Special Note: These FAQs have been prepared as general guidance on common situations found during a Government shutdown 

due to lapsed appropriations. They are provided to help personnel preparing for a possible shutdown, to assist in understanding 

the types of activities that can continue during a shutdown, and provide basic information to NASA employees on what a 

furlough means. Because of the changing, fact-specific nature of what constitutes an “excepted” activity after a shutdown 

actually starts, each Center’s executive committee will make detailed decisions about the conduct of operations during a 

shutdown. For personal questions concerning the implications of furlough status, please contact your local HR; however please 

understand that there may be limited ability to answer everyone’s questions close to a potential shutdown, and a number of 

detailed questions may need to await resumption of normal operations and Congressional action for full clarification.

OPERATIONS AND FURLOUGHS UNDER A

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

____________________________________________________

Frequently Asked Questions 

(FAQs)

September 27, 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. EXCEPTED ACTIVITIES IN THE EVENT OF A SHUTDOWN

A. Employees Excepted From Furlough

B. Voluntary Services

C. Unobligated Balances of No-Year and Multiple-Year Funds

D. Funds Authorized under a CR

E. Working Capital Fund (WCF) and Nonappropriated Fund Activities (NAFI)

F. Reimbursable Work

G. Contracts

H. Grants and Cooperative Agreements

I. Payment Activities

J. Training

K. Travel

II. FURLOUGHS UNDER A SHUTDOWN

A. Furlough and Work While on Furlough

B. Notification of a Shutdown and Your Status; Access to Email and Offices

C. Pay and Benefits during a Shutdown
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I. EXCEPTED ACTIVITIES IN THE EVENT OF A SHUTDOWN

The purpose of this section is to assist employees with a basic understanding of operations in the 

event of a Government shutdown and to set forth NASA-specific procedures. The following 

questions and answers augment those provided in the Office of Management and Budget’s 

(OMB’s) guidance, which is issued by memorandum (such as M-13-22, the guidance provided in 

2013) and posted both at OMB’s public website, found at 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda_default. 

A. EMPLOYEES EXCEPTED FROM FURLOUGH

Q1. What are the criteria used to determine which NASA civil servant employees are 

excepted from a furlough during a Government shutdown?

Answer: The term "excepted employee" refers to employees who are excepted from a furlough 

by law because they are: (1) performing work essential to prevent imminent threats to human life 

or the protection of property, (2) involved in the orderly suspension of Agency operations, or (3) 

performing other limited activities exempted from the furlough (see Qs. 12 and 16-18). Aside 

from brief activity needed the first day for an orderly suspension of operations, for NASA 

almost all ”excepted employees” are those involved in protection of life or property. 

NASA’s plan recognizes that the excepted activities include the following:

• Space launch hardware processing activities which are necessary to prevent harm to 

life or property;

• Tracking, operation, and support of the International Space Station (ISS) and operating 

satellites necessary for safety and protection of life and property;

• Completion or phasedown of research activities in cases where serious damage to 

property would result from temporary suspension of the activity.

Q2. Who makes the decision about which activities or employees are excepted?

Answer: Under NASA’s shutdown plan submitted to OMB, Center Directors and their executive 

committee are responsible for determining the minimum number of persons who are excepted 

from a furlough. Specifically, the Center Directors are instructed to narrowly construe the 

available exceptions and except from the furlough only those employees who contribute directly 

to activities that are permitted to continue. 
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Q3. If the ISS programs continue so that NASA may continue to protect the life of the ISS 

crew and the assets, will all employees that support those programs continue to work 

during a shutdown?

Answer: No. There are two major operations that would require ongoing support in accordance 

with the definitions of excepted activities identified above. First, NASA currently is operating 

the ISS with a crew of 6 astronauts/cosmonauts, which has been in continuous operation since 

1998. To protect the life of the crew as well as the assets themselves, we would continue to 

support planned operations of the ISS during any funding hiatus.

Second, if a space launch has commenced countdown or is in flight, we will maintain its 

operations and any post-flight down processing activities of a hazardous nature to protect life and 

property. If a space launch has not commenced or is not in flight, preparation activities will 

generally cease, except to maintain powered systems to monitor and maintain the safety of the 

assets. The extent of support necessary and the time needed to safely cease operations will 

depend on where the space launch is in its processing flow (i.e., VAB, Pad, etc.) Moreover, 

NASA will be closely monitoring the impact of an extended shutdown to determine if space 

launch services are required to mitigate imminent threats to life and property on the ISS or other 

areas. 

