The federal government is poised to shut down on Oct. 1 after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding deal, triggering agency contingency plans that spell out who keeps working and what services stop.

How a shutdown will work

The Office of Personnel Management has issued government-wide instructions ahead of the Oct. 1 funding deadline. Employees fall into three categories: furloughed, required to work without pay, or funded separately. Furloughed employees must stop work once shutdown preparations are complete. Required-to-work employees, what agencies officially call “excepted,” continue performing essential functions such as protecting life and property, but will not be paid until after the shutdown ends.