What scientists need to know during the government shutdown
As the government shutdown begins, federal scientists are surely wondering how it will affect their work and employment. Typically, a shutdown means that many government workers will be placed on furlough until Congress passes a funding bill. Analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicates that around 750,000 workers could be furloughed during this October 2025 shutdown. Furloughed workers are not allowed to continue working, and they will not receive pay during the shutdown. However, by law, furloughed workers are automatically granted backpay once funding resumes, and in the meantime they are also entitled to file for unemployment benefits (which they will generally have to repay once they receive backpay).
If furloughed, federal scientists should – as always – continue to keep their personal and professional activities separate. Furloughed workers may not continue any of their professional work on their own time. This includes not working on federally funded research and declining to participate in scientific conferences if the government even partially paid for the scientist to attend. Furloughing federal scientists will disrupt scientific research, likely setting back many research projects.
Grants will also cease to be processed, which could place federally-funded scientists in limbo. Scientists in the middle of applying for grants or having their grant applications reviewed will be derailed for as long as the shutdown continues. Fortunately, scientists who have already been awarded federal grants can continue to draw on these funds so their work should not be interrupted.
Perhaps most troubling though, and in contrast to previous shutdowns, the White House is also vowing to lay off federal workers during the shutdown. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently issued a memorandum that directed agencies to use the shutdown as an “opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities” which do not currently have available funding and which are not “consistent with the President’s priorities.” In other words, the administration is likely to use the shutdown as a justification to permanently lay off government workers, particularly workers engaged in work that it devalues or disagrees with. This will almost certainly include federal climate scientists.
Historically, agencies have used RIFs to lay off workers after Congress cuts their appropriations. It is unclear whether the administration will be successful in their effort to use the shutdown as cover for RIFs. In the hours before the shutdown commenced, federal worker unions already filed suit, arguing that the administration’s RIF threats are unlawful, and no court has directly ruled on this issue before. However, legal challenges will likely face serious obstacles. Federal law generally gives agencies significant discretion when engaging in RIFs, and the courts have historically deferred to the executive branch on employment matters. But given that we are in uncharted territory, there is ongoing debate about the legality.
It remains to be seen how all this will play out. Unfortunately, this uncertainty has become a central feature of government service over the past nine months. The assault on federal scientists, and government workers more broadly, has already cost the American public a great deal of scientific knowledge and progress.
Please note that things are moving very quickly and may have changed by the time you read this.
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