OMB orders 670,000 furloughed workers back Nov. 13 before shutdown back pay clears

The 2025 government shutdown began on October 1 when Congress and the Trump administration failed to pass a spending bill before the fiscal year deadline. It lasted 43 days, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, surpassing the previous record of 35 days set in 2018-2019.

At least 670,000 federal workers were furloughed without pay during the shutdown. An additional 730,000 essential workers continued working without paychecks. By the shutdown peak around Day 20, approximately 750,000 workers were furloughed daily while 1.4 million essential workers worked without pay.

President Trump signed the shutdown-ending spending bill on November 12, 2025. Within hours, OMB Director Russell Vought issued memo M-26-01 directing all executive agencies to reopen and recall furloughed employees to return by November 13 — less than 24 hours after the bill was signed.

The 2019 Government Employees Fair Treatment Act requires agencies to pay furloughed and excepted employees their standard rate of pay for the hours they would have worked, issued at the earliest date possible. Back pay is guaranteed by federal law; workers cannot legally be denied it after a shutdown ends.

The National Treasury Employees Union publicly warned that the November 13 recall date forced workers back before agency payroll systems could process 43 days of missing wages. NTEU leadership said delays put some workers in a precarious position with bill collectors and cited widespread financial stress on member families.

Agency back-pay timelines varied significantly. The IRS initially planned a slow rollout before union pressure forced it to move the majority of back pay to November 19.

State Department employees received paychecks as early as November 13. The Interior Department paid half of back pay on November 17 and the second half on November 25.

The spending deal that ended the shutdown included a provision rescinding reduction-in-force notices that agencies had issued to employees during the shutdown. OMB memo M-26-01 directed agencies to cancel RIF notices as part of the reopening process.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the shutdown caused approximately $7 billion in lost economic output by October 31, 2025 — before the shutdown ended. That figure does not include downstream costs of delayed government services, processing backlogs, or worker financial hardship.