Kitsap's military community faces furloughs, pay delays if shutdown occurs on October 1

If lawmakers don't pass a continuing resolution or a federal budget by Saturday night, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. For many of those working for the military in Kitsap County, this could mean working without pay or getting furloughed.

“If there is a shutdown in just a few days, our service members would be required to continue working but would be doing so without pay, and hundreds and thousands of their civilian colleagues would be furloughed,” Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, told reporters on Thursday.

More at USA Today: Will military get paid in a government shutdown?

Paychecks for civilians would halt after Oct. 13

At the conclusion of 2022 Naval Base Kitsap was the biggest employer in Kitsap County, with 21,612 civilian employees and 15,293 active duties, according to data collected from Kitsap Economic Development Alliance and the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University.

If a government shutdown happens, "only a minimum number of civilian employees necessary to carry out excepted activities will not be furloughed," Katy Crabtree, a spokesperson at Naval Base Kitsap, wrote in an email on Tuesday.

Also, employees whose salaries are paid with non-appropriated funds are considered excepted from furlough resulting from a government shutdown, according to Crabtree.

"Civilian personnel will receive pay on Oct. 13 for work performed through Oct. 1. Pay thereafter will not be distributed until an appropriations bill or CRA is passed," Crabtree said in the email.

Those employees will be instructed by their supervisor on how furlough notifications will be issued. Telework and remote workers will get their notification via email or Microsoft Teams, according to the email.

Mission-critical activities continue, but service member pay delayed

Naval Base Kitsap is the Navy's third largest fleet concentration area in the U.S. and home to over 70 tenant commands, including Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), Naval Undersea Warfare Center-Keyport, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, and more. The naval installations support a variety of the nation's warships from Nimitz-class aircraft carriers to nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines and maintain and repair the warships that are deployed around the world.

"Navy installations will continue mission critical activities, emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, and other excepted activities as directed by the chain of command to sustain the fleet in the event of a government shutdown," Crabtree said.

Tenant commands at NBK are making their own determinations regarding mission continuity, Crabtree said.

At the shipyard, essential operations necessary for national security, or otherwise approved by the Secretary of Defense, will continue, said PSNS & IMF spokesperson Adrienne Burns on Friday. PSNS is the only Navy shipyard on the West Coast that has a dry dock to cradle an aircraft carrier out of water and the only Navy shipyard to recycle nuclear-powered submarines. This year, as of September, three Los Angeles-class submarines, USS Chicago, USS Key West and USS San Juan, have arrived at PSNS for their scheduled decommissioning.

Federal employees who are not paid during the shutdown will be paid after the federal government opens again.

"The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 provides retroactive pay at a standard rate of pay for federal employees affected by a lapse in appropriations as soon as possible after the lapse in appropriations ends," Crabtree said.

The last time a government shutdown happened was in December 2018 and lasted 35 days into January 2019.

More: Hundreds of thousands of workers may be impacted by furloughs if government shutdown occurs

Resources available for military, civilians working for DoD

In response to the financial difficulties many could face due to the possible government shutdown, the Navy Federal Credit Union is offering a paycheck assistance program that provides an advance on direct deposit for eligible members affected by the shutdown, the organization announced on Tuesday.

Active duty service members, federal government employees, and contractors who are paid directly by the federal government whose pay will be impacted by the shutdown, and have direct deposit set up with Navy Federal for their paycheck are eligible for the program, according to Navy Federal.

Navy Federal members who'd like to register for the assistance program can visit navyfederal.org, go to a local branch, or call its 24/7 contact center. The organization will continue to accept registration until three business days after the scheduled payday, according to Navy Federal.

"For members impacted by the shutdown who do not meet the eligibility requirements, our member service representatives may be able to offer alternative services for financial relief," Navy Federal said in a statement.

The Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) provides interest-free loans for sailors and Marines, according to Burns. The non-profit organization will assist with emergency financial needs such as food, gas and utilities, according to NMCRS.

"NMCRS stands ready to help meet the immediate needs of active and retired Sailors, Marines and their families impacted by the impending government shutdown," NMCRS wrote on its website. "Our offices will be open normal hours to assist those families who are experiencing immediate needs related to loss of income from the shutdown."

The Department of the Navy Civilian Employee Assistance Program (DONCEAP) offers civilian personnel and their household members a variety of resources, tools, and services that are available 24 hours a day, Burns said. Those needed can access the services by phone (1-844-DONCEAP) or through the website.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Government shutdown would affect Naval Base Kitsap and PSNS