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Definition of an essential worker does a shutdown shift

Thousands of government employees are furloughed during this government shutdown.

Travelers are screened by Transportation Security Administration workers at a security check point at O'Hare Airport on June 2, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois.
Travelers are screened by Transportation Security Administration workers at a security check point at O'Hare Airport on June 2, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Parts of the federal government have been shut down for almost a month. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed, meaning not working, and not getting paid. Others are working without pay, and this group is getting bigger. That’s because the Trump administration has started calling back thousands of furloughed workers, asking them to show up to work — for free.

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