Railroad Retirement Board (July 2023) 

Contingency Plan for Agency Operations during a Lapse in Appropriations 

Lapse Plan Summary Overview 

Estimated time (to nearest half day) required to complete shutdown activities: 0.5 days 

Total number of agency employees expected to be on board before 727 FTEs 

implementation of the plan: 

Total number of agency employees expected to be furloughed under the plan 221 FTEs (unduplicated count): 

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: 143 FTEs 

Necessary to perform activities expressly authorized by law: 0 FTEs 

Necessary to perform activities necessarily implied by law: 363 FTEs 

Necessary to the discharge of the President's constitutional duties and powers: 3 FTEs 

Necessary to protect life and property: 0 FTEs 

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

All activities related to the administration of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) 

would continue without change because these are funded by a permanent appropriation in 

section 11(c) of the RUIA (45 U.S.C. § 361(c)). These include processing applications and claims 

for unemployment and sickness insurance benefits, as well as providing information and 

assistance to the public concerning these benefits. Benefits payable under the Railroad 

Retirement Act (RRA) are also funded by permanent appropriations in sections 15(a) and 15A(b) of 

the RRA (45 U.S.C. §§ 231n(a), 231n-1(b)); therefore, activities needed to ensure accurate and 

timely payment of these benefits would be continued because authority to pay the funded 

benefits is considered necessarily implied. These include processing initial awards for retirement, 

survivor, disability and Social Security benefits. Also included is the payment, adjustment, and 

reinstatement of monthly retirement and survivor benefits under the RRA, the processing of 

Medicare premium payments, and the processing of status changes, such as notice of death, 

change of address or direct deposit. Activities related to the Citizen-Centric Online Services 

project funded by the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) would continue. 

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

Any Legal, Financial, Administrative, and Information Technology (IT) activities that are not related 

to the payment of benefits under the RRA, administration of the RUIA, or the TMF funded CitizenCentric Online Services project would cease during a lapse. The agency would keep its 53 Field 

Offices open to provide assistance to the public for continuing operations. 

This document sets forth the contingency plan of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to continue 

activities during a potential lapse in Federal appropriations and resulting partial shutdown of agency 

operations. The plan has been developed in accordance with guidelines contained in OMB Circular No. 

A-11 Section 124 and the clarifying memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget, M1322, 

dated September 17, 2013. The plan provides for actions to be taken by the Railroad Retirement Board 

(RRB) when Congress does not enact regular appropriations, a continuing resolution, or needed 

supplements, and an interruption of fund availability occurs. This 2023 contingency plan supersedes all 

prior plans RRB submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

Administrative expenses under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) are appropriated by Congress 

annually. In the absence of appropriations, the Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. § 1341) prohibits RRB 

officials from incurring obligations that cannot lawfully be funded from prior appropriations unless such 

obligations are otherwise authorized by law. During a lapse in appropriations, the agency must cease all 

activities for which annual funding has expired, unless an exception to the Antideficiency Act applies. 

See January 16, 1981 Opinion from Attorney General Civiletti (“1981 Opinion”) and August 16, 1995 

Memorandum for the Director of OMB from the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice 

(“1995 Memorandum”). Two exceptions apply to the RRB’s work administering the RRA: the “winddown” exception and the “necessary implication” exception. The “wind-down” exception applies to the 

minimal obligations necessary to close the agency during a lapse in appropriations. See April 25, 1980 

Opinion of Attorney General. The “necessary implication” exception allows a limited number of 

government functions funded through annual appropriations to continue despite a lapse in 

appropriations because the lawful continuation of other activities necessarily implies that these 

functions continue as well. See 1981 Opinion and 1995 Memorandum. 

Under the foregoing guidance, RRB may incur obligations as necessary for orderly termination of an 

agency’s functions but is prohibited from making any payment of the obligation until funds are made 

available. Therefore, with some exceptions, RRB employees must be furloughed during a temporary 

lapse in appropriations to prevent incurring salary obligations. Moreover, in the event that a lapse in 

appropriation persists beyond thirty days, benefits paid within annual appropriations, such as Vested 

Dual Benefits, may be diminished. 

