How Soon Will Federal Workers Get Paid After a Government Shutdown?

Sophia Patel
Published Nov 14, 2025


Many government workers have not received paychecks because of the current government shutdown, which has now become the longest in U.S. history. Thousands of employees are waiting to hear when they will finally get paid.

Currently, the Senate is working on a funding plan, and members of the House of Representatives are expected to vote on government spending soon. Final approval from the Senate is needed before the shutdown can end.

According to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, all federal employees must be paid retroactively after the shutdown ends. This means workers will receive the money they missed during the shutdown.

In previous shutdowns, back pay was given as quickly as possible after funding was approved, not waiting for regular pay dates. It seems this will happen again this time.

Right now, about 670,000 federal workers are furloughed, which means they are not working. Another 730,000 are still working, but without pay.

If the shutdown continues until December 1, around 4.5 million paychecks could be delayed, adding up to roughly $21 billion.

During this shutdown, the situation has been especially tough. Over 350,000 people have signed up for financial help, which is 18 times higher than requests during the 2018-2019 shutdown.

In summary, federal workers will get paid for the days missed during the shutdown, but only after Congress approves government funding. Payment is expected to happen as soon as possible once the shutdown is over.

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