Exclusive: Nearly all federal employees will be furloughed Monday for Columbus Day

• Those in critical roles who would normally be working on a holiday — air traffic controllers, say — will still have to work.

Between the lines: Federal employees might worry that the move is related to another draft memo from the Office of Management and Budget, first reported by Axios, that finds furloughed workers aren't entitled to back pay.

• But this is unrelated to the draft memo, officials told Axios, and standard shutdown practice.
• In 2013, furloughed workers were ultimately paid for the Columbus Day holiday. And those who worked got overtime pay.

What they're saying: "Just a technical thing," White House officials tell Axios. It won't effect pay for so-called "excepted" employees — those who have worked through the government closure.

• But federal workers may be unfamiliar with how it works, since it's the first shutdown since 2013 that covered the October holiday, they said. The last shutdown in President Trump's first term covered the Christmas holiday.
• "This is a technical action required during a shutdown to allow excepted employees to observe the federal holiday," McLaurine Pinover, a spokeswoman for the Office of Personnel Management tells Axios.

The big picture: Broadly speaking, there are two categories of federal workers in this shutdown – those who are "excepted," and still working without pay, and those on furlough, who are neither working nor getting paid.

• On Monday, the furlough group will get a lot bigger.
• Without the latest move, the administration could ultimately be on the hook to pay employees at a premium rate — 200% of their current wages.

Zoom in: An email is going out Thursday afternoon to all federal agencies alerting them to the situation.

• "October 13, 2025 is a Federal holiday, Columbus Day.  Pursuant to statute, federal employees who are not exempted cannot be put into holiday pay status," per the email. "Those Federal employees who will not be asked to work on 10/13 will be placed on 'holiday furlough' status for that single day."
• "Agencies have the discretion to determine which employees are required to work and carry out those excepted activities that must continue to be performed on a holiday to ensure critical functions are maintained."

Where it stands: Federal workers will receive their final paycheck on Friday for work done in September.

Zoom out: Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation honoring Italian explorer Christopher Columbus ahead of the federal holiday on Monday in his honor.

• Trump has vowed to bring Columbus Day "back from the ashes."
• In fact, Columbus Day is still a federal holiday, though Indigenous Peoples Day has replaced it in over 200 cities and multiple states as of last year.
• "We're back, Italians," he said during Thursday's Cabinet meeting where he signed the proclamation.