Many local federal employees would feel the pinch if the federal government shuts down tomorrow. If the U.S. government has to shut down tomorrow, about half of the Defense Department’s 800,000 civilian workers will be furloughed until an appropriations bill is passed. Civilians who are furloughed would be paid retroactively only if a law is enacted providing the authority to pay them. Military personnel and contractors will continue to work as normal, but would be paid retroactively once the funds are appropriated. Training and travel for military and civilian workers would have to stop until after the furlough ends. Other activities affected by the furlough include no payment of death benefits to those who die on active duty during the lapse, stateside commissaries would be closed, military promotion boards would be disrupted, and companies who do business with the Defense Department would also be affected; new contracts can’t be signed and old ones can’t be extended.
