Civilian Pentagon employees, however, would not receive retroactive
pay without a “legislative fix” by Congress, Little said.
{mosads}The Pentagon is still determining which civilian employees
would work under a shutdown, depending on whether they are deemed essential
employees.
Making preparations for a government shutdown has become a familiar
exercise for the Pentagon and the rest of the federal government, after a
shutdown was narrowly averted in 2011.
As the 2011 shutdown was looming, Pentagon officials said
that roughly half of its civilians would be furloughed, a plan the Defense Department
is likely to follow this time around.
Little said that all civilian employees would show up next
Tuesday, the day the government would shut down if a funding measure isn’t passed.
Those who aren’t exempt would then be sent home.
If the government shuts down, it would amount to a second round
of furloughs for many Pentagon civilians this year, as most civilian employees were
furloughed for six days in the summer under the Pentagon’s sequestration budget
cuts.
— Carlo Muñoz contributed.