Shutdown: Which Federal Workers Are ‘Essential’?

Friday’s potential government shutdown directly affects “non-essential” employees, putting them at risk of taking a furlough. However it’s not only this class of employees that will feel the effects of shutdown. There are serious economic ripple effects and, more simply, it costs money to shutdown the government. Janice Lachance, CEO of the Special Libraries Association helps explain the process of how a shutdown works for the employees. She was previously was the  director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management where she learned a thing or two about who the federal government thinks is essential to its daily operation. “Unfortunately, it’s a lot of work for a lot of people,” says Lachance. Is it worth all the work just to furlough employees?