Q4. If it would cost more to shut down a project because of schedule delays, etc., than to 

continue it, can employees continue to work?

Answer: No. Only employees meeting the criteria for excepted activities may continue to work 

during a funding hiatus.

Q5. How are individuals on Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments affected by 

the shutdown? What about NASA employees who are detailed to other Federal agencies, 

or employees of other Federal agencies who are detailed to NASA?

Answer: Whether such individuals may continue to work depends on a number of factors, 

principally whether the other agency or non-Federal organization is fully funding the assignment, 

and whether the assignment requires Government support (e.g., facilities, supervision, and 

accounting services) that would be funded by a lapsed appropriation. Program offices should 

contact their Center Human Resources Office for guidance pertaining to their specific 

circumstances. NASA employees who are detailed or serving an IPA assignment and who will 

be furloughed must be given the same notices as other employees at their Center.

Q6. Do employees who work during a Government shutdown work full time?

Answer: The hours that excepted employees work during a funding hiatus would depend upon 

the minimum level of essential activities needed to protect life and property, as determined by 
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NASA management. A full-time employee may be directed to work full time, to work part time, 

or to be on call during the Government shutdown. During any period when an employee is not 

scheduled to perform approved excepted activities, he/she will be in a furlough status.

Q7. Can Employees Excepted from Furlough Perform Non-excepted Work at NASA?

Answer: Generally, no. If an excepted activity can be performed in less than an entire day, the 

employee performing it is required to resume furlough status after completing the function. 

However, if the excepted activity must be performed intermittently throughout the course of the 

work schedule, and the intervals in between are too short to enable the employee to be 

furloughed and then recalled in time to perform the function, the employee may remain at work 

and may perform non-excepted functions during these intervals. 

Centers must consolidate any excepted activities performed on an intermittent basis, to the extent 

possible, and minimize the number of employees performing them in order to minimize the 

Agency’s reliance on the Antideficiency Act to incur obligations for which the appropriation has 

lapsed.

Q8. Will employees required to work during a shutdown be paid? 

Answer: Yes; however, employees who work during a shutdown will receive pay only after 

Congresses passes and the President signs a new appropriation or continuing resolution. 

Q9. Can Federal employees be excepted from furlough because they are necessary to make 

payments for contract, agreement, or grant work already completed and funded?

Answer: No. During a funding hiatus, agencies may not excuse or except employees from 

furlough, other than to support excepted activities under the Antideficiency Act. Making this 

type of payment is not an excepted activity. 

Q10. Are employees covered by nonappropriated funds (e.g. NASA Exchange workers –

cafeteria, gift shops, etc.) automatically excepted?

Answer: No, because they generally require support from each Center that would be funded by a 

lapsed appropriation, such as NASA facilities, security, and other similar services. However, 

they may continue to work in some circumstances; see Q17.
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B. VOLUNTARY SERVICES 

Q11. Can I volunteer to perform NASA work during the shutdown period if I am not excepted 

from furlough? 

Answer: No. During the furlough period, you will be in a nonpay, nonduty status. You will not 

be permitted to serve as an unpaid volunteer, and must not perform NASA’s work until recalled. 

Employees who provide services to the government other than those specifically authorized as 

excepted will not be compensated for these services, and can, in certain circumstances, be 

subject to criminal penalty and disciplinary action.

Q12. 31 U.S.C. Section 1342 states that no officer or employee of the United States shall 

accept voluntary services for the United States or employ personal services in excess of 

that authorized by law, except in cases of emergency involving the safety of human life 

or the protection of property. If excepted employees are required to report to work during 

a funding hiatus, is this a violation of the prohibition against accepting voluntary 

services? 

Answer: No. Employees required to work during a funding hiatus are those who are essential 

for the safety of human life or the protection of property, or who meet a criteria for activities 

exempted from furlough (see Q’s 12 and 16-18), and this is not a violation. 

C. UNOBLIGATED BALANCES OF NO-YEAR AND MULTIPLE-YEAR FUNDS 

Q13. Can carryover, no-year, and multiyear funds be used to continue activities during a 

funding hiatus, as long as they are used for the purposes appropriated and apportioned? 

