Keith’s note: this memo “Notification to all employees on furlough status” was issued across NASA to all employees. Full memo below
From: “Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)” NASA-OCHCO-HRMES-at-mail.nasa.gov
Reply-To: NASA-OCHCO-HRMES NASA-OCHCO-HRMES -at- mail.nasa.gov
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 3:42 PM
To:
Subject: Notification to all employees on furlough status
This HR Message is being delivered to you via HRMES On Behalf Of: Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO)
This is an agencywide email from the NASA Chief Human Capital Officer to all NASA employees.
NASA employees,
As communicated in the Sept. 30 email from Acting Chief Financial Officer Stephen Shinn, titled “Planning for Potential Lapse in Funding”, funding available at NASA under the Continuing Resolution (CR) will expire 11:59 p.m. ET, Tues., Sept. 30, 2025, unless Congress enacts a law to fund federal agencies beyond that time.
NASA is working to determine which employees would continue to report to work in the event of a lapse in appropriations and which employees would be placed on furlough. Each employee’s status is driven by the legal requirements under which we must operate should a lapse in appropriations occur. The identification of whether you are furloughed is not a reflection on the quality of your work, nor is it an indication of your importance to NASA.
You are expected to work on your next scheduled workday to conduct orderly shutdown activities. For most employees, this will be Wed., Oct. 1, 2025. Employees who have transitioned to administrative leave as part of the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) will receive separate guidance. Employees will receive additional guidance on how to proceed including information on timesheets, IT use, travel, and more.
In the event of a lapse in appropriations, formal furlough notices will be issued on Wed, Oct. 1, that will document your individual status (i.e., furloughed or non-furloughed (full-time, part-time, on-call)). Furlough status determinations may change over time as circumstances evolve; if your status changes, you will be notified.
NASA has posted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the Shutdown Furlough Guide for Employees, Furlough FAQs for DRP participants, and other resources on the NASA Shutdown Information webpage (https://www.nasa.gov/shutdown). Additionally, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted furlough information on the Shutdown Furlough tab of the OPM Furlough Guidance webpage (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furlough-guidance). We encourage you to review these resources.
We’ll continue to update you as information becomes available. In the event of an appropriations lapse, you should watch for emails from agency leaders, NASA’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), and your organization/center for additional information. If you have any questions, please contact your supervisor.
Kelly Elliott
Chief Human Capital Officer
