I. OCIO will post on the website the previously prepared information about operating status 

and filing requirements in the event of a furlough. 

J. The Administrative Services Division will notify the United States Postal Service and 

other delivery services that the FEC will be closed and unable to accept mail. All mail will 

be held offsite and delivered upon the agency reopening. The notice to the public referred 

to in part III.E will encourage members of the public who cannot wait until the end of the 

shutdown to send us hard copy documents to use a service that has tracking capability and 

should note that private services are likely to return any mail or packages to the sender if 

the shutdown lasts more than five days. 

VI. Effects of the Furlough

A. Effect of Furlough on Pay, and on Leave Accrual. The FEC will not process payroll 

for days covered by the funding lapse. Pursuant to the Government Employees Fair Treatment 

Act, Pub. L. 116-1, back pay for the period of any funding lapse, including the accrual of leave 

and restoration of leave that was scheduled but cancelled during the furlough, will be accomplished 

as rapidly as possible following the end of the funding lapse. 

B. Effect of Furlough on Scheduled Leave. For furloughed employees, all previously 

scheduled paid leave during a furlough is cancelled, because the necessity to furlough supersedes 

leave rights. The Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.) does not allow authorization of 

any expenditure or obligation before an appropriation is made, unless authorized by law. Paid leave 

creates a debt on the part of the Government that is not authorized by the Act. Therefore, the FEC 

must cancel all previously scheduled paid leave for furloughed employees. Pursuant to the 

Government Employees Fair Treatment Act and OPM guidance thereunder, employees who are 

on duty full-time performing excepted activities but who must be absent from duty for personal 

reasons during a portion of the funding lapse may choose between using previously accrued leave 

(in which case they will incur a charge to leave) or going on furlough status during their absence 

and being recalled to duty at the end of their absence (in which case they will incur no charge to 

leave). Those who choose to go on furlough status with a subsequent recall to duty shall receive 

a furlough notice that documents their choice, states the period of time for which they are to be 

furloughed, and provides the same information described in parts V.A.3 through V.A.5 above. 

C. Effect of Furlough on Training. Employees scheduled for any offsite or online 

training by third-party providers that is paid for by the Commission must be advised that they will 

be placed on furlough for the duration of the funding hiatus. Such employees must stop 

participation in the training and notify the Contracting Officer and TrainingRequest@fec.gov 

Employees scheduled for offsite training outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area must 

also follow the procedures outlined in part VI.G. below (“Effect of Furlough on Official Travel”).
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D. Effect of Furlough on Details to Other Agencies. Employees on details to other 

agencies may continue to work if their function at the other agency will continue during the 

shutdown. Otherwise, they are on furlough and must check their FEC email on the first day of the 

shutdown for their furlough notice. 

E. Effect of Furlough on Employee Benefits

1. Federal Employees’ Health Benefits (FEHB) Plan

Pursuant to direction from OPM, the health coverage of all employees covered 

by an FEHB Plan shall continue. The employer’s portion of the premium will 

continue to be paid by the government. However, employees shall be personally 

liable for their share of premiums. Because an employee’s share of premiums 

cannot be deducted from the employee’s paycheck when the employee is in a 

non-pay status, each employee shall incur a debt to the Government equal to the 

amount of the employee’s share of premiums for each pay period in which no 

deductions are made. Once returned to a pay status, the delinquent amount will 

be automatically deducted from the bi-weekly gross pay, in addition to other 

authorized deductions, until the debt is liquidated. 

2. Federal Employees’ Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)

FEDVIP dental and vision insurance program coverage will continue during the 

lapse in appropriations. If the lapse period is less than three consecutive pay 

periods, employees’ premiums will accumulate and be withheld later when the 

lapse ends. However, if employees do not receive pay for three or more 

consecutive pay periods, BENEFEDS will begin to bill employees directly for 

their premium payments. To ensure continued coverage, employees should pay 

those bills on a timely basis.

3. Leave Accrual

As a result of the Government Employees Fair Treatment Act (Public Law 116-

1), employees will accrue leave during the furlough period as if it were a regular 

pay period.

4. Retirement and Life Insurance

For most employees, retirement and life insurance benefits remain unaffected by 

the furlough period. However, OHR will follow OPM guidance for employees 

who are on a leave without pay (LWOP) status before the furlough. OHR is also 

responsible for notifying the National Finance Center of the furlough actions on 

employees receiving military retired or retainer pay.