RRB positions allocated to the administration of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) are 

exempt from furlough during a funding lapse because they are financed by other than annual 

appropriations. Specifically, section 11(c) of the RUIA provides all moneys credited to the Railroad 

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Unemployment Insurance Administration Fund are permanently appropriated and continuously 

available to the RRB for administration of the RUIA without further appropriation and notwithstanding 

any other provision of law. 45 U.S.C. § 361(c). Therefore, personnel performing functions in 

administering the RUIA are not affected by a lapse in appropriations. Section 11(c) of the RUIA further 

provides that determinations of the RRB as to whether a particular activity is chargeable to 

administration of the RUIA or to the RRA shall be binding and conclusive for all purposes and upon all 

persons and shall not be subject to review in any manner. The fund-split percentages for a particular 

bureau or office, as set forth in the agency’s budget, will be used as a general guide in establishing the 

number of positions in that bureau or office that are involved in administering the RUIA. 

As noted above, employees engaged in administration of the RRA are not exempt because their 

positions are funded by annual appropriation. RRA benefits are funded through a trust fund and 

permanent appropriation, not by an annual appropriation, and thus are “authorized by law” to be paid 

even during a period of a lapse in appropriations. See 1981 Opinion and 1995 Memorandum. Even 

though administrative costs of paying RRA benefits are paid through an annual appropriation, the lawful 

payment of RRB benefits necessarily implies that the functions performed in order to issue those 

payments also continue during a lapse in appropriation. This conclusion is consistent with the 1981 

Opinion and the 1995 Memorandum, which found that the “necessary implication” exception allows the 

Social Security Administration (SSA) to continue the functions related to making accurate social security 

payments to the extent of the remaining benefit funding. It is noteworthy in this context that many of 

the categories of beneficiaries paid under the RRA are the same categories of beneficiaries paid social 

security benefits. Consequently, certain employees engaged in functions which fall within an exception 

are “excepted” from furlough. 

In instances where a particular function within an organization is performed by more employees than 

the number excepted from furlough, the employees who will be retained will be selected on the basis of 

seniority. The Executive Committee (EC) will be responsible for updating this list as necessary. 

When a lapse in appropriations occurs, the following actions will be taken: 

1. The Director of Administration’s1 office will notify the Council of AFGE Locals in the Board of the 

lapse in appropriations and the anticipated timetable for furloughs. This transition is not 

expected to take more than one-half day. 

2. The Director of Administration will advise employees of the situation surrounding the lapse in 

appropriations and any other information that is available such as the possible duration of the 

lapse. 

3. Notices will be prepared and distributed to employees not exempt from furlough. Per the 

Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-1), the salaries of these 

1 In the absence of the Director of Administration, actions delegated to the Director of Administration in this plan 

would be the responsibility of the Director of Operations or another designee as determined by the Board. 

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employees shall be paid for the furlough period at the earliest date possible after the lapse in 

appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates. 31 U.S.C. § 1341(c)(2). 

4. Notices will be prepared and distributed to employees exempt from furlough and involved in 

administering the RUIA. The salaries of these employees will continue to be funded. 

5. Notices will be prepared and distributed to employees “excepted” from furlough and involved in 

activities in support of ongoing permanently funded entitlement payments such as RRA 

beneficiary roll maintenance. Per the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 

116-1), the salaries of these employees shall be paid for the excepted work at the earliest date 

possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates. 31 U.S.C. 

§ 1341(c)(2). 

6. The various organizational units will prepare SF-52’s (Request for Personnel Action) or mass 

action lists for their furloughed employees. 

7. Necessary documents such as SF-50’s (Notification of Personnel Actions), Merit Systems 

Protection Board appeals information and Unemployment Insurance information will be mailed 

or emailed to furloughed employees as soon as practicable. 

Leave 

Per the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-1), all employees required to 

perform work (both those exempt from furlough because they are in positions financed by a 

resource other than annual appropriations such as the RUIA and those excepted from furlough but 

whose salaries are financed by annual appropriations) are allowed to schedule and use annual and 

sick leave according to the normal procedures and regulations. In the case of excepted employees, 

compensation for paid leave taken during the lapse in appropriations shall be paid at the earliest 

date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates. 31 U.S.C. 

§ 1341(c)(3). 

Employees excepted from furlough who do not use approved leave and who refuse to report for 

work after being ordered to do so, will be considered absent without leave (AWOL) and may be 

subject to disciplinary action. 

Employees not excepted from furlough who have requested and been granted paid leave for a day 

subsequently designated as a furlough day will have that leave automatically cancelled because the 

necessity to furlough supersedes leave rights. 

Travel 

In the event of a government shutdown, RRB travel is expected to be severely limited. RRB officials 

will immediately review the status of all employees in travel status. Unless the travel is determined 

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to be necessary, employees in travel status will be recalled. Funding should already be obligated to 

cover the return travel costs. 

