Benefits Fact Sheet

Lapse in Appropriations Shutdown Furlough

Effective December 22, 2018

Pay

1. When will I receive pay?

A. If you are a furloughed employee you cannot receive pay during a lapse in

appropriations; however, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019,

has ended.

If you are an excepted employee working in a funded position, you will be paid for

hours worked as well as hours not worked for Federal holidays or personal leave if

you have a funding code for the holidays or personal leave, on our normal pay cycle.

Hours not worked with no funding code will be coded under transaction code 74

“Furlough”.

2. When an employee’s gross pay is insufficient to permit all deductions, the order in

which authorized deductions are to be processed is as follows:

Basic Life Insurance Premium

State Income Tax

Collection of Debts Owed to the U.S. Government

Court-Ordered Collection/Debt in the following order: (Child Support; Alimony

Payments; Bankruptcy; Commercial Garnishments)

Optional Benefits in the following order: (Health Care/Limited-Expense Health Care

Flexible Spending Accounts; Dental; Vision; Health Savings Account; Optional Life

Insurance Premiums; Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums; Dependent-Care Flexible

Spending Accounts, Thrift Savings Plan (Loan Payments; Basic Contributions; Catch-up

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3. Where can I find my Earning & Leave Statements and W-2s?

A. You can view and print Earning & Leave Statements, along with W2s and other

information from the National Finance Center (NFC), Employee Personal Page (EPP)

through https://www.nfc.usda.gov/epps.

4. How can I receive a new password for EPP?

A. If you do not remember your user ID or password, follow the prompts on the

632-4468. NFC will process the password reset and send the system generated

password reset email to the non-Government email stored in the profile.

Employees who do not have a non-Government email address stored in their EPP,

they can contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-632-4468. NFC will need to

validate identity with the EPP User ID, Government e-mail address, and last net pay

non-Government email provided by the employee.

NFC will track all password resets during the furlough and will force a mandatory

will not be impacted by the lapse in appropriation furlough. The NFC is in the process

2019. In addition, the majority of W-2s will be available through the NFC’s

Employee Personal Page (EPP) between January 25, 2019, and January 28, 2019.

When retroactive pay is provided, pay that employees will receive for work

performed on December 22, 2018, will be reflected in tax year 2019 W-2s.

6. Will automatic withdrawals from my bank account (not payroll deducted) for

contributions to the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) still be withdrawn during

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Second Lapse in Appropriations Shutdown Furlough

day furlough notice, does the agency have to initiate and apply reduction-in-force

(RIF) furlough regulations?

A. No. When there is a lapse in appropriations shutdown furlough that lasts beyond 30

days, it is considered a second shutdown, and employees will be issued another

notice. Reduction-in-force (RIF) furlough regulations are not applicable to a lapse in

Unemployment Compensation

8. Am I eligible for unemployment compensation benefits?

A. Furloughed employees are eligible to apply for unemployment benefits; however,

employees who have been designated as “excepted” from the furlough and are

working full-time are generally not eligible. Unemployment is managed at the state

level, and eligibility requirements may differ. Employees who wish to file should do

so and the individual state will determine eligibility.

Unemployment compensation for Federal Employees website,

https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/unemcomp.asp

9. Do I file for unemployment compensation benefits in the state where I reside, or

where I work?

A. Employees must file for unemployment in the state where he or she work (i.e., last

official duty station prior to the furlough”.

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Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)

10. Will an employee continue to be covered under the Federal Employees Health

Benefits (FEHB) program during a shutdown furlough if the agency is unable to

make its premium payments on time?

A. Yes. The employee’s FEHB coverage will continue even if an agency does not make

the premium payments on time. Since the employee will be in a non-pay status, the

appropriations (shutdown furlough) will not have the opportunity to terminate or

cancel FEHB coverage. The employee will remain covered; the enrollee share of the

FEHB premium will accumulate and be withheld from pay upon return to pay status.

12. Would a lapse in appropriations alter the effective date of an FEHB Open Season

enrollment if an enrollment request was fully processed by an agency and submitted

to the health plan prior to the lapse?

A. No. The effective date would still be the first day of the first full pay period in

January. Employees are encouraged to contact the provider to verify enrollment.

14. If an enrollee required healthcare after making an FEHB Open Season enrollment

change that was not processed before a furlough and received coverage under the

old health plan, will the new health plan be responsible for the coverage received

once the furlough is over?

A. Yes.

15. If a furlough delays processing of FEHB Open Season enrollment changes, will the

enrollment be retroactive?

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16. If an individual’s health plan is terminating participation in the FEHB Program at

the end of the current benefit year, and an Open Season enrollment change has not

been processed, what should the individual do in January?

A. If the individual needs services urgently, he or she should incur the expenses and file

a claim with the new plan once the enrollment change has been processed.