F. Effect of Furlough on Pending New Hires. 

The “entry on duty” date of any individuals who have a scheduled start date of FEC 

employment during the shutdown will be changed to a date as soon as practicable 

after the end of the funding lapse. The Staff Director or his/her designee will contact 

new employees to notify them of the funding lapse.
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G. Effect of Furlough on Official Travel 

Unless the anticipated funding lapse is resolved, an employee cannot begin an 

official trip, even if it has been previously approved, at any time after the furlough 

is effective. Any authorization for such travel is automatically revoked.

If an employee is on travel for official business on the first day of the funding lapse, 

he/she must immediately stop any work and return to Washington as promptly as 

possible in order to minimize any further funding obligation requirements. If the 

employee is subject to furlough, the employee’s furlough is effective upon the 

employee’s arrival in the Washington area, rather than at midnight of the day of the 

funding lapse. 

If an employee must travel on official business outside of normal working hours 

for the purpose of returning immediately to Washington, the employee will be 

eligible for compensatory time per statute and regulation.

VII. Activities and Responsibilities During the Furlough 

 A. Staff Director. The Staff Director shall: 

1. Remain on duty, as Furlough Manager, throughout the furlough. 

2. Be authorized to recall to duty any employees necessary to meet unanticipated 

contingencies. 

3. Initiate resumption of operations (see below) upon the enactment of legislation 

ending the funding lapse. 

4. Receive and take appropriate action on all communications from OMB during the 

funding lapse. 

B. OCFO: 

1. Tracks all obligations incurred in maintaining essential activities and terminating 

agency operations. 

2. Suspends acquisition and assistance awards pending validation of program award 

decisions. 

3. Facilitates the de-obligation of funds for unused appropriation through contract 

modifications to maximize funds availability for essential activities, if appropriate. 

4. Provides that measures are in place to guard against accidental obligations or 

payments that would violate the Anti-Deficiency Act or would otherwise be 
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improper payments, including notifying FEC’s payroll processor that no further 

actions should be processed until resumption of agency operations.

5. Monitors guidance from the agency’s payroll provider and resolves issues arising 

therefrom.

6. Per guidance from OMB in September 2021, may take steps to ensure the payment 

of invoices received after the funding lapse in cases where funds were obligated 

prior to the funding lapse.

7. Oversees that new obligations of funds are as necessary only to enable the agency 

to continue to carry out excepted functions as set forth in this plan. Such new 

obligations may not be paid until after the funding lapse is resolved.

8. Upon information that restoration of funding is imminent, takes all actions necessary 

to ensure payment of back pay and accrual of leave at the earliest possible time, 

consistent with the Government Employees Fair Treatment Act (Pub. L. 116-1).

C. OGC:

1. Assists the Commission, the Staff Director, the CFO and the IG in identifying both 

the excepted functions performed by the FEC and the emergency personnel required 

to perform these functions to ensure compliance with OMB guidance and opinions 

of the Attorney General. The General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel for 

Administration, the Special Counsel to the General Counsel, and the Assistant 

General Counsel for Administrative Law shall be retained on duty and not 

furloughed in order to perform these functions.

2. The General Counsel is authorized to recall to work such Litigation Division 

personnel as may be necessary solely to file any additional notices to courts (see 

section V.D. above) that may become necessary during the furlough, to engage in 

the normal conduct of litigation in cases where the court so orders notwithstanding 

the furlough, or to provide assistance (if requested) to the Office of the Solicitor 

General in Supreme Court cases in which the Commission is a party. Upon the 

completion of these tasks, any recalled personnel shall be returned to a furlough 

status.

D. OCIO: The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) will perform the tasks required 

to guard against imminent threats to Commission property in electronic form and will continue 

to perform this task throughout the shutdown. OCIO employees necessary for this function 

are listed on the Appendix, Part II and shall not be furloughed. 

E. Administrative Services: After the first day of the lapse, the Administrative Services 

Manager will be on intermittent duty for the remainder of the furlough. During this time, the 

Administrative Services Manager shall be notified by Kastle Systems of, and shall respond 

appropriately to, all reports of physical entry into FEC facilities. The Administrative Services 
13 

Manager shall physically inspect the physical security of FEC facilities not less than weekly 

during the shutdown. As part of these duties, he or she shall ensure the physical securing of 

all mail or packages that, notwithstanding the shutdown, were delivered to the FEC. 

F. Functions that may or may not occur during a lapse, depending on the specific 

situation:

1. If, at the time of the lapse, the Ethics Office has under its review financial 

information provided by a potential nominee to the Commission, the Deputy Ethics 

Officer may remain on duty during the furlough solely for the purpose of carrying 

out functions related to that review. This is permissible as an incident to the 

President’s power of nomination under Article II of the Constitution. The Deputy 

Ethics Officer may also be recalled to work on an intermittent basis to provide 

guidance to agency employees with respect to outside employment. 