Answer: Yes, but only if: (a) they are used for the purposes appropriated, (b) the unobligated 

balance carried forward in FY 2013 has been apportioned, and (c) no support that would be 

funded by a lapsed appropriation (for example, facilities, supervision and oversight, or 

accounting services) is required to continue non-excepted services. Support that would be 

funded by a lapsed appropriation may be provided only for the safety of human life and 

protection of property.

D. FUNDS AUTHORIZED UNDER A CR

Q14. Can funds authorized under a CR but otherwise unobligated be used to continue activities 

during a funding hiatus? 
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Answer: No. The period of availability stated in the CR is the maximum period of time during 

which funds appropriated by the resolution are available for obligation. 

Q15. Why can agencies use unobligated balances of no-year and multiple-year funds but not 

unobligated balances under a CR?

Answer: Obligations can only be made within the period of availability specified in the 

appropriation or CR. A previously enacted no-year or multiple-year appropriation (usually prioryear) may have budget authority available until September 30 of the current fiscal year or 

beyond, whereas a CR is usually available for a more limited time and may end sometime during 

the fiscal year. Moreover, even for multiple-year and no-year funds, it must be recognized that, 

due to the decreased staffing, there likely will be no contracting officer available to obligate 

multiple-year funds. 

Q16. If a contract for non-excepted activities is properly obligated under a CR while the funds 

are available, can the contractor continue to perform work while the Government is shut 

down?

Answer: Yes, in some circumstances. Non-excepted work may continue as long as funds 

already obligated remain available and the work does not require any civil servant oversight or 

other Government support which would be funded by a lapsed appropriation. 

E. WORKING CAPITAL FUND (WCF) AND NONAPPROPRIATED FUND 

INSTRUMENTALITY (NAFI) ACTIVITIES

Q17. Since revolving funds, such as NASA’s Working Capital Fund, do not need 

Congressional action for their financing, can they continue to operate during a funding 

hiatus?

Answer: NASA’s WCF (NSSC and SEWP) will also conduct an orderly shutdown of nonexcepted activities. Although the WCF has no-year funds (earned revenue), most of the 

operations of the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) are in support of internal customer 

orders involving processes that require attention by non-excepted personnel, either internally or 

externally, to complete the work. Solutions for Enterprise-wide Procurement (SEWP) does 

support emergency activities of other agencies, but it also receives significant orders in support 

of non-excepted activities. 

Q18. Can nonappropriated fund activities, such as NASA employee exchanges, continue to 

operate during a Government shutdown?
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Answer: It depends. NAFI activities may continue during a Government shutdown if: (1) they 

support an excepted activity, or (2) they will still have work to do during a Government 

shutdown, the full cost of the activity (including support costs) is funded by nonappropriated 

funds, and they do not require access to a closed Government facility, civil servant oversight, or 

other Government support that would be funded by a lapsed appropriation. If a nonappropriated 

activity is continued, it should only be maintained at the reduced level needed to support 

excepted personnel. 

F. REIMBURSABLES

Q19. Can reimbursable activities funded by a non-Federal organization continue during a 

funding hiatus?

Answer: It depends. Reimbursable activities that prevent imminent threat to human life or 

protect property may continue. Other reimbursable activities may only continue to the extent 

that the full cost is being reimbursed (including increased incremental costs now required for 

operation under a partial shutdown), the performance does not require the use of Government 

support that would be funded by a lapsed appropriation, and the customer has paid the full cost in 

advance.

Q20. Can reimbursable activities funded by other Government agencies continue during a 

funding hiatus? 

Answer: It depends. Federal reimbursable activities may continue if the funding agency has 

confirmed that funding is still available, the work is authorized under the shutdown, and 

performance does not require the use of Government support that would be funded by a lapsed 

appropriation. Federal reimbursable activities must have confirmation from the funding agency 

that the work is authorized under the shutdown and funding is available before considering 

continuing the work.

G. CONTRACTS

Q21. Can contractors authorized to work during a funding hiatus continue at their normal level 

of operations?

Answer: It depends. Contracting officers will need to discuss the appropriate level of activity 

with contractors and may need to reduce the work performed under the contract during the 

shutdown. With the permission or at the direction of an appropriately authorized contracting 

officer, contract activities excepted in order to protect people or property from imminent harm, 
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as determined by the Agency (not by the contractor), may continue during a shutdown at the 

minimum level needed to protect life and property. Non-excepted work may continue as long as 

it is funded by multiple-year or no-year appropriations, or funds already obligated on the contract 

remain available, the amount of funding specified in any applicable limitation of funds clauses is 

not exceeded, and the work does not require any civil servant oversight or other government 

support, such as access to and use of NASA facilities (e.g., all buildings on NASA Centers inside 

our gates). However, based on our Agency's shutdown plans, it may be necessary to suspend or 

reduce work under a contract. Consequently, no contract activity shall be allowed to continue 

without concurrence from Center CFO, Procurement, and Chief Counsel offices, with HQ 

consultation as appropriate. Procurement personnel shall work closely with the Office of 

General Counsel (for HQ) or field center chief counsel offices in implementing these changes, 

and in minimizing costs to the government.

Q22. Can employees excepted from furlough approve contract changes if needed during the 

Government shutdown?

Answer: No, unless the excepted employee is a duly authorized contracting officer. 

Government personnel who are excepted from the furlough are reminded that only appropriately 

warranted contracting officers have the authority to enter into, modify, or sign contracts or task 

orders on behalf of the Government, even during a Government shutdown. Government 

personnel who initiate unauthorized commitments should not assume that such commitments 

will be ratified at a later time, and should be aware that they may be held personally and 

financially liable for those unauthorized commitments.

Q23. Can contractor employees perform excepted services during a Government shutdown?

Answer: Yes. Subject to the approval of a duly authorized contracting officer, contractor 

employees may perform excepted activities, provided all of the requirements governing excepted 

activities are met and the contractor receives approval for the continued work. For example, 

contractors may perform excepted services for emergency services or network security, but only 

to the minimum extent necessary. In general, the test for determining the minimum extent 

necessary is whether or not the failure to perform those functions would result in an imminent 

threat to the safety of human life or the protection of property.

Q24. Can new contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, task orders, change orders, and other 

actions be issued during a Government shutdown?

Answer: No, except for those approved activities: (a) necessary for the orderly shutdown of 

Agency functions, or (b) necessary to protect human life or property from imminent harm. 

Q25. Can contractors performing excepted services travel, order supplies, or incur overtime 

during a Government shutdown?
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Answer: Contractor travel associated with excepted activities should occur only on an exception 

basis, and only to the minimum required level necessary for the excepted activities. Supplies 

that are not immediately needed to carry out the excepted operations under this policy, overtime 

not critical to meeting the tasks still permitted under this policy, and similar costs should not be 

incurred. 

Q26. During a Government shutdown, can contractors performing non-excepted activities who 

run out of available obligated funds volunteer to work and then bill the Government 

later?

Answer: No. Once the contractor reaches the limit of its available funding, non-excepted effort 

to be funded by a lapsed appropriation shall not continue unless and until an appropriation act or 

CR has been enacted and a contracting officer has notified the contractor that work may resume. 

Q27. Can contract administration functions proceed during a lapse in appropriations?

Answer: Yes, to the extent they are supporting contracts for excepted activities. However, for 

non-excepted activities, any routine work such as contract or grant administration (including 

payment processing) funded from a salaries and expense or other account that requires but lacks 

an appropriation should not continue during a funding hiatus. Thus, most Agency employees 

performing oversight, inspection, accounting, administration, payment, or other contract, 

agreement, or grant-related activity would not work during a funding hiatus because they would 

not be supporting excepted activities.

Q28. How do contractors know whether they may continue to work during a Government 

shutdown?

Answer: The contracting officer will notify the contractor, which will notify its employees. The 

Agency, not the contractor, determines whether the contract work is excepted from the 

shutdown.

Q29. Can NASA purchase card accounts or travel cards be used during a funding hiatus?

Answer: NASA has no plans to suspend individual purchase card accounts or travel cards with 

JP Morgan Chase. Any purchase or travel card holder who is not in excepted status should not 

use their purchase card. Charges to purchase cards or travel cards can only be made by civil 

servants with designated excepted status, and only to the minimum extent necessary to support 

an excepted activity or function. Contact the Center Procurement office with any questions

regarding purchase card use.
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H. GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

Q30. Can grantees and partners in cooperative agreements authorized to work under a CR 

continue at their normal level of operations?

Answer: It depends. Non-excepted work may continue as long as funds already obligated remain 

available, the work does not require access to a NASA or other closed Government facility, and 

the work does not require any civil servant oversight or other government support that would be 

funded by a lapsed appropriation. However, based on the Agency's shutdown plan, it may be 

necessary to suspend or reduce planned work during a funding hiatus. NASA contributions 

under cooperative agreements, whether in the form of human capital or facility access, would not 

be available for non-excepted activities.

Q31. Do grantees and partners in cooperative agreements need to be notified whether work 

may continue during a Government shutdown?

Answer: Yes. The grants and agreements officer at NSSC, or the applicable Center if a grant or 

cooperative agreement is not managed by NSSC, should notify all financial assistance recipients 

that access to a NASA or other closed Government facility, civil servant oversight, and other 

Government support that would be funded by a lapsed appropriation will not be available during 

a Government shutdown, and that any portion of their work requiring that support may not 

continue until the shutdown has ended and NASA’s full operations resume. The notice may be 

issued in writing or on a web site, as deemed appropriate

I. PAYMENT ACTIVITIES

Q32. If payments are withheld, then the Government may incur interest penalties under the 

Prompt Payment Act or the Cash Management Improvement Act. Does this additional 

cost permit an Agency to process payment requests? 

Answer: No. One of the purposes of these laws was to authorize interest payments to 

contractors, partners, and grantees to compensate them for late payment due to a funding hiatus. 

Q33. To what extent is it acceptable to process payments for contracts that support excepted 

activities? 

Answer: During a lapse in appropriations, a contract may be awarded or modified to support an 

excepted activity (e.g., minimal necessary guard services to protect a facility), but the contractor 

cannot be paid until appropriations are enacted. 
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J. TRAINING 

Q34. If a furloughed employee is scheduled to attend training during the shutdown period, 

can he/she still attend?

Answer: No. The training assumed that the employee was in a duty status. The employee was 

furloughed and therefore is not on duty. This applies to all training, including that conducted by 

the private sector and that involving travel.

K. TRAVEL

Q35. What happens to employees in a travel status at the time of a shutdown?

Answer. It depends. 

a. Travel for an excepted activity. Those that are performing excepted functions (i.e., as part of 

protection of life and property, or who are fully supported by funds not affected by a lapse in 

appropriations) should continue approved TDY at the minimum level necessary to support the 

excepted function. Note: everyone should receive prompt confirmation of whether they are 

excepted from furlough and whether their travel is part of an excepted activity. If you have not 

received confirmation by the beginning of the first work day after a shutdown is announced, you 

need to obtain confirmation right away, and if unable to confirm should proceed with an orderly 

suspension of travel on the assumption your travel is not excepted. 

b. Those not excepted and on official temporary duty travel (TDY) when a shutdown is 

announced. If you are not designated an excepted employee (i.e., you are being furloughed), you 

must return to your permanent duty station. While you need to return promptly, you should 

make reasonable arrangements (e.g., during work hours and at typically approved, not premium,

fares) consistent with an orderly suspension of operations. 

c. Those not excepted and on extended temporary duty travel (ETDY) when a shutdown is 

announced. If you are on ETDY (e.g., detailed) and are placed on furlough, you have the option 

to either remain in place at the ETDY location, or to arrange to promptly return home (per the 

provisions of NPR 9700.1, Appendix A, section. 301-11.220). You will need to communicate 

your choice when being furloughed, and if you elect to stay in place you will need to leave your 

contact information with your HR contact for use by your Center travel coordinator or Executive 

Committee should they need to reach you while furloughed. This should be coordinated with 

your supervisor and travel approver, if different. Because NASA has already obligated the 

funding prior to the lapse in appropriations, you should not break any lodging contract unless 
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specifically directed. However, NASA will only reimburse expenses connected with your 

lodging; you will not be reimbursed any other M&IE expenses while on furlough. Bear in mind 

there is a possibility that in the event of a protracted shutdown you may be recalled to duty for 

the limited purpose of orderly winding down your ETDY lodging. If you return home, once 

normal operations are resumed, you will initially report back to your home duty station pending 

new travel orders to report back to work at your ETDY duty station. 

If your ETDY is scheduled to end within one month of a shutdown announcement, you should

immediately review with your supervisor the prudence of terminating your ETDY status as a part 

of NASA’s orderly suspension of operations. If the decision is to terminate your ETDY, you 

should take steps to quickly wind down your lodging, including vacating the premises and 

approved shipment of unaccompanied baggage home. 

d. Those planning travel prior to a potential shutdown. Employees who are currently scheduled 

to travel around the time of a potential furlough should review with their supervisors the 

prudence of possibly rescheduling official travel, considering factors such as the importance of 

the travel balanced against the impact and likelihood of a shutdown, in the travel approver’s 

judgment. However, the mere fact that travel extends beyond the end of a current CR period 

should not lead to the disapproval of normal business travel. 

That said, in addition to the normal considerations given to authorizing travel under a CR,1

additional considerations should be given with respect to travel that starts after or extends 

beyond the end of a CR. Non-excepted travel must be ended in an orderly manner, at minimum 

expense necessary to return the traveler to her/his duty station. Further, when planning for travel 

extending beyond the end of a CR, all travelers should be warned about the potential requirement 

to stop nonessential travel if there is a funding hiatus.2 Given the possible disruptions caused by 

a funding hiatus, should a shutdown appear likely, approvers will want to consider whether 

certain types of requests for nonessential travel should be minimized or deferred until a new CR 

or final appropriation is enacted. 

Q36. What if an employee is overseas?

 

1 Note: Travel that extends beyond a first CR period is not subject to the same restrictive processes required for travel using single 

year funds (e.g., CAS) that crosses or starts after a fiscal year end. Travel extending beyond a first CR period into a next CR period or 

final appropriation is still considered travel within the same fiscal year. To the extent the travel is within the same fiscal year but at 

least partially under a CR, “an agency may generally follow any pattern of obligating funds, so long as it is operating under a plan 

which will enable continuation of activities throughout the fiscal year within the limits of the annual amount appropriated.” GAO-06-

382SP Appropriations Law, Vol. II, p. 8-15.

2 For example, a particularly effective form of notice to travelers would be to insert a notice in travel authorizations prior to approval, 

such as “Travel is scheduled past the current CR ending date of [xx/xx]. Traveler is authorized to commence and/or continue travel 

beyond this date, subject to enactment of a further CR or appropriation. If neither occurs the traveler will be required to terminate 

the trip and return unless it is confirmed that such travel is considered “essential” under NASA’s emergency shutdown plan.”
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Answer: Personnel at duty stations overseas would report to their duty stations and receive 

orders on how to proceed. Excepted personnel in support of ongoing excepted operations, such 

as the ISS, will remain on official travel. If you are not excepted personnel and are in TDY or 

ETDY status overseas, because carrying out an orderly shutdown should include consideration of 

the likely length of a shutdown in addition to the requirements for suspension of operations, you 

may be required to remain at your foreign duty station in an on-call, yet fully reimbursable, 

furlough status after a shutdown announcement. For consistency, the Headquarters executive 

committee will provide updated, agencywide guidance during a shutdown for non-excepted 

personnel overseas. As with traveler’s remaining at ETDY locations, you will need to leave your 

contact information with your HR contact for use by your Center travel coordinator or Executive 

Committee should they need to reach you while furloughed. 

Q37. If I am scheduled to return from temporary duty travel just before expiration of the 

current CR, and process my travel expenses voucher immediately upon my return, and a 

furlough is imposed shortly thereafter, how and when will I be reimbursed? 

Answer: Travel vouchers submitted just before a shutdown might not be approved and fully 

processed until after normal operations are resumed. While you should always submit your 

vouchers for approval promptly after any travel, you should do so immediately when 

approaching a potential shutdown. 

Q38. What happens if I travel for an excepted activity during a furlough? My concern is based 

upon the fact that the travel charge card bill may arrive at my house before I am 

reimbursed.

Answer: While NASA can incur obligations for excepted activities after a shutdown is 

announced, and all approved travel expenses for excepted activities will eventually be paid, any 

vouchers not fully approved prior to a shutdown can only be finally processed for payment after 

normal operations have resumed. However, employees are still required to pay their travel 

charge card bill on time, so use of centralized billing accounts (CBAs), not individual billing 

accounts (IBAs, or travel cards) is recommended where available during a shutdown. 

FedTraveler will continue to be available during a shutdown for fully processing travel 

authorizations and for accepting travel vouchers (but not finally processing for payment). 

Employees traveling as part of an orderly suspension of operations, i.e., returning home to be 

furloughed, should submit their travel voucher prior to furlough. Similarly, employees traveling 

for excepted activities should promptly submit their vouchers upon completion of any travel. 

Even if not fully approved because typical approvers are on furlough, prompt pay interest will be 

calculated from the day an otherwise proper voucher is submitted. Any IBA charges should 

continue to be timely paid.
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Q39. Can an employee, such as a principal investigator, pay for his or her own travel to present 

NASA research results at an important technical conference?

Answer: No. While you can pay to attend a conference on your own time, you cannot attend a 

conference representing NASA or to present NASA research results. 

II. FURLOUGHS UNDER A SHUTDOWN

The purpose of this section is to assist employees with understanding the basic mechanics and 

impact of furloughs. The following questions and answers augment those provided in the Office 

of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) Guidance and Information on Furloughs, which can be 

found at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furlough-guidance/guidance-forshutdown-furloughs.pdf. Employees are highly encouraged to read OPM’s Guidance for 

Shutdown Furlough in addition to this document for important information not covered here. 

A. FURLOUGH AND WORK WHILE ON FURLOUGH.

Q40. What is a furlough? 

Answer: A furlough places employees in a temporary nonduty, nonpay status because of lack of 

work, lack of funds, or other nondisciplinary reasons. There are two types of furloughs -

A shutdown furlough (also called an emergency furlough) occurs when there is a lapse in 

government funding to the Agency. In a shutdown furlough, NASA must shut down activities 

that are not excepted by law. 

An administrative furlough is unrelated to a lapse in appropriation and is a planned event by an 

agency designed to absorb reductions necessitated by downsizing, reduced funding or lack of 

work.

Q41. Will all NASA employees be furloughed? 

Answer: While most employees will be furloughed, Centers have identified employees who will 

be required to work during the furlough. If you have been identified by your Center as 

“excepted,” you will be notified. Unless specifically excepted, all employees are subject to 

furlough. Some employees will be excepted only part of the time, because they will not be 
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required to work on a full-time basis. Some employees may be informed that they are “on call” 

for emergency needs during the shutdown period (although any employee may be called back to 

work to handle excepted activities that arise, if necessary). Any employee not required to work 

full time during a shutdown will be furloughed during any period they are not scheduled to work. 

B. NOTIFICATION OF A SHUTDOWN AND YOUR STATUS; ACCESS TO EMAIL 

AND OFFICES

Q42. How will I be notified of a shutdown? 

Answer: Usually, during a government shutdown due to lack of appropriated funds, agencies 

receive very limited lead time. Accordingly, it is considered an “emergency” shutdown and 

employees may be notified verbally, by email, or by a written notice. Promptly after receiving 

notice that of a shutdown from OMB, NASA will both send an agencywide email to all 

addressees and post an announcement to notify everyone that a shutdown has occurred. All 

employees will receive a formal written notice as soon as administratively feasible.

Q43. What do I do if I hear of a government shutdown? 

Answer: Unless you are away from your duty station on approved leave or in a travel status, 

employees are expected to report to work on the next business day following an announcement 

of a government shutdown; all who are not excepted from furlough, including those who 

designated as being on call, will be dismissed and furloughed after completion of orderly 

shutdown activities. Centers may establish procedures that allow employees to be excused from 

reporting to work in-person on the first day after a funding hiatus if the employee has no duties 

in the shutdown process or can perform the shutdown duties from an alternate (telework) 

location, and if the Center can ensure that the employee received the necessary notifications. In 

general, the orderly suspension of non-excepted activities will take less than four hours, and 

anything over that must have prior approval of your Center’s executive committee. Excepted 

personnel will receive confirmation about their status and the excepted functions and activities 

they are expected to perform and whether they will remain in a full-time status or not. 

If you are on leave away from your duty station at the start of the first day normal operations are 

suspended, you will be placed in furlough status with notice provided in accordance with local 

Center procedures. You should provide contact information to your supervisor if you will be on 

leave during the possible furlough implementation timeframe so your supervisor can contact you 

with details specific to your situation. If your notice indicates you are to be excepted from 

furlough, your leave will be cancelled and you should promptly report to your duty station for 

further instructions. 
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If you are on travel status, see Section I. Excepted Activities in the Event of a Shutdown, Part K. 

Travel” above to determine which duty station (i.e., your TDY or home duty station) you should 

report to for instructions after a shutdown is announced. 

Q44. May I access my NASA email account, check my office voice mail, and use my 

government-issued Blackberry, etc., if I am furloughed? 

