Post-shutdown, questions swirl about Pentagon’s plans to issue missed paychecks
The Defense Department’s civilian employees whose pay was impacted by the record-setting government shutdown and lapse in appropriations that ended this week are expecting to receive their missed paychecks retroactively.
However, questions are swirling about the Pentagon’s plans as it reopened Thursday — including the timeline for that out-of-cycle backpay process, whether it will arrive in the form of lump sum payments, and more.
According to a new policy memorandum from the White House Office of Personnel Management issued Wednesday after President Donald Trump signed legislation to fund the government: “Federal employees who did not receive pay because of the lapse in appropriations that began on October 1, 2025, must receive retroactive pay at the employee’s standard rate of pay for the lapse period as soon as possible after the lapse ends,” pursuant to the U.S. Code.
That guidance applies explicitly to the department’s personnel affected by the lapse who were either furloughed or performed excepted work activities. Service members and some DOD civilians designated “essential” reported to work during the shutdown — but only military officials were paid.
“To facilitate making retroactive payments as quickly as possible, payroll providers may have to make some adjustments. Thus, the initial retroactive pay that an employee receives after the lapse in appropriations has ended may not fully reflect application of all the guidance in this document regarding the treatment of hours for pay, leave, and other purposes,” the OPM memo states.
More than 1 million federal employees reportedly missed one partial and two full paychecks during this shutdown, which caused serious financial strain for public servants across the nation.
Several reports surfaced this week regarding when the Pentagon might begin processing paychecks and how soon they could start to arrive. The DOD did not appear to publicly release final, comprehensive guidance with details on its workforce repayment schedule and plans.
The Pentagon acknowledged DefenseScoop’s request for comment Thursday, but did not respond before publication about what employees can expect on the timeline and process for backpay.