17. If an employee submitted a new application or a change to his/her health insurance

plan (e.g., because of a Qualifying Life Event) and the paperwork was not processed

The only exception to this, is for a new enrollment or change in enrollment due to the

birth or addition of a child, which is effective on the first day of the pay period in

which the child is born or becomes an eligible family member. There is no

requirement to be in a pay status for an enrollment or change in enrollment due to

birth or addition of a child to become effective.

18. How will someone know whether his or her FEHB enrollment request or change

was fully processed and sent to the new health plan?

to enroll during Open Season if the enrollment has not been processed and will not

be processed until after the furlough? Does this individual still have coverage with

the elected plan? If so, when?

A. Yes. Such an individual would have coverage beginning on the first day of the first

full pay period in January (January 6, 2019). Expenses incurred will be reimbursed

by the plan once the enrollment has been processed. It is suggested that such

individuals ensure they use the plan’s providers to get the maximum benefits. For

fee-for-service plans, check the health plan’s website for a list of in-network

providers.

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Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)

20. What happens to an employees’ Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)

Program coverage if furloughed?

A. Coverage continues for 12 consecutive months in a non-pay status without cost to the

employee or to the agency. Neither the employee nor the agency incurs a debt during

this period of non-pay.

A. Payroll deductions will cease for any employee that does not receive pay. The

during a non-pay status will not be reimbursed until the employee returns to a pay

recalculated over the remaining pay period to match the participant’s elections

amount.

Eligible dependent care expenses incurred during a non-pay status may be reimbursed up

to whatever balance is in the employees’ dependent care accounts – as long as the

expense incurred during the non-pay status allows the employee (or spouse if married) to

Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)

23. What happens to an employee’s Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program

(FLTCIP) coverage if furloughed?

A. Payroll deductions will cease for any employee that does not receive pay. Coverage

will continue so long as premiums are paid. If Long Term Care Partners does not

receive payment for three consecutive pay periods (PP26, PP01, PP02 which ends

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Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)

24. What happens to an employee’s Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance

Program (FEDVIP) coverage if furloughed?

A. Payroll deductions will cease for any employee that does not receive pay.

BENEFEDS will generate a bill to enrollees for premiums when no payment is

received for two consecutive pay periods (PP26, PP01 which end January 19, 2019).

The enrollee should pay premiums directly billed to him/her on a timely basis to

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

26. What is the effect of a shutdown furlough on Thrift Saving Plan (TSP)

contributions, investments and loans?

A. Information regarding TSP can be found on the TSP website at

https://www.tsp.gov/index.html. Under the “Bulletin Board”, see “Government

Shutdown and Loan Payments”.

default. You can check the status of your loan by logging into My Account, selecting

“TSP Loans,” and then selecting “Are my payments up to date?” Or you can call the

ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778 and speak to a Participant Service Representative.

As long as retroactive pay is approved, all missed loan payments will be submitted

and posted to your loan. We will provide more information as the furlough continues

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furlough?

A. For employees who, on or before the requested retirement date, submitted some

notice of their desire to retire, when the lapse in appropriations ends, the retirement

effective date will be the date originally requested. The retirement request may be

informal; (such as a letter requesting retirement), and can be either mailed or

28. If an employee is scheduled to retire before the end of the leave year with an annual

leave balance of over the maximum leave ceiling (e.g., 240, 360, or 720 hours, as

applicable) and the furlough prevents the employee’s retirement from getting

processed until January, does the employee lose his or her annual leave above the

maximum leave ceiling.

A. No. The employee’s retirement would be retroactively applied to a date prior to the

end of the leave years, and the employee would receive the full amount of

30. Does a shutdown furlough affect the accrual of annual leave and sick leave?

A. If an employee is furloughed (i.e., placed in non-pay status) for part of a biweekly pay

period, the employee’s leave accrual will generally not be affected for that pay period.

However, the accumulation of non-pay status hours during a leave year can affect the

accrual of annual leave and sick leave over a period of time.

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reached. If the employee again accumulates 80 hours of non-pay status, he or she will

again not earn leave in the pay period in which that new 80-hour total is reached. At the

end of the leave year, any accumulation of non-pay status hours of less than 80 hours is

zeroed out so that the accumulation of non-pay status hours for the next leave year starts

For employees with a part-time tour of duty the rule blocking accrual of leave based on

time employees is prorated based on hours in a pay status in each pay period, thus, time

Excepted employees working in non-funded positions. Since the agency incurs an

obligation to pay for services performed by excepted employees during a lapse in

appropriations, and employees will be paid after Congress passes and the President signs

a new appropriation or continuing resolution, excepted employees will accrue their

normal annual and sick leave upon pay processing for each pay period.

31. If an employee has properly scheduled “use-or-lose” annual leave before the start of

the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of the leave year, but is unable to use

some or all of the scheduled leave because of the furlough, does the furlough

period prior to the end of the leave year (November 24, 2018).

32. If any employee has properly scheduled use of “restored annual leave” that is due to

expire at the end of the leave year (because it is the end of the 2-year restoration

employing agency restore that leave again?

A. No, unless Congress enacts legislation providing otherwise. There is nothing in

existing law or regulation that allows restored annual leave to be restored a second