The letter was real and sent to postal workers, but it didn't signal a new policy or departure from normal practices.

One essential Social Security employee didn’t foresee her surgery being upended by the federal government shutdown when she scheduled it for early October. But the longtime manager decided to postpone ...

Here’s a question about the shutdown submitted by an Associated Press reader, Eli B.: What happens if essential federal workers don't show up for work? Here is where we need to get to know the ...

Two weeks into the federal government shutdown, essential workers are already receiving partial paychecks, illustrating the growing financial stress as lawmakers failed again to reopen the ...