2. If a lapse occurs during the calendar year in which a presidential election occurs or 

the calendar year immediately preceding the presidential election year, the Staff 

Director and the General Counsel shall jointly determine the number and identity 

of Audit Division and OGC employees necessary, if any, to carry out functions 

during the lapse related to the eligibility and entitlement of presidential candidates 

to public funding. This is permissible as implicitly authorized by the permanent, 

indefinite appropriation of funds to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund at 26 

U.S.C. § 9006(a). 

3. If, prior to the lapse, the Commission has approved the participation of any 

Commission employee as a grand jury or trial witness in a criminal investigation or 

trial, the Staff Director may recall the employee to work for purposes of testifying 

and preparing to testify, and may also recall such additional employees as necessary 

to assist the employee in preparation to testify. If the testimony is to be given in a 

location other than the Washington metropolitan area, the provisions of paragraph 

VI.G above shall not apply, and the employee may undertake official travel to the 

location of the testimony. However, if travel authorization and/or arrangements are 

being made by the Commission rather than the Department of Justice, the employee 

should ensure that the authorization and arrangements are complete prior to the 

furlough. All of the above is permissible consistent with the determination of the 

Department of Justice that all criminal law enforcement activities, including 

criminal litigation, may continue during an appropriations lapse as essential for the 

safety of human life and the protection of property. 

VIII. Additional Considerations

A. Intermittent employees. Certain employees on the Appendix, Part II, or other 

employees recalled to work during a shutdown to meet unexpected contingencies, may 

be designated as “intermittent employees.” “Intermittent employees” are those whose 

services are required for excepted purposes during a shutdown, but on less than a full-
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time basis. Intermittent employees shall receive furlough notices that 1) notify them of 

their status as intermittent employees, 2) explain what duties they are expected to 

perform while on duty during a funding lapse, 3) explain that they are to be considered 

in a furlough status while not performing their excepted duties, and 4) provides the 

information described in parts V.A.3 through V.A.5 above. 

B. Building access; telework by excepted and intermittent employees. FEC 

facilities at 1050 First Street, N.E. are CLOSED during a shutdown. After the first day 

of a furlough, entry into the building by any FEC employee or contractor other than a 

Commissioner, the Staff Director, or the Administrative Services Manager shall require 

the express prior approval of the Staff Director, as Furlough Manager. Entry without 

such approval shall be subject to administrative or disciplinary action upon the 

conclusion of the furlough. Those employees excepted from the furlough on either a 

full-time or intermittent basis, or who are recalled to duty during the furlough, will be 

expected to continue to telework unless the Staff Director specifically approves on-site 

work. 

C. Daily conference calls. The Staff Director, Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Staff 

Director for Management and Administration or designee, and at least one out of the 

General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel for Administration, the Assistant 

General Counsel for Administrative Law, and the Special Counsel to the General 

Counsel shall meet via conference call each business day during the lapse to discuss 

developments relevant to the management of agency operations during the lapse. The 

Staff Director will ensure relevant staff are on any scheduled calls with OPM, OMB, 

and NFC. The Staff Director may designate other excepted or intermittent 

personnel to participate in a particular daily call as necessary.

IX. Resumption of Operations

Upon the end of the furlough, employees are expected to resume work the next business day, 

unless otherwise authorized by the Staff Director. Employees will be notified via personal 

email and by the placement of a message on the FEC web site. Employees will be notified with 

reopening instructions via personal email from the Staff Director or his designee. Employees 

that do not have a personal email on file in the emergency contact database will be contacted 

by a supervisor. Employees are responsible for monitoring the media regarding updates to the 

government’s funding status.

X. Relation to OMB Guidance 

To the extent any provision of this plan is inconsistent with written guidance from the OMB

regarding the specific times of furlough or the scope of permissibly exempt activities, the 

OMB guidance shall govern. 
15

Federal Election Commission Interim Plan for Agency Operations 

in the Absence of an Appropriation – Appendix 

I. Commissioners

Commissioners, like all Presidential appointees subject to Senate confirmation, are not subject 

to the time and attendance procedures of Federal personnel law. Therefore, their continued 

work during a funding lapse creates no new financial obligation for the government to pay 

them, and they are exempt from furlough. However, their pay will be processed in arrears once 

the furlough is over. Commissioners who choose to work during the furlough may not take any 

actions, singly or collectively, that would have the effect of creating any financial obligation 

on the part of the government. 

These considerations apply to Commissioners only. Commissioners’ personal and shared staff 

members are subject to furlough due to lapsed appropriations.