Answer: No, except for those designated as on-call. If you are designated as furloughed, but on 

call, you must regularly check your email, or if you cannot remotely access email, check other 

contact means that you indicated for any recall notice. This applies whether you are initially 

designated as on call, or are subsequently recalled to on-call status. Centers are responsible for 

identifying how on-call employees will be notified and recalled to duty. 

No other use is permitted by any furloughed employee. Employees who use NASA IT 

resources, such as their email account, for personal use under the acceptable use policy should 

make other arrangements prior to shutdown if they may want to receive such during the 

shutdown (e.g., change the destination for personal email). 

Q45. Can I have access to my office if I am furloughed? 

Answer: No. NASA facilities will only be accessible to employees who are participating in an 

orderly suspension of activities or who are otherwise designated as excepted and are required to 

come to work.

Q46. How will I know when to return back to work when a furlough is over? 

Answer: The Office of Personnel Management will post operating status on their website at 

www.opm.gov. In addition, the NSSC Customer Service phone line will provide a recorded 

message indicating NASA operating status, at 1-877-677-2123. Employees are expected to 

check these sources each day, and return to work when the end of the shutdown is announced. 

Employees who work other than a Center’s basic workweek (typically Mon-Fri) should contact 

their supervisor to determine when they are required to report to work. 

C. PAY AND BENEFITS DURING A SHUTDOWN

Q47. How will time be recorded during a furlough? 

Answer: WebTADS will be automatically pre-filled with the furlough code for all employees. 

Employees should not access WebTADS during this period. Any appropriate adjustments to 

time and attendance will be made after the shutdown ends. Employees who perform authorized 
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excepted duties during the shutdown are required to track their hours worked and report them 

daily to a designated Center official in accordance with local procedures. 

Q48. Can a furloughed employee take paid leave? 

Answer: No. You cannot be in any type of pay status (e.g., annual leave, sick leave, court leave) 

or use compensatory time off or credit hours during the furlough period. Paid leave creates a 

debt to the Government that is not authorized. Therefore, agencies are required to cancel all paid 

leave during the furlough period.

Q49. Since NAFI employees are not paid with appropriated funds, can they take leave?

Answer: Since NAFI employees are not paid with appropriated funds, managers and supervisors 

may work with them for whatever arrangements they would otherwise be eligible for (e.g., 

vacation leave, leave without pay (LWOP), etc.), assuming nonappropriated funds are available 

to cover the cost. 

Q50. Will employees get paid retroactively for furlough time? 

Answer: Although this has happened in the past, NASA cannot promise that its employees will 

be paid for the period during which they are on furlough, since this is subject to Congressional 

appropriation. 

Q51. If Congress approves back pay for civil servants, can nonappropriated employees on 

furlough or LWOP also get back pay?

Answer: Whether or not Congress would give back pay to civil servants in the event of a 

furlough has no bearing on whether a Center’s employee exchange does the same for its NAFI 

employees who are paid with nonappropriated funds.

Q52. Will employees get paid on time for the full or partial pay period that was completed 

before the furlough began? 

Answer: Yes, NASA has confirmed employees will be paid on time for the hours worked 09/22 

- 09/30/13. 

Q53. If an employee is declared excepted from the furlough and works through the furlough, 

will paychecks be received at the usual time, or will employees get paid after the 

furlough? 

Answer: During a furlough agencies cannot disburse funds; therefore, employees will not get 

paid until after the furlough. 
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Q54. May employees take other jobs while on furlough? 

Answer: It is important to keep in mind that while on furlough, an individual remains an 

employee of the Government. While it is permissible to take other jobs while a federal 

employee, even while on furlough you must comply with applicable laws and regulations, such 

as the Federal conflict of interest law and statutes prohibiting Federal employees from 

representing another person or organization (such as an outside employer) before any Federal 

agency. Consequently, furloughed employees need to avoid 1) engaging in work that concerns 

NASA business, 2) participating in any matter with a company that could be affected by their 

official duties, or 3) representing others before the U.S. Government. Since ethics advice will 

not be available during a shutdown, employees need to be very cautious about accepting 

employment with any firm or entity that does business with NASA. NASA's supplementary 

standards of conduct also require prior approval before engaging in certain kinds of outside 

activities. Further information on these requirements can be found at 

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/ogc/general_law/outsideactivity.html.