RRB officials will be responsible for communicating expected actions to travelers. The travel 

management contractor will not be asked to convey agency instructions. 

The RRB will also identify employees scheduled to travel during the expected shutdown duration. 

RRB officials will review the travel scheduled and determine which should be approved or cancelled. 

The RRB does not expect new travel reservations to be made during the shut-down. Unless 

approved by a senior official, travelers will be advised to complete travel planning once normal 

operations resume. 

Work-At-Home 

In general, because of the limited staff available to report for duty during a furlough period, all work 

at home will typically be suspended, although each bureau/office head can extend the work at 

home privilege on a limited case by case basis if it is determined to be in the agency’s best interest. 

Variable Work Week 

Because of limited staff resources, the regular business work day will be adjusted in the following 

manner: 1) the normal business work day is limited to 8 hours, 2) the use or accumulation of 

compensatory time or credit hours will not be permitted. Flextime starting and ending hours will 

continue to be permitted. 

Government Provided Equipment 

All furloughed employees assigned government owned equipment (e.g. computers, laptops, cell 

phones, etc.) will receive instructions regarding the use of this equipment during a furlough period. 

Volunteer work 

The Antideficiency Act prohibits volunteer work by furloughed employees. 31 U.S.C. § 1342. 

Supervisors and managers who are not furloughed should monitor their organizational units to 

make sure that no furloughed employees are working. 

Media Inquiries 

Any inquiries from the news media regarding furloughs or the lapse of appropriations should be 

referred to Public Affairs, with any response coordinated thru Media@OMB.EOP.Gov 

Contractors 

The Director of Administration will determine if funding for any of the contractors working on 

continuing projects for the Board is affected by the lapse of appropriations. He/she will then inform 

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any affected contractors of the funding lapse. The contractor can then make an informed decision 

as to whether to allow its employees to continue working. 

Time and Attendance Records 

The Chief Financial Officer will be responsible for issuing instructions for showing furloughs on time 

and attendance reports. 

When appropriations are made available, the following actions will be taken: 

1. The Director of Administration will notify the Council of AFGE Locals in the Board of the 

passage of appropriations and provide the Union with information regarding plans to recall 

furloughed employees. 

2. If the full appropriation is passed, all employees will be recalled to work. Recall of 

furloughed employees will be handled using the Employee Notification System (ENS) or 

other appropriate means of contact. 

3. If the appropriation is passed at a reduced level, a decision based on available funding will 

be made by the EC as to which positions will be retained and the Union will be notified. Any 

reduction-in-force necessary because of reduced appropriations will be conducted 

according to government-wide, as well as the RRB’s, reduction-in-force procedures. 

4. Per the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-1), the salaries of 

furloughed and excepted employees shall be paid for the period of lapse in appropriations 

at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled 

pay dates. 31 U.S.C. § 1341(c)(2). 

Summary of Impacted Operations 

In the event of a shutdown, the RRB would continue to provide services that do not require enactment 

of an annual appropriations bill, or operations for which authority is considered “necessarily implied.” 

During this time, the agency would keep its field offices open to provide assistance to the public for 

continuing operations. 

Operations which would continue without change: 

• All activities related to the administration of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) 

would continue without change because these are funded by a permanent appropriation in 

section 11(c) of the RUIA (45 U.S.C. § 361(c)). These include: 

o Processing applications and claims for unemployment benefits, 

o Processing applications and claims for sickness insurance benefits, and 

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o Providing information and assistance to the public concerning these benefits. 

• Benefits payable under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) are funded by permanent 

appropriations in sections 15(a) and 15A(b) of the RRA (45 U.S.C. §§ 231n(a), 231n-1(b)); 

therefore, activities needed to ensure accurate and timely payment of these benefits would be 

continued because authority to pay the funded benefits is considered necessarily implied. 

These include: 

o Processing initial awards for retirement, survivor, disability and Social Security benefits. 

o Paying monthly retirement and survivor benefits under the RRA, 

o Adjusting benefit amounts, as needed, 

o Reinstating benefits which have been previously suspended, 

o Processing Medicare premium payments, and 

o Processing status changes, such as notice of death, change of address or direct deposit. 

Operations which would continue within limited capacity 

• Activities which would be continued within limited capacity include: 

o Processing partial-to-final awards, 

o Processing spouse-to-widow adjustments, 

o Processing one-payment-only awards, 

o Processing new supplemental annuity awards, and 

o Providing pre-retirement counseling and preparing annuity estimates